292. Preliminary Notes of the Operations Coordinating Board Meeting0
[Here follow items 1–4.]
5. Report on Iceland (Secret)
Messrs. Edwin G. Moline, Ernest DeW. Mayer, and Mr. R.K. Beyer, Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs, were present for the discussion.
The OCB had before it three reports from the Working Group on Iceland: a) a general report under NSC 5712/1 covering the period from November 1, 1957;1 b) a special report recommending against a geological survey;2 and c) a special report recommending that the U.S. support Iceland’s accession into the Free Trade Area and cooperation with the OEEC and that only in the event that satisfactory results do not accrue from such action should there be a renewal of a study of special Iceland-U.S. economic and political arrangements.3
Governor Herter opened the discussion by paraphrasing a message from the Secretary to the President reporting on behind the scenes developments on Iceland at the Foreign Ministers meeting at Copenhagen.4 The Secretary had reported that the Icelandic Prime Minister might soon demand exclusive fishing rights twelve miles offshore. [5–1/2 lines of source text not declassified]
Mr. Moline said that the Icelandic reaction to the U.S. position at the Geneva Law of the Sea Conference had been strongly unfavorable;5 also [Page 648] that we feared a unilateral claim by Iceland of twelve-mile exclusive fishing rights would cause the OEEC to lose interest in helping Iceland find non-Soviet-bloc purchasers for its fish. He also mentioned that fishing fleets from the U.K., German Federal Republic and the USSR have long operated up to within a three to four mile line. He expressed the hope that OEEC channels might be used to forestall the unilateral twelve mile fishing claim by Iceland through some conservation measures such as tonnage or area limitations.
Mr. Smith (ICA) said there seemed to be little likelihood of expansion of Icelandic land resources and suggested that the U.S. should support Iceland in some of its fishing rights aspirations. Governor Herter noted that if any nation has the right to expand its exclusive fishing limits it is Iceland.
Mr. Irwin (Defense) said that U.S. troop strength is now at 4,600 and that a net reduction of 1,100 is planned for October and November, leaving no ground forces. We have no anti-aircraft defense in Iceland but the introduction of some anti-aircraft units has been planned. General Cutler thought that the report should “state the facts” as to the number and type of troops in Iceland and give definition to its troop plans. He also thought that the U.S. should proceed with a $50,000 preliminary geological survey of Iceland in view of the possibility that it might show the feasibility of heavy water manufacture. Mr. Moline pointed out the OEEC had a team looking into that possibility. When Mr. Mayer added that an operating plant for heavy water production would cost between $20 and $40 million and that the potential market might be limited, General Cutler concurred in the report.
The Board agreed that the critical developments since the preparation of the basic report would require its recasting. The Working Group was requested to bring in a report for the meeting of May 21.6 The Board accepted the recommendations of the geological and politico-economic reports and requested that certain supporting material orally presented at the Board meeting be added to those papers.
[Here follows the remainder of the notes.]
- Source: Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, Iceland. Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.↩
- Not found in Department of State files. The report as revised by the OCB is printed as Document 293. NSC 5712/1, May 20, 1957, is printed in Foreign Relations, 1955–1957, vol. XXVI, pp. 499–504.↩
- A copy of this 2-page report, May 7, and its 4-page annex is in Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, Iceland.↩
- A copy of this 2-page report, May 7, and its 2-page annex is ibid.↩
- See Part 1, Documents 136 ff.↩
- Reference is to the Law of the Sea Conference held at Geneva February 4–April 27, 1958.↩
- According to the preliminary notes of the OCB meeting on May 21, Iceland was not discussed. (Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430)↩