21 September 1962: Canadian Concerns

Ignatieff reports on the discussion following the 19 September 1962 meeting and states that the Canadian “concerns expressed are widely shared.” The Norwegian representative was equally concerned with “the possibility of miscalculation on either side” as well as the possibility of overdoing the contingency planning which would mislead the Soviet Union and “cloud Western judgment.” The issue of nuclear weapons continued to be a point of contention, even amongst the tripartite planners themselves, and the inclusion of nuclear provisions was intended only as a last resort because the Soviets “would be idiots to tangle with the West in a nuclear sense.” The issue of military alerts had yet to be resolved and “needed further study.”