9 July 1968: Washington, DC to External - Struggling to Understand U.S. Position on Further Deployment

This message from the Canadian Embassy to External Affairs sheds light on the confusion that Canadian diplomats experienced while trying to follow the American position on further ABM deployment as well as arms control negotiations.

While Embassy officials suspected that President Johnson would push to formally launch talks before the end of the month, members of Congress had been unclear in their positions. Multiple members had strongly advocated for an ABM system to counter potential Soviet attack days earlier, while subsequently welcoming the Soviet Foreign Minister’s statement and claiming credit for the arms control talks that were expected to ensue. All this amounted to was an “uncertainty as to the USA government’s position on ABM talks less than a month before Congress recesses.”