Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, National Security Affairs, Volume II, Part 2

Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file

Memorandum by the Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (Cutler) to the Chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission (Strauss)¹

top secret

[Washington,] September 10, 1953.

I had a talk this morning with the President about various matters brought up at the Council Meeting yesterday.² His mind turned again, as it has very frequently, to the thermonuclear device explosion on August 12.

He said that he would like you to estimate in your opinion what this explosion might mean in the capability of the Soviets to produce such devices in the next two or three years, assuming that they have a capability as good as our best capability.

Robert Cutler

1. The source text bears the following handwritten notation: “Talked to Lewis Strauss Sept 11.”
2. For the memorandum of discussion, see p. 1210.