https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/a50838f743e9507ef67c0c0ed937f403.pdf fb59811ed69f2eddbe97663260a82633 PDF Text Text Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act ■ Document divulge en vertu de la Loi surl'acces a /'information Copy No. 5 of five copies. Ext. 18 2B FILE COPY OTTAWA FILE No WISER Letter No.. .. ....................................... Date... February . 10, 1953. THE CANADIAN AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON, D.C. TO: THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, CANADA Reference Our. Wiser. Letter. No, .32. of January .31, 1953.................... Subject; Eighth Meeting of Consulation. No. of Enclosures No WISER - TOP SECRET FROM: Copies Referred To...'.................... Post File SECURITY CLASSIFICATION The record of the Eighth Meeting of Consultation, 1. which was held in the State Department on January 30th, has now been checked with Mr. R. Gordon Arneson of the State Department, who had two changes to suggest in paragraph 9 of the record enclosed under cover of my letter under reference. In the second sentence, the record as it now stands refers to "the existing joint radar system at the 54th Parallel". He suggested the omission of the words following "joint radar system” in that sentence and the addition of the following sentence at the end of paragraph 9: "It is contemplated that the projected early warning system in the Far North, if completed, would be tied into the so-called McGill Fence, a system of stations which would be built roughly along the 54th Parallel, using a rather different type of equipment." 2. The second change refers to the sixth and seventh sentences in paragraph 9® For these sentences, he suggests the substitution of the following; "The immediate objective was to establish these three stations (Barter Island, Herschel Island, and Aklavik) with Canadian approval and co-operation during the coming summer and also to undertake the necessary surveys for as many of the remaining stations as possible." 3. Mr. Arneson also took the occasion to add some further background information on Project "Counterchange". He explained that originally a group of scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratories in Long Island had been commissioned more than a year ago to make a study of what was required to improve the civil defence arrangements of . the United States. It was recognized that these were inadequate and that a study of every aspect should be made to seek ways of improving them. During the course of this study it came to be recognized that before any effective improvements could be made in civil defence, it was necessary to establish how much warning the civil defence authorities would have in the event of an enemy attack from the air. In order to plan the evacuation of large cities, the provision of shelter for essential workers and to deal with like problems, the civil defence authorities had to know how much warning they could count upon. 4e Mr. Arneson said that it was recognized in these studies that if the enemy could count upon delivering a completely surprise attack, the devastation would be frightful. The experts concerned with these civil defence studies, for instance, estimated that up to twelve million/ 00258 �• =* Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act /Document divulge en vertu de la Loi ^rl[accesA!'information WISER " TOP SECRET, ■ 2- *** • ‘* ' ‘r ' •• ,L . . •- V . million deaths might result from an enemy air attack using 25 atomic weapons of the kind and size which the Soviet Union is thought to have developed. These casualties could only be reduced, it was argued, by civil defence measures, which in turn depended on the . length of time.available after the first warning of . . impending attack. • . . . 5. Mr,'Arneson acknowledged that there had been 1 considerable controversy between the various experts in this, field in the United States, particularly between themilitary and civil defence authorities, as to the .feasibility of various alternative methods of providing ? an early warning, and it was in order to resolve these . controversies that President Truman directed the U.S, Secretary of Defense last December to go ahead with the : <• use of $20 millions initially for the experimental, 17 programme known as project "Counterchange" to investigate ' the feasibility of an early warning system in the Far 4 . North. 1 . —i ... ■ ‘ ■ . ' 2 L. . -A / . * (Sga.): H. H. WRONG. q • %, ... t , ■ j .. ? 00259 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CDNW (Wiser) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CDNW16827 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDNW16827 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wiser Consultations, RG25-B-2, Volume number: 3095, Library and Archives Canada.