602 Foreign Relations, 1958-1960, Volume IX



economic leverage and if this leverage is used, the Western allies may
have some ammunition against East Germany.
    Mr. Gates asked whether the Contingency Group on Berlin was still
meeting. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had some concern over the fact that the
East Germans are practicing intercepts of their own transports with
their fighters in the air corridors leading to Berlin. Mr. Gates wondered
whether the ambassadors of the allies in Washington should not review
the situation. Mr. Merchant said a meeting of the ambassadors had been
held two weeks ago' and another was scheduled soon. A Four-Power
Working Group in Bonn was working hard on non-military counter-
measures. Mr. McCone asked about economic counter-measures by
other NATO countries. Mr. Merchant said no decision had been made
and a recent meeting of the NATO Council was discouraging. Mr.
McCone said a real counter-measure against East Germany would have
to include all NATO countries within its scope. Mr. Merchant said the
U.S. was working toward that objective but the U.K. was reluctant to
support economic counter-measures.
    Secretary Anderson said that a high German official who had re-
cently visited Washington had asked whether the West German
counter-measures were sufficiently strong.2 Mr. Anderson had replied
that economic action was preferable to military action. The German offi-
cial had then said that if he decided on strong economic counter-meas-
ures which led to East German interference with traffic, then he would
have been responsible for involving the U.S. militarily. The German offi-
cial felt a complete agreement was needed under which all allies would
take the same economic counter-measures. This was an outstanding
problem which could mean the difference between war and peace. The
German official said he was aware that the U.S. suspected that German
economic counter-measures were not strong enough. However, the
German did not wish to take measures which would involve the U.S.
militarily; he did not wish to take the responsibility for precipitating
a
new war. Mr. Merchant said our attitude was the reverse of that just de-
scribed. We think strong economic counter-measures will minimize the
risk of hostilities. Mr. McCone felt that economic counter-measures
should be broadened. Mr. Merchant said the problem was being dis-
cussed in the NATO Council.
    [Here follows discussion of unrelated matters.]
                                                Marion W. Boggs


    1No record of a meeting of Ambassadors on September 22 has been found,
but a
memorandum of the conversation of the Four-Power Working Group on Germany
In-
cluding Berlin on September 22 is in Department of State, Central Files,
320/9-2260.
    2Regarding the conversation with Erhard on September 26 at which these
views
were aired, see footnote 4, Document 219.