Mutual Defense and NATO When the Eisenhower Administration embraced test ban negotiations, it also sought closer ties with America's allies. The Administration obtained an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act on July 2, 1958, which allowed the United States to transfer to its allies nonnuclear components of atomic weapons and certain information about the weapons. The next day the United States and the United Kingdomsigned a broad agreement which permitted the exchange of detailed atomic weapon .information, nonnuclear weapon camponents, and certain weapon materials. Within a year more restricted mutual defense agreements were concluded with Canada, France, West Germany, Greece, the Netherlends, and Turkey. The Commission henceforth had to decide what information or parts could be given each nation and to monitor jointly with the Department of Defense the information and camponents going overseas, “3 The Limited Test Ban Treaty The Geneva test ban talks, which eventually made more progress than most East-West negotiations during the 1950's, stumbled over verification primarily because of the | aifficulty of detecting undercroun nuclear explosions. The negotiations stimulated attention within the Commission to the problems of detecting nuclear weapon tests. In cooperation with the Department of Defense, the Commission established the Vela programs to explore the detection of tests performec wnidcerground and in outer space, and the monitoring of tests by satellite. During the Geneva negotiations both the United States and the Scviet Union refrained from testing, resulting in an unpoliced test moratecri=.