Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Regulation of Armaments; Atomic Energy, Volume XX

166. Letter From the Secretary of Defense (Wilson) to the Secretary of State¹

Washington, December 5, 1956.

Dear Mr. Secretary: Reference Mr. Murphy’s letter of 27 November in response to Mr. Robertson’s letter of 23 October,² I feel it is necessary at this time further to clarify our proposal regarding amendments to the Atomic Energy Act.

Upon reassessment, considering the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,³ I have determined that from the Defense point of view our present requirement is limited to legislative authority permitting transfer of atomic weapons to Canada in time of peace. It is therefore my present intention to press for Congressional action only on this much of our original proposal⁴ during the forthcoming session of Congress.

I fully realize, however, that there are important political implications to any legislative action dealing with this subject. I therefore suggest that after you have been able to assess the political aspects of this latest proposal, it would be desirable if we could meet to discuss it with a view to making a joint recommendation to the President.⁵

Sincerely yours,

C.E. Wilson

1. Source: Department of State, S/AE Files: Lot 68 D 358, Amendments to Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Top Secret.
2. Neither printed. (Both ibid.)
3. No information from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this subject has been found between the time of a May 29 memorandum to Secretary Wilson, enclosed with Robertson’s October 23 letter, and the date of this letter.
4. Expressed in Robertson’s October 23 letter.
5. In a letter to Wilson, December 21, Dulles responded that he agreed there were important political implications to any proposed legislative changes and had asked his staff to arrange an early meeting to discuss the matter in order to make a joint recommendation to the President. (Department of State, S/AE Files: Lot 68 D 358, Amendments to Atomic Energy Act of 1954)