<--PREV Doc #1715  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1717 Document #1716; November 26, 1960 To Konrad Adenauer Series: EM, AWF, International Series: Adenauer ; Category: Cable. Secret The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XXI - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part X: Ending an Era; August 1960 to January 1961 Chapter 24: "We missed by such a narrow margin"   Dear Friend:1 I was gratified to receive your letter of November 24, 1960 and to hear that you welcome our intention to make proposals for increasing NATO’s nuclear role a subject of discussion at the December Ministerial Meeting.2 Under Secretary Dillon has given you the general outline of our thinking. We are proceeding with urgent consultations within the American Government and with appropriate members of the legislative branch, to ensure that our proposals will be as definitive as possible. Depending on the outcome of these consultations, we are planning to present our views to the Permanent NATO Council next week so that there will be time for consideration of the matter before the Ministerial meeting.3 I have given thought to your feeling that I should take part personally in the December NATO Meeting which you indicate should be held at the level of Heads of Governments. While I can appreciate the force of your observations regarding the continuing need that NATO evidence its solidarity and sense of direction, I do not believe that this necessarily requires a meeting of the kind you suggest.4 For my part, I should for various reasons find it difficult to go to Paris in December. I am certain that our Foreign Ministers will be able, in discussing the important subjects which appear on their agenda, to give that leadership an impetus which we all agree is a continuing necessity for NATO. I am glad that you consider the talks which Secretary Anderson and Under Secretary Dillon recently had in Bonn to have been generally successful. I am awaiting Secretary Anderson’s report upon his return, and we will undoubtedly be communicating with your Government further on these matters through diplomatic channels.5 With renewed gratitude and warm personal regard, Sincerely 1 State Department officials drafted this message, which was sent to the American embassy in Bonn for delivery to Chancellor Adenauer. 2 For background see 1687. 3 In a November 17 meeting the National Security Council had discussed nuclear requirements for NATO and had agreed that the United States would make a commitment to maintain nuclear weapons for approved NATO military plans. The council also discussed NATO stockpile arrangements, a proposal for a multilateral medium-range ballistic missile force (see no. 1686), and the deployment of Polaris submarines (NSC meeting minutes, Nov. 17, Dec. 1, 1960, AWF/NSC; see also Watson, Into the Missile Age, pp. 558 - 61). 4 Adenauer had written that a heads of government meeting in December had become "practically a tradition" and that if such a meeting were not held, the Soviet government would regard it "as a sign of weakness" and would believe that the alliance "was shaky or even disunited" (Adenauer to Eisenhower, Nov. 24, 1960, AWF/I: Adenauer). Eisenhower had told Secretary Herter that in spite of Adenauer’s opinion, there was little left for him to do at the meeting (Telephone conversation, Eisenhower and Herter, Nov. 25, 1960, Herter Papers, Telephone Conversations). 5 For background see no. 1687. The talks, Adenauer had written, were "somewhat complicated" but had "proceeded harmoniously and led to agreement." In their meeting two days later, Secretaries Anderson and Dillon would tell Eisenhower that they had informed Adenauer that the U.S. support costs in Germany accounted for a $4 billion deficit in the annual balance of payments. According to Anderson, Adenauer had not understood the problem "at all well, in spite of repeated explanations." In subsequent meetings, however, German representatives had offered to make $200 million in additional purchases of American products in connection with their foreign aid program for the coming year. The Germans also offered to buy $250 million worth of military equipment in the United States (Goodpaster, Memorandum of Conference, Dec. 1, 1960, AWF/D; see also John S. D. Eisenhower, Memorandum of Conference, Nov. 30, 1960, ibid.; and Eisenhower, Waging Peace, pp. 604 - 7). For developments see no. 1723. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Cable. Secret To Konrad Adenauer, 26 November 1960. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 1716. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/1716.cfm <--PREV Doc #1715  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1717

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