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1.
REPORT BY THE NET EVALUATION SUBCO!MITTER
(SC Actions Nos. 1260, 1330, 1430, 1463, 1532, and 1641;
nsc 5605)
Generel Cutler opened the meeting by informing the Council that
it was to hear a briefing of the annual report submitted by the Net
Evaluation Subcomaittee of the NSC, pursuant to the directive recoumended by the Council end approved by the President on May 2h, 1956
(uSC 5605).
Under the terms of the eforementioned directive, the Sub-
cormittee wes established es part ofa perranent procedure "to provide
integrated evaluations of the net capabilities of the USSR, in the
event of gensrel war, to irflict direct injury upon the continental
United States and to provide continval vatch for chenges wolch would
significently alter its net capabilities." General Cutler identified
the members of the NSC Subcommittee as follows: General Twining,
Chaixran; the Director, Office of Defense Mobilization; the Cheirran,
Atomic Energy Conmission; the Federal Civil Defense Administrator;
the Director of Central Intelligence; end the Chairmen of the Council's
Internal Seeurity Connittees.
He also rcferred to the Svbeci-nittea's
Staff Director, appointed by the Fresident, General Gerald C. Thoxss,
USEC (Rat.).
1 Cutler then introtuced the Chairman of the Subcommittee,
ning, who in turn introduced General Thoms.
General Thoms sviuwsrised the Subecoittee's terms of reference
&s outlined in HSC 5605 noting thet the report ccvered the period
through mid-1060. He added that, although the USSR ves not credited
th an ICBM capability in this year's report, the Russians will indeed
have a substantial ICEM ceyability in 1960, according to reliable repcerts
recently received vy the Subcomniittee. General Thomas iniicated that in
its vor-gaming for parposes of this year's report, the Subconnittee
omitted cversees bases, corfining itself, irsofar as U.S. forces were
concerned, to continental U.S. elements. He indicated thet et the outset
the Subcomalitee Steff prepared euxiliary terms of reference and basic
sesusptions consistent with MSC 5605.
These terns ard essunptions
facilitated the raking of a realistic evaluation of U.S. and VESR cepebilities and vulnerabilities.
After outlining the Subecrmittte's general
&pproach to the problem, General Thco.as minticned trierfly the several
agencies which contributed to and othervise participated in the prepsra-
REPRODUCED AT THE DWIGHT, D. EISENBOWER LIBRARY
ma.”
‘a
tion of this year's Net Eveluaticn Report.
General Thomas next intreduced Brig. General W. W. Smith, USAF, the
osputy Director of the Subcoraittee Staff. General Sith outlined in
dctail the basic assumptions on which this year’s net evaluation exercise wes tased. These included the assumption that the USSR would
roy
There follows a summary of the discussion at the meeting and
the main points taken.