Implications of Soviet Test of Thermonuclear Device

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01441R000100040017-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 24, 1998
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: September 8, 1953
• Content Type: MF

The Director of Central Intelligence
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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT '
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON
September 8, 1953
~L.
SUBJECTS Implications of Soviet Test of Therm6,nucle
Device
REFERENCES: NSC Action Nos. 799 and 869
The enclosed letter to the President from
Mr. W. Sterling Cole, Chairman of the Congressional Joint
Committee on Atomic Energy, is circulated herewith for
information and to by the tin e ouncil in
accordance w1th the President's reply thereto, w c is also
enclosed.
JAMES S. LAY, Jr.
Executive Secretary
cc: The Secretary of the Treasury
The Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission
The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Director of Central Intelligence
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C
Denver, Colorado
August 25, 1953
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Iviy grateful thanks for your very thoughtful letter of the
twenty-first. You will be interested to know that in
recent days I have been working on a talk. to be delivered
early this fall, on some of the subjects that you discuss
in your letter. I find that our thoughts are almost
identical on these vital matters.
I am sending your letter on for study by the National
Security Council and by the Head of the Atomic Energy
Commission.
With warm personal regard,
Sincerely,
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
The Honorable W. Sterling Cole
Chairman
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
House of Representatives
Washington, D. C.
cc: NSC
AEC
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C---!2 F Y
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
(Created Pursuant to Public Law 585, 79th Congress)
August 21, 1953
Dear Mr. President:
No American of this generation has spoken more eloquently
than you on the folly of hoping to maintain.?asting peace solely
through material might. Yet no American has been more insistent
in calling for all the weapons required for the defense of
freedom and liberty.
I am therefore sure you will be the first to agree that
the test of a thermonuclear device by the Soviet government on
August 12 now imposes a twin obligation upon our nation--
maintaining and increasin our exst1n lead In fission weapons
and the deve o m
t d
?
e
en
r~
gen en
rgy an' side by side with
this, re-exploring a d ways and searching out new ways of
bringing about effective control of ztuclear armaments and all
~,yu... a .. . _.
other ns rumens o war.
This letter is written to assure you that the members of
the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy will lend their t.
to--a,ll measureste de.t e.rge stiff IwfutYe present
advanta e in atomic and dro~en developments, and to all
proposals c esignece o bring real and lasting peace to the
world.
After Hiroshima it was the deepest desire of our Govern-
ment and our people that the output of all weapons, including
nuclear weapons, be regulated through workable international
arrangements. This remains our deepest desire, even though
our strivings for such a plan--strivings extending over the
past eight years--have met only with rebuffs from the Kremlin.
As you know President Truman's decision of January 31,
1950 to step-up the tempo of our thermonuclear program was made
with heavy heart, He issued his directive only after the
evidences of Soviet in,..transigeance and hostility had become so
overwhelming as to leave us no alternative but to proceed with
the development of these dreadful armaments, This Committee
not only supported your predecessor's decision, but it in-
dependently made positive and vigorous representations in
support of an enlarged hydrogen program. We have long been on
record as ]d j t~ .Aare ; . ..aeyp_Ig.p rg hydrogen
energy to the extent required for the defense of this and
like-minded nations.
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August 21, 1953
Because of the requirements for security, few Americans
can know of the devotion, skill, and sheer hard. work which the
pioneer researchers in thermonuclear energy have brought to
our program over the past three and a half years. Some day, I
hope that the American people can come to appreciate more fully
the immense contributions these men and women have made to our
national security.
Thanks to their work, we are now well ahead of the Soviets>*-
both in fission weapons and in thermonuclear developments. Yet,
in this dynamic and fast-evolving science, what is adequate
today may be inadequate tomorrow. I therefore believe that our
AiF1program rq ? u e e Q t .be ,,gh aGteri ed by
thermoauclear
8 ii ?+-mac r
even reateRyi&ox imagination, and boldness--toward the end
a n hydrogen energy play as rapidly and fully as possible,
c
its appropriate role in the defense of the free world. Fund
amentally, I believe this means that more men and more re-
sources should be devoted to this phase of the activities of
the Atomic Energy Commission.
Yet no sensible person could imagine for an instant that
accelerating the rate and scale of our hydrogen work, vital
though this is, in itself represents a complete answer to the
Soviet test of August 12.
I presume that this latest sign of Soviet atomic progress
will be reflected in the plans you and your advisers are
formulating for more effective defenses against nuclear attack
from land or sea. I presume also that the Soviet test will
have a bearing on our policy toward re easi:gg_?more information
on the effects of atomic weapons.
Above all I earnestly hope 'Ve will not let feelings of
hopelessness dissuade us from continuing to press for inter-
national control over nuclear and conventional armaments.
My own hope, in addition is that we will seize every
opportunity to assure the world that we stand ready to share
the benefits of peacetime atomic energy with decent people
everywhere. It is, I think, most urgent that we construct as
quickly as possible a reactor turning out large amounts of
useful power and then aid our allies in the construction of
similar machines-i-always subject, of course, to necessary
security safeguards.
As Chairman of the Joint Committee, I am now framing for
Committee consideration., ro osal which. dim, a.'_..enabling.us and
our all,leg ge$_.Tsnd talents.-more effectively
in developing peacetime applications of the atom. I look
forward to transmitting the Committee's considered recommenda-
tions on this subject for your study soon after the Congress
reconvenes in January.
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I cannot close without recalling your address of last
April 16--which I deem to be one of the great state papers of
our era--in which you declared that, if effective and world-
wide disarmament could be achieved, you would ask our people to
join with all other nations in devoting a substantial portion
of the defense monies thereby saved to a fund for world re-
construction.
The goal of our people has been and ever will be a just
and lasting peace for all men of good will. The members of this
Committee stand behind you in your efforts to lead us toward
that goal.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ STERLING COLE
Sterling Cole
Chairman
The President
The White House
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