Office of the Historian

273. Memorandum by the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1 2

Washington, September 25, 1972

MEMORANDUM FOR

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
  • The Director of Central Intelligence
  • The President’s Science Adviser

SUBJECT:

  • Review of United States Position on Chemical Weapons Prohibitions: NSSM 157

The President desires that the issues concerning possible United States positions on chemical weapons limitations be discussed in an early meeting of the National Security Council.

In the interim, the President desires that the members of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD) and other countries, as appropriate, be informed that the United States is studying in detail all proposals set forth this year and plans to respond at the next meeting of the CCD in February, 1973. There should be no implication at this time that the United States plans to make a specific new proposal.

Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Boxes H–192 and H–193, NSSM 157. Secret.↩
  2. The President requested a National Security Council review of the NSSM 157 study in anticipation of commenting at the February 1973 CCD meeting on proposals for a chemical weapons prohibition.↩