13 December 1950: Truman-Attlee Discussions

During bilateral Anglo-American conversations, Prime Minister Attlee requested that the United Kingdom and Canada be consulted before the United States elected to use any atomic weapons. Truman agreed, but then on the last day of meetings, Secretary of State Dean Acheson informed Attlee that the final communique should not include a commitment to advance consultation. The purposeful ambiguation and misinterpretation of the terms “inform” and “consult” quickly became a point of contention that necessarily included Canada, a theme seen throughout the subsequent Canadian debates.