Office of the Historian

383. Memorandum of Conversation, June 14, among Stikker, Saint-Mleux, Kohler, and Finletter1

June 14, 1961
[Facsimile Page 1]

SUBJECT

  • Military Aid

PARTICIPANTS

    • Mr. Dirk Stikker, Secretary-General, NATO
    • Mr. A. Saint-Mleux, NATO International Staff
    • Mr. Foy D. Kohler, Assistant Secretary for European Affairs
    • Amb. Thomas K. Finletter, US Permanent Representative to NATO
    • Mr. Russell Fessenden, Director, Office of European Regional Affairs

Mr. Stikker indicated an interest in discussing military aid questions saying that long-term knowledge of military aid programs is of course very important to the International Staff in its planning. He also raised the question of aid being terminated for certain countries, noting that he understood The Netherlands had been told not to expect further military aid.

Mr. Kohler said that he thought he could best deal with Mr. Stikker’s question by commenting on the current FY ’62 assistance program as it affected Europe. This program, as Mr. Kohler’s recent statement to the House Foreign Affairs Committee makes clear, is essentially a holding program, being confined largely to existing commitments. However, we also have in mind that the review of NATO military planning and strategy currently under way, with the emphasis on the build-up of conventional forces, may well lead to some modifications in the program. In our statements to Congress, therefore, we have made clear that this may be the case. In addition, special provision will be made for the draw-down from the Department of Defense stocks of up to $400 million worth of equipment, some of which can be used for NATO purposes. The Department of Defense would of course have to be reimbursed later for the value of these stocks.

Mr. Stikker raised the question of the extent to which forthcoming military aid figures had been made available to the NATO International Staff. Such figures are important to the International Staff in its advance planning, in connection with its review of planning and strategy now getting under way.

[Facsimile Page 2] [Typeset Page 1609]

Mr. Kohler and Ambassador Finletter pointed out that the current figures for NATO countries were highly tentative in nature and that there was no general provision for making these automatically available at this time. Mr. Kohler undertook, however, to see what could be done in the case of specific requests from the International Staff. Mr. Saint-Mleux noted that it would be very useful, for example, if the NATO “Wise Men” to be set up to look into the Greek and Turkish economic situation could have available the contemplated aid figures for Greece and Turkey.

  1. Military aid programs. Confidential. 2 pp. Department of State, Central Files, 740.5–MSP/6–1461.↩