’
~15L-
a position even to indicate how complete or incomplete their own knowledge of
production processes is.
Presumably what they ragard as necessary they believe to
be feasible.
As a matter of fact, no one questions the caleectyof a national government
Oper
to protect itself against the illegal production of bombs within its territory.
It follows, therefore, that there are unlikely to be insuperable scientific or
. technical obstacles
to effective inspection and control.
exist, are political.
The obstecles,
if they
All that a social scientist can now say is that if
adequate inspection is possible through careful inspection of a few strategic control points--like the sites of known uranium deposits, for example--the prospects
are better than if adequate inspection requires the policing of the internal
affairs of each country so complete that that country's basic social institutions
are threatened.
It would be premature for policy-makers to make long-term
decisions of fundamental importance until the analysis of the feasibility of inspection is more complete than it now appears to be.
In the meantime, the United States must have some policy.
This policy must
be able to win for the nations of the world time to make a more profound study of
the problem of controlling atomic enercy on a long-term basis.
‘So long as the
policy is clearly understood to be a short-run policy, the necessity for evolving
a long-term solution will not be forgotten.
Neither will the necessity of keeping
the short-term policy in harmony with ultimate goals.
Judged by these standards, how adequate is the beginning made by the United
States in the international control of atomic energy?
have been held.
Two three-power conferences
The first, the so-called Potomac Conference resulted on November
15, 1945, in the "Agreed Declaration" by President Truman and Prime Ministers
Attlee and King.100
The second, held the following month at Moscow, was at the
Foreign Minister level, and resulted on December 27, 1915, in a joint communiqué
100, Department of State Bulletin, November 18, 195, p. 781.