https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/45c47d13bbf19167fa9d9065c61f376f.pdf 6b56ee3d25c726ed75454a6f10f240ad 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, 4- * 4 Ext. 182B FILE COPY } OTTAWA FILE No : WISER Letter No.'. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION Date..... Maroh 20th; • 1952. WISER - TOP SECRET. FROM: The Canadian Ambassador, Washington, D. C. TO: THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, CANADA Reference.. - • Wisor • No. • 34 of March 13th, 1952:---- ---------- ----Subject: ■ Possible • Public • Statement on Uso of Canadian Facilities by Strategic Air Command. _ . | / In paragraph 14 of the record of the mooting ■ 1. held on March 10th in the office of the Secretary of ■ Stets (five copies.of which wore taken bo Ottawa by Mr. Pearson on March 11th) there is a report of a discussion started on Mr. Pearson's suggestion about . what might be said publicly in answer to questions concerning the possible use of Canadian territory or . airspace by United States forces for atomic warfaro. Mr. Acheson at the close of this discussion suggested Copies Referred To...................... .. that the contents of a statement might bo agreed and kept available for use in the event that a public statement in Canada was required. We have now received from- Mr. Arneson copies 2. of two texts which were agreed between the Department of State and the United Kingdom authorities for use in the British House of Commons if necessary® and also copies of the statements which have boon made at Westministor in reply to questions ashed in Parliament • about the employment in wartime- of the bases mado No. of Enclosures ............. Post File No available to the 0.S.A.P. in East Anglia.' Although the agreed texts have previously been transmitted to ‘ you and the answers to questions can be found in 'the British Hansard, 'I think that it may be useful to you for' me to collect this material -in this letter.. ' 3. The first agreed' text was prepared last. year for possible use by MrAttlce. It was drafted in London for- employment in the contingency that the question of consultation in connection with atomic ' . warfare might arise in Parliament, and it was approved by President Truman. No occasion for its.use-has® however, arisen to- date® and the only public 'statements on the subjoct of consultation were those contained , in the joint communiques issued after the TrumanAttloo talks of December, 1950, and the Truman-Chur chill talks of January, 1952. This text would roquire ( modification if it has’ to he used by Mr. Churchill, and would presumably also be expanded to include a . reference to the Truman-Churchill communique. .. It is as follows: , "The House will recall that whon I was last in Washington I discussed with the Presi' dent tho question of the use of atomic weapons. •’ There emerged from these discussions the ■ ■ /following; 00061 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act ■ Document divulge en vertu de la Loi surl’acces a /’information - ? 2 following statement which appeared in the Joint Communique of the conference: ’The President stated that it Was his hope that world conditions would never call — for the use of the atomic bomb. Tho President told i the Prime Minister that it was also his desire to ? - - keep the Prime Minister at all times informed of developments which night bring about a change in the ■ situation.’ Sinco thon, we and the Amoricans have : had discussions from time to time on, developments in . • . .the world situation. I would stress that the ovalua“tions of situations made: by the two Governments in ; these discussions must necessarily be tentative and P subject to change inthe light of new developmonts that may occur. We are convinced that by a continuing examination of pur respective appraisals of developing world situations.the national interests of the two , . . ■ countries, can best be sorved." ’ . The second agreed text was prepared in the event that 4. questions had to be answered on the use of bases in the United It was also approved by the President, and parts of it were employed on two occasions - on November 2lst, 1951, and on December 6th, 1951, when Mr. Churchill answered questions .in the House of Commons. This text reads as follows: . "His Majosty’s Government originally made avail— .0220 4 able to the United States Air Force certain bases and ‘facilities in the United Kingdom at the time of the . . Kingdom. Berlin Airlift. Subsequently it was decided that the United States Air Forces should continue to have. the J . use of bases and facilities in the United Kingdom in 1 the interest of the common defence of .the United Kingdom and the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. • . .The arrangement whereby these bases and facilities i are made availableto the United States depends upon . " no formal agreement but is being continued as a mutually satisfactory arrangement. The question of . . their use in an emergoncy naturally remains a matter for joint decision in the light of the circumstances .i ■ ..* * at the time*'’1'. ./ . . . 4 To complete the record I annex to this letter the text 7.5. of the questions asked in the British Parliament on November . 2lst and December 6th last and of the answers given to them by . Mr. Churchill. I also annex the text of a question asked on February 21st,1951, and answered by Hr. Attlee; this, of course, ante-dated agreement on the texts quoted above. 0 }. .** •, ’ ', • /• • * • -***- It is expected by the Department of State that we 6. .. shall take the initiative in proposing for agreement a text which might be used by the Prime Minister or Mr. Pearson if questions are asked in the Canadian Parliamont. It is possible that the references to atomic collaboration in the papers of the late Senator Vandenberg, which are about to be published, might stimulate questions in Ottawa on these matters,, and I think, therefore,. that it would be desirable for you to forward tome a draft for. discussion with the Department of State within the next week or so. . I. II. WRONG . " HHW:mgm , .00062 � 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 CDNW16904 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDNW16904 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wiser Consultations, RG25-B-2, Volume number: 3095, Library and Archives Canada.