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COPY
ONI IDMNITAL
uf ARCHIVES SERVICE" "NATIONAL RECORDS AND
DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES AND FOREIGN RELATIONS
COVERINED
1. There is one important phase of the coordina-
tion of United States internal and foreign policies which
the National Security Council has not yet considered but
which, in my opinion, requires its prompt attention.
2. In a critical period such as we are now going
through, every significant development in the United States
has its repercussions abroad and, consequently, influences
the international situation and the state of our relations
with other countries. We have often overlooked this inter-
dependence in the past and have sometimes assumed that what
we do within our own borders is unrelated to our relations
with other countries. This is a. dangerous misconception.
Of course, it must be recognized that in a democratic coun-
try such as ours, there are vast areas of domestic activity
in which there is free play of opinions and actions over
which the Government has no control. Moreover, the separa-
tion of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Gov-
ernment makes it difficult for us to achieve complete Gov-
ernmental coordination of efficial policies and actions with
our international position. Nevertheless, there are import-
ant matters within the province of the Executive Departments
which can, and should, be handled in close coordination with
our foreign policy and the international situation.
3. A good example of this problem has been the in-
dictment and arrest of the leaders of the United States Com-
munist Party at a time when the international situation is
most acute. The morning newspapers, which carried the front
page announcement of these indictments and arrests, also
carried headlines reporting the return of General Clay for
urgent consultations regarding the Berlin situation and the
fixing of August 30th as the date for draft registration.
In such a setting as this, it is certain that the group in-
dictment and arrest of the Communist leaders was not an iso-
lated event but a part of the international situation. The
Soviet leaders, who are making a continuous effort to inter-
pret our actions and estimate our intentions, must have asked
themselves what the meaning was of this action. One answer
at which they, as well as other observers, may have arrived
is that it was a definite sign that we are expecting war in
the very near future and have, therefore, begun to round up
subversive leaders. This is not a far-fetched speculation,
and one could even carry it further by saying that an event
of this kind might contribute to a decision by the Soviet
leaders to begin armed action and so seize the initiative.
NSC 23
- 1 -
COMPIDENDIAL
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"ocrText": "COPY\nONI IDMNITAL\nuf ARCHIVES SERVICE\" \"NATIONAL RECORDS AND\nDOMESTIC ACTIVITIES AND FOREIGN RELATIONS\nCOVERINED\n1. There is one important phase of the coordina-\ntion of United States internal and foreign policies which\nthe National Security Council has not yet considered but\nwhich, in my opinion, requires its prompt attention.\n2. In a critical period such as we are now going\nthrough, every significant development in the United States\nhas its repercussions abroad and, consequently, influences\nthe international situation and the state of our relations\nwith other countries. We have often overlooked this inter-\ndependence in the past and have sometimes assumed that what\nwe do within our own borders is unrelated to our relations\nwith other countries. This is a. dangerous misconception.\nOf course, it must be recognized that in a democratic coun-\ntry such as ours, there are vast areas of domestic activity\nin which there is free play of opinions and actions over\nwhich the Government has no control. Moreover, the separa-\ntion of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Gov-\nernment makes it difficult for us to achieve complete Gov-\nernmental coordination of efficial policies and actions with\nour international position. Nevertheless, there are import-\nant matters within the province of the Executive Departments\nwhich can, and should, be handled in close coordination with\nour foreign policy and the international situation.\n3. A good example of this problem has been the in-\ndictment and arrest of the leaders of the United States Com-\nmunist Party at a time when the international situation is\nmost acute. The morning newspapers, which carried the front\npage announcement of these indictments and arrests, also\ncarried headlines reporting the return of General Clay for\nurgent consultations regarding the Berlin situation and the\nfixing of August 30th as the date for draft registration.\nIn such a setting as this, it is certain that the group in-\ndictment and arrest of the Communist leaders was not an iso-\nlated event but a part of the international situation. The\nSoviet leaders, who are making a continuous effort to inter-\npret our actions and estimate our intentions, must have asked\nthemselves what the meaning was of this action. One answer\nat which they, as well as other observers, may have arrived\nis that it was a definite sign that we are expecting war in\nthe very near future and have, therefore, begun to round up\nsubversive leaders. This is not a far-fetched speculation,\nand one could even carry it further by saying that an event\nof this kind might contribute to a decision by the Soviet\nleaders to begin armed action and so seize the initiative.\nNSC 23\n- 1 -\nCOMPIDENDIAL"
}