Letter From President John F. Kennedy to General Lauris Norstad

1961 JUL 21 18 40 OFF SECY OF DEFENSE EYES ONLY July 21, 1961 SECRET Dear General Norstad: I enjoyed reading your recent telegram regarding Berlin (ALO 565) to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I agree thoroughly with you on the need for a position of great flexibility in preparing for a Berlin crisis. Your comment on the desirability of arranging our preparations so as to avoid stimulating counterproductive Soviet reactions seema to me very well taken. You can be sure that your suggestions will be taken fully into account in our preparations for a Berlin crisis. I wanted, in this connection, to write you my views concerning the relation to that crisis of the military planning which NATO will be discussing and undertaking in the months ahead. 1 am anxious that this discussion and planning be geared, insofar as feasible, to needs which will be particularly important in the light of the Berlin crisis recognizing that this crisis may last for a very considerable period, on an on-again off-again basis. This would mean, I should think, focusing particularly on efforts (i) to fulfill approved (MC-70) NATO force goals, particularly on the Central Front; and (ii) to agree on the need to improve the mobility, equipment, training, and manning levels of these forces, as you have recommended in your 1966 goals -- beginning with units which are in existence or can be created fairly quickly. I hope that the Alliance can concentrate on this in the months ahead and that allied agreement and action on these programs will not be delayed in an attempt to secure agreement on more long-term pro- posals, notably those for nuclear programs additional to MC-70. I understand the military considerations that have prompted you to seek MRBM's as part of your 1966 force requirements, in order to fulfill the nuclear strike functions now performed by your strike airerait. I also understand the long lead time necessarily involved in any such program. DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12958, Sec. 3.6 non 932006 SecDef Cont. No. 1425 cy 2. By mRlej Date 3/13/96