340 Foreign Relations, 1958-1960, Volume IX



133. Paper Prepared in the Department of State


                                              Washington, undated.

                    OUR SUMMIT PURPOSES

                           Introduction
1. Need to Define Our Purposes.
    We have a fairly good idea of what the Soviets hope to obtain from
the May meeting. We should be equally clear as to our own aims-over
and above the negative one of frustrating Soviet purposes. It is now time
to mature our own Summit philosophy.
2.  Danger of Leaks.
    As we do so, we should redouble efforts to prevent leaks. Leaks
prejudice diplomacy's changes and hence increase the risk of conflict.
3. Raising Our Sights.
    We must overcome any tendency to look on the Summit as some-
thing of a chore, whose maximum result would be to leave us no worse
off than we were before.
    This is too modest an aim and would be too negative a result for
such an important international meeting.
    We should look upon the coming talks with the Soviets as a chance
to achieve, or at least to champion, four affirmative purposes.

                        Our First Purpose:
   A Small Beginning Toward Practical Controlled Disarmament
4.  Specific Steps.
    We should press for Summit progress toward controlling the arms
race. We should propose limited measures, which would reduce the risk of
war by miscalculation. Our proposals for prior notification of launchings
of space vehicles and for safeguards against surprise attack are exam-
ples of such limited measures. These measures would not radically alter
the military situation, but they could help to avert an unwanted conflict,
while we seek more extensive disarmament.


    Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1-PA/4-2260. Secret.
No drafting in-
formation appears on the source text. On April 21, Smith sent a copy of this
paper to Herter
for transmission to the President. On the following day, Herter transmitted
copies of the
paper to Couve de Murville, Lloyd, Brentano, and General de Gaulle under
cover of a brief
note explaining that it was the paper he had mentioned at the meeting on
April 14 (see
Document 126) and that it had been read by the President.