Cabinet Meeting Minutes

CABINET MEETING, JANUARY 5, 1951 AND V. P. absent Symington 11 THE PRESIDENT Outlined the major points of the annual State of the Union Message which will be delivered to Joint Session of Congress on Jan 8th. MARSHALL Has decided to re-vamp press briefings at Pentagon. The briefings now have a tone of over-confidence in our present military strength. Reference to South Koreans and the sacrifices they have made. V. P. will not be here. ACHESON There has been a great increase in tension in all the countries of the world. This has been aggravated by news out of Tokyo indicating that we will get out of Korea. The debates on the Hoover-Kennedy - isolationist position has also contributed. Propaganda out of Peking and Moscow has been effective in creating tension. In the U. N. the question of citing China as an aggressor is a delicate one. It is essential that we have the British go along with us and the assurance has been slow in coming from the British. The Gen Eisenhower appointment will be a shot in the arm for West- ern Europe but it must be followed up by an apparent increase in American strength or the Eisenhower surge will be lost and we will find Western Europe in bad shape. 11:15