28 February 1951: Ignatieff-Arneson Conversation

In this pair of documents, the Canadians emphasize the need to determine whether or not the United States has any similar base agreements with the United Kingdom.

Hume Wrong, the Canadian ambassador in Washington, also attempts to clarify the terms of the US position regarding an agreement in his March 3rd letter to External Affairs. Referring to the Truman-Attlee understanding months prior, Wrong claims that the UK and Canada can be expected to be informed of developments regarding the use of nuclear weapons from any US base. He says that this is particularly true if nuclear components are sent to Canadian bases in order to complete weapons for operational use. Wrong does point out, however, that no sort of real consultation can be expected to take place if the United States is forced to retaliate following a direct military attack.