Memorandum of Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Senator Warren Austin, Ambassador Ernest Gross, Philip Jessup, H. Freeman Matthews, Paul Nitze, Dean Rusk, Lucius Battle, and William Sheppard

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NLT 814 383 conf DEL LASSIFIED E. o. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (17) December 2, 1950 Dept. of State letter, PR By N.T. HC . NARS 333 MEMORANDUM OF MEETING IN SECRETARY'S OFFICE 10:30 a.m. Participants: Secretary Mr. Rusk Senator Austin Mr. Nitze Ambassador Gross Mr. Battle Mr. Jessup Mr. Sheppard Mr. Matthews Mr. Acheson opened the meeting with the request that Mr. Trueheart of the R Area give a briefing on the current situation in Korea. After this briefing had taken place, the Secretary said that we had given careful consideration to the developments in Korea and had been in close touch with the Military Establishment. He mentioned that the Military were extremely pessimistic about the present situation and said that it was uncertain just what the decision would be so far as establishing a line on which we could hold. He said that we were looking at possible political courses in the light of the ex- tremely grave military situation. He said that our objectives in regard to Korea in the UN were as fol- lows: 1. To increase the security of our troops that are fighting there. 2. To localize the conflict; that is, avoid be- coming involved in a more general war. 3. To end the Korean situation quickly on a satisfactory UN basis and disengage US troops as rapidly as possible. the 4. To maintain a solid front among our allies and, if possible, retain the support of a majority of the UN. In order to further these objectives we would take the following line in the UN: 1. That the intervention of the Chinese Communists has raised the gravest danger to the peace of the world.