176


FOREIGN RELATIONS, 19 5 0, VOLUME I


Policy Planning Staff Files
Record of the Meeting of the State-Defense PolicyRevew Group,
  Department of State, Thursday, March 0, 1950,3 p. m. to 5 p. m.

TOP SECRET
Present: Department of State
            Paul H. Nitze
            R. Gordon Arneson
            Adrian S. Fisher1
            Joseph Chase 2
          Department of Defense
             Major General James H. Burns
             Major General T. H. Landon
             Najeeb E. Halaby
             Lt. Colonel William Burke
           National Security Council
             James Lay
           Harvard University
             Dr. James B. Conant3
   On page 4,4 Dr. Conant raised the point as to whether we had con-
 sidered the fact that in World War III, we might, in winning the
 war, lose our freedom. In his opinion, we were faced'with taking a
 series of calculated risks. He suggested that we outline our position
 in Europe and what the loss of Europe might mean to us. He em-
 phasized that we might be risking freedom in order to secure the
 survival of what he called "our national destiny". He defined
"our
 national destiny" as involving, in the order of importance-i) free-
 dom, 2) independence, 3) our people, 4) our industrial plant. He fur-
 ther suggested that we might define the minimum of freedom we must
 maintain and also that we try to answer the question as to what in
 the way of independence we must hold outside of the United States,
 particularly in the United Kingdom.
   Dr. Conant agreed in general with page 5.
   Regarding Section IV, Dr. Conant had a strong conviction that
 the sights we set were much too high. He was particularly disturbed
 by page 11, where mention was made of the objective of restoring

   Legal Adviser, Department of State; General Counsel, United States Atomic
 Energy Commission, 1948-1949.
   2 Staff member, Office of the Under Secretary of State.
   President of HIarvard University; Member of the General Advisory Committee
 of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
   IThe working draft under consideration has not been specifically identified.
 For the final version of the study, NSC 68, April 7, see p. 235.