r ' I f3_ CI CONGRESS OF THE UNITED srATES JOINr COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY Februar 15 1961 Dear Mro President I present hertNit h tho aun me ry portion of an 4 d Hoc Subcollllll1tteo report of a study of U S policies in regard to the aosi gmoont of micloar weapons to NATO Thia subcollllll1ttee consisted of Senator Bennett and Congreoec $tl Asp1 ne J Hosmer Westland and mynelf Because of the review which you have ordered in the Departmsnt of Def8ll 6e and the related appoint msnt of an Adviaory Committee headed by tho Honorable Dsan Acheson to further explore tbis subject we vish to pl ace our report in your hands vithout delay 0 Due to the fact that tho formal organisation of the Joint Committee on Atomic En srgy lill not occur for several days I am presenting this study inforrnsJJy 1a1ith the nnsn1rron'l endorsement of tho five msmbers of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee I have no reason to believe that it will not receive tho overwbeJm1ng support of the full mamberahip of the Joint Committee Aa you lmo l this report is the result of an inspection trip e took to ioore than fifteen nuclear weapon installations in eight countries fl-om the UoKu to Turkey It is part of Ill over-all study of CivilianMilitary relations in atomic tlevelop nsnt and control The ID3mbars of the Ad Hoc Subcommitteo t ogether with senior staff mambara and consultants from Loa Alau os and Livel'IIX re laboratories have participated in the preparation and review of this report' on a wrd-for-wrd basis This report has also been revie led by AEC Acting Cbairma n Graham bo accompanied our group on the NATO inspection trip I would like to call your particular attontion to the follouing sections of tho re -ort The President Tbe White House - -- r - 2 - 1 Tho introduction o t pages 1 - 3 points out the possible consequences ot on acciden or unauthorized detonation of a nuclear 1 1eo pon 1n the NATO system 2 Various operating problems observed by the Ad Hoc group are discussed o t p 3gea 28 - 38 all of lhich are of 11 aerioua naturao In particular tho problema uith Jupiter miesile bases 1n Italy and Turkey discussed at pagea 30 and 31 and the problems of unauthorized use and accidental detonations under tho fictional 1o1eapona custody system nou 1n use see es 32 and YI should bs cnnaideredo 3 Problems of a ioore general nature a1-e discussed beg1un1ng 11t page 39 1ncJ ud1ng the trend to1o1ard rello nce on m1clear waapons Thia eaction al Do diacuaaea the laclt of coordination betwen NAXO and UoSo and UoKo 1n regard to targetingp particularly in relation to fallout e fectso Considerable attention 1a given to the lack of pJann1ng of NATO weapons requirelll8nta baaed on our icoat modern weapons technologyo The faiJnre of the Defense Departmant to furn1ah the Joint Committee with adequate information on the NATO arrangemanta as required by law 1a also covered le further questioned the use of non-statutory cooparativa arrangements contrary to the procedures established unde r the Atomic Energy Acto 4 We have attempted to make constructive suggestions and recommando tiona in regard to both the particul ar and general problems dl Jcusaed For example 1 10 have 1nitiated soICe suggestions which could mnke our NATO nuclear weapons much safer against accidents or unauthorized •JSo see pagl'ls J7 and 45 - 47 I 1 1ould aapacially call your attention to our discussion concerning our concluding recollllll9ndation b3g1no1og at page 60o Baaed on our revi8 I of the IIUclonr weapon situation and its crucial importance in the KATO picture na a W10le wa ballevo the over-all role of MATO should be re-evaluated In ao doing I wuld stress the follO'lling l angu ase of the report · n v v t v t t Ht NAT iONAL ARCH Iv- - µ '••·•••'• •·•• • ••••·' • ••c •••' - ··· - I r ' i •f -i•r rf'P· _ U At --- -- ____-__ r •• I •• - J - n O • • W3 are not rec-nrnrc'md1ng l O- lva1unt 1on of NATO with any thought that it be abandoned or that ita conventional capability remain veak and ineffective or ta use of tactical nuclear waa pons ba proscribed Rather thia re-evaluation s hould seek to find ways 1n vhich NATO can bo atrengthena'i for its role in the over-all military posture of tw fi'ee wrldo o o o o page 62 Since any consideration of the NATO nuclear vaapons aye t om lll'lY' involve cbang a 1n the Atomic Energy Act I would 11 loo to o t that you arrange for the collaboration o the staffs of the Er ecutive Brmch dth the Joint Committee and its staff 1n thia regard o We are making copies of thia report available to the Secreta ry' of Dafonae tho Sscrotl u-y' of State the Acting Chai rmnn of tl· e Ate de Energy Commission and the heeds of your Diaa rrnamant Group and m ro AtivisoryPanal o We wuld ba glad to discuss this report Yith you ar J OW unmbar of your l drn1n1 atration and Advisory- Groupso Raspactful 1Y yo1 rs Ch et Holifiold Chairman for Ad ' Ile Subcommittae Encl osure NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu Read related article The U S Nuclear Presence in Western Europe 1954-1962 Part II 2020-09-17