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An interesting letter from Bradbury to Commissioner Libby on 15 June 59 comments
aoe
on some memoranda from Commissioner Graham.
After addressing himself to the specific
ZF
areas of various weapons development and laboratory practices, Bradbury gets into a
More general area of the AEC's responsibilities in relation to the nations needs and
the DOD's ability to set requirements and understand developments.
He notes that the
DOD, "or one or another section, can be counted on to respond with enthusiasm to
almost any proposal connected with atomic weapons which may be different in some way or
another from existed objects, particularly if it might require a whole new weapons
system.
This willingness to express interest and allege importance is for extraneous
reasons no doubt greater at this time than it has been in the past.
The likelihood
or imminience of success of achieving the prescribed objectives is not a real factor
with them; but only the statement by someone with a Ph.d in physics that "it might
be possible.”
This makes me wonder if the AEC should not be careful in the introducing
its "gleam-n-the-eye" studies concepts into DOD circles.
While very close cooperation
between AEC and DOD is essential in design and development phases of weapons, and while
the AEC should keep in continual view the full range of military needs as they might
development, a too early identification of a nuclear conceptual possibility with a
possible military interest can lead to a too early and too long-range freezing of
research programs, or rather, converting a legitimate research program into a dubious
development program.
suggestions to offer."
Thought this question concerns me, I do not have any useful
I feel Livermore's attitudes and perhaps optimistic proposals
and presentations in some circles may prompt Bradbury to feel this way.
&
I should mention that there is correspondence through these years having to do £,
the exchange of information with the United Kingdom through the JOWOG's as set up about
the early portion of the moratorium.
There is also mention of Stocktake meetings which
are just the overall look at the British and US programs as opposed to the more specific
areas looked at by the JOWOC's.