258. Letter From the Secretary of State to the President1

Dear Mr. President: A critical situation has developed for NATO as a result of the British insistence on a sharp and early reduction of their NATO forces substantially below the commitment contained in the Brussels Treaty. Norstad is finding it very difficult to accept this reduction as consistent with his responsibilities, and the six continental members of the Brussels Treaty are very despondent. They do not want to agree to the U.K. reduction, but also they do not want to bring about a repudiation of the Treaty by the U.K.

The British attitude, as you know, stems from strategic and fiscal considerations, and has complications for the United States under our “fair share” commitment.2

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An effort is being made to drive this U.K. program through to a decision next week. This would be only a week before you begin to meet with Harold Macmillan at Bermuda and I suggest that it might be wise for you to see if Macmillan would hold over the final decision until you and he can talk together.

Possibly this is something you can handle on the telephone.

Faithfully yours,

John Foster Dulles3
  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File. Secret.
  2. In a statement of April 15, 1954, Eisenhower pledged that the United States would continue to maintain in Europe “its fair share of the forces needed for the joint defense of the North Atlantic area.” For text of the statement, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1956, pp. 1198–1200. For the EisenhowerMacmillan discussion of this question during their meeting at Bermuda, see Document 277.
  3. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.