DCI LUNCH WITH MR. GARDNER COWLES EDITOR OF LOOK MAGAZINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000100100039-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 8, 2002
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: May 16, 1962
• Content Type: MFR

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SECRET
(CLASSIFICATION)
EXECUTIVE MEMORANDUM
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE MEMORANDUM No. 5
DATE 24 May 1962
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
DEPUTY DIRECTOR (PLANS)
DEPUTY DIRECTOR (INTELLIGENCE)
-DE,PI.W-DIRE T-OR-(RE-SEARGH;
-D?P J W flfRE@FO -fsu PPC}
C.QM.PT_I?O.LLER
r)
.IN.SFECSOQ GENERAL
GENERt Cett-WEL
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
FOR NATIONAL ESTIMATES
LBK/jrc
AD/CI
C/CI
Distribution:
AD/RR
C/CA
1 - All of above
1 - Exec. Dir. chrono
Col. Grogan
C/EE
1-ER
A.D/OO
C/WE
DAD/OO
C/FE
ADD/ P
C/SR
C/FI
This memorandum contains information for the addressees. Ad-
dressees may give this memorandum additional circulation within
their components as required. All copies should be destroyed not
filed, upon completion of circulation. A master file will be kept in
the Executive Director's Office and will be available upon request.
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1.6 May 1962
MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD
SUBJECT: DCI Lunch with Mr. Gardner Cowles
gditor of Look Magazine
1. At lunch, today with the Director and the under-
signed, Mr. Cowles summarized impressions gained during his
April visit to the Soviet Union. He also mentioned two
or three points which arose during his stops at Bonn and
Paris. Some of the highlights are summarized below.
Communist China
2. At a rather alcoholic luncheon given for Mr.
Cowles by Adzhubei and attended by Soviet press officials,
the Soviet participants advanced the hard Party line on
most issues. However, when Mr. Cowles predicted that
within ten or twenty years the U. S. and USSR would find
themselves working closely together in order to cope.ivviith
the problems of Asia, all of the Soviets smiled and nodded
assent.
3. Mr. Cowles reported that Adzhubei had said em-
phatically that the Soviets could persuade the Chinese
to subscribe to any disarmament agreement worked out
between the USSR and the U. S.
4. Mr. Cowles has the overall impression that the
.Soviets very definitely aspire to becoming participating
members of Western society. /The implication here was that
the Soviets preferred to consider. themselves Westerners
rather than close relatives of the Chinese Communists,7
Germany
5. Mr. Cowles feels strongly that the Soviet leaders
are still deeply concerned over West German resurgence,
the possibility of German unity, and the possible dangers
inherent in future German control over nuclear weapons.
He says the Soviets apparently believe deeply that, given
nuclear capabilities, the Germans would try to trigger
aggression against the Soviet orbit regardless of the
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Disarmament
6. Mr. Cowles feels that the main problem on dis-
armament negotiations is a genuine Soviet concern over
"espionage agents" roaming freely over Soviet territory.
Agriculture
7. Although Mr. Cowles was impressed with Soviet
progress in a number of fields, such as housing construe-
tion, since his visit six years ago, he remarked on the
sad plight of. Soviet agriculture. He recalled that
Khrushchev had spoken of a major increase in agricultural
investment, but Cowles said that the real problem seemed
to lie in incentives for individual agricultural workers,
and especially in an increase in private plots. Mr. Cowles
went on to say that any real improvement in the Soviet agri-
cultural situation, especially the development of larger
livestock herds, would take several years. He expressed
the view that Khrushchev probably realized that the problem
is.not being solved satisfactorily under. the present agri-
cultural system, but for political reasons he is in no
position to abandon it.
Khrushchev
8. Mr. Cowles was impressed with the fact that
during the three-hour interview with Khrushchev there were
no interruptions of any kind. He got the general impres-
sion that Khrushchev's position in the hierarchy is
reasonably secure.
.9. Mr. Cowles was struck by the fact that Khrushchev
demonstrated keen personal interest in two particular sub-
jects--agriculture, in which he considers himself an expert,
and his own skill as a politician.
10. In commenting on the fact that Mr. Cowles was
accompanied by his wife, Khrushchev remarked that, "I see
you are not a Moslem-ryou have brought your wife. You and
I are both Christians,"
Exchange Program
11. Mr. Cowles said that a number of Soviet editors
had expressed the feeling that the U.. S. had placed undue
restrictions on exchange visits by responsible journalists.
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12. Mr. Cowles said that a group of leading American
editors, including a member of his own organization, were
planning to visit the Soviet Union in early June and had
.been promised freedom to visit any locations they wished.
Mr. Cowles said he would welcome suggestions and the
Director said we would be happy to make some,
NATO Problems
1,3. During his visit in Paris, Mr. Cowles said he
had gotten the impression that General Norstad was quite
unhappy with DeGaulle,
14. Mr. Cowles wondered whether DeGaulle really
understood nuclear warfare, and suggested that it might
be useful to have one of his leading advisors, such as
Joxe, come to the U. S. for thorough briefings regarding
our current military capabilities. The Director remarked
that the French had recently received fairly complete in-
formation on this subject from our Defense officials during
the meeting in Athens.
15. Mr. Cowles said that he talked to Adenauer in
Bonn the day before the leak to the press regarding de-
tails of the new U. S. proposals for a Berlin settlement,
On that occasion Adenauer said to Mr. Cowles that he would
not tell him the terms of the U. S. proposals because
Cowles could "read them in the paper tomorrow". Mr.
Cowles thus feels confident that the leak was deliberate,
and was put out either by German officials or perhaps by
the French Ambassador in Bonn.
16. Mr. Cowles recalled that a year or two ago when
Look obtained an interview with Adenauer, Adenauer had
originally said that the Oder-Neisse line was acceptable.
Shortly thereafter, Adenauer insisted that this remark be
deleted from the published version.
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18. As I was driving Mr. Cowles to his hotel after
lunch, he remarked that none of his Soviet hosts had
pressed him on the question of Cuba, and he had gotten
the general impression that they did not consider Cuba
a major factor on the world scene.
V
Chief, SR Division
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