INITIAL WORLD REACTION TO PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S ADDRESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01443R000200050006-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 6, 1998
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: December 10, 1953
• Content Type: BRIEF

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NSC BRIEFING 10 December 1953
INITIAL WORLD REACTION TO PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S UN ADDRESS
Initial Soviet reaction to President Eisenhower's proposal
for an atomic pool for peaceful purposes suggests that the Kremlin
will reject the offer. Moscow seized upon the President's omis-
sion of any reference to the banning and control of atomic
weapons, thus indicating that the USSR will continue to oppose
any plan which does not meet the conditions outlined in the Soviet
disarmament proposal before the UN.
Western reaction to the speech has been generally favorable
and has expressed the hope that the new approach would break the
present impasse.
Communist:
USSR: Andrei Vishinsky told the UN General Assembly's
closing session that without an unconditional ban on
atomic weapons "the assurance that atomic energy can
be used for peace cannot be guaranteed."
Radio Moscow commentators added that the President
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made a "eulogy of a policy of force," that he "actually
came out with a threat of atomic warfare.., to scare
his listeners.., rather than to have them hope that
the danger of such war can be eliminated."
East Berlin: A Hope Service broadcast quoted a New York
comment that "owing to the steadily growing influence
of the world peace movement, President Eisenhower
felt compelled in the UN General Assembly to announce
what amounts to the end of the US policy of atomic
blackmail toward the USSR and all peace-loving coun-
tries the world over."
Czechoslovakia: A Prague broadcast asserted that President
Eisenhower supplemented the Bermuda communique of the
three Western powers -- "which is full of contradic-
tions. -- by a statement characteristic of US atomic
policy."
Poland: The Warsaw Home Service broadcast a short summary of
the President's address and added that "UN circles
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stress that his speech completely ignored the essen-
tial problem: the prohibition of production and use
of atomic and hydrogen weapons."
Italy: An Italian Communist-directed Cominform broadcast sum-
marized the speech and commented that President Eisen-
hower failed to say whether the US would support an
immediate ban on atomic weapons as called for in the
Soviet disarmament proposal.
London: The Daily Worker called the speech a "blackmailing
threat against the Soviet Union."
Paris: Communist Humanite said that "behind the great words
one recognizes a new version of the Baruch plan for
US control of world atomic energy."
New York; The Daily Worker commented that the President's
proposal "not only dodged the question of banning
production of atomic and hydrogen weapons, but ignored
the question of inspection and control, and proposed
an agency which, in view of the State Department's
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dominant role in the UN, would give Wall Street trusts
a monopoly over the world's uranium resources. Such
a scheme was the heart of the Baruch plan... ."
Western World:
UN: Non-Orbit diplomats in the UN, including the repre-
sentatives of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey praised
the initiative taken by the President to make atomic
energy work for peace.
The Indian UN representative, V. K. Krishna Menon
remarked that the speech was "very important" and
added that the success of the plan "depends on how
people join in it." A delegate from Pakistan remarked
that he could not see how the plan could be carried out.
Yugoslavia: Radio Belgrade reported that almost all Yugoslav
papers stress that the speech has met with approval
and that it represents a contribution to the creation
of a better atmosphere in the field of disarmament and
control of atomic weapons.
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Britain: In Britain, as in the rest of Europe, the general
official reaction to the President's 8 December speech
is that it will be most interesting to see the Soviet
Union's reaction. The Times said editorially that the
speech "suggested a first practical step which could
be taken without agreement on a ful1J-scale plan of
disarmament." The Manchester Guardian cautioned that
unless the proposed international agency has a monopoly
of fissionable materials, "it would offer no new safe-
guard to the world." "Informed British sources" are
quoted as saying that Britain sould leap at the chance
to take part in the UN atomic agency, and that the
President's proposal would revive faith in the United
States wisdom and ability to lead the world.
A London Daily Mirror columnist, one of the United
States' most consistent and severe critics, alleged
that Sir Winston Churchill talked the President out
of making "the biggest scare speech in history."
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Critical British comment on the speech came from the
Daily Mirror columnist "Cassandra," who said that the
speech was instigated by C. D. Jackson in a psycholo-
gical warfare move and that "Jackson's advice seems
to range from advocating blatant demagoguery in Korea
to vulgar muscle-bulging at the United Nations. Thus
the luckless President pursues his stumbling career."
Canada: The Canadian trade minister said that his country
fully supported the President's proposal. Another
government official said that Canada would be able to
make a major contribution to the proposed agency since
all Canadian atomic research has been devoted to peace-
time uses of the atom.
France: Foreign Minister Bidault stated that the Presidentts
suggestion was very warmly welcomed by France. French
diplomatic and political observers consider President
Eisenhower's proposals as a new method of approaching
the problem. They noted, however, that he avoided any
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reference to complete and immediate banning of atomic
weapons as well as mention of a control organization.
Daniel Mayer, Socialist Chairman of the National
Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, said he saw
signs of hope in Eisenhower's speech since the President
had given up "certain parts of the Baruch plan which
have been systematically refused by the Soviet Union
for seven years."
West Germany: There has been little reaction thus far to Presi-
dent Eisenhower's UN speech in West Germany. The
German Press Service reports that Bonn government
circles have hailed the speech as a "considerable step
forward", and have welcomed the President's remarks
on the peaceful exploitation of atomic energy.
The press service observes that the speech will
have a calming effect in Europe.
Austria: Most Austrian newspapers of 9 December appeared too
early to report the Eisenhower address. The indepen-
eariiiigiuggikulkomm.
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dent "Die Presse" is reported to have carried excerpts
of what it calls "Eisenhowerts dramatic appeal for
atomic disarmament" and a "laudatory" editorial on the
speech is printed by the influential Socialist paper,
"Arbeiter Zeitung." Text of the latter is not yet
available.
Italy: In Italy, the rightist press praised President Eisen-
howerts 8 December speech as an "appeal to the world
to impede atomic war." Leftist papers have said that
it was "merely a disguise for failure and crisis of
the mid-ocean club meeting", and that "The United
States, having lost its atomic monopoly, makes an
equivocal proposal for international control."
The independent Turin daily, La Stampa, commented
that the main significance of the speech lies not so
much in the technical suggestions made, but in the fact
that "Eisenhower considered it necessary to expound
the extreme gravity of the atomic threat by a personal
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statement to the forum of the United Nations."
India: The press welcomed President Eisenhower's speech and ex.
pressed hopes for easing world tension and for reassur-
ing all nations that they have no cause to fear.
Greece: It was emphasized that President Eisenhower's speech
before the UN had given rise to both fear and hope and
that the fulfillment of the hope depended entirely upon
the Soviet Union. In another Greek paper the President's
address was described as one of historic importance and
his proposal as the most positive offer of peace since
the termination of World War II.
China: Agency France-Presse reported from Taipei that Nationalist
officials regard the address as a "new step on the road
of appeasement."
Nationalist officials in general tend to interpret
as "appeasement" any statement of policy which seems to
them to reduce their prospects for returning to control
of mainland China.
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