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Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-089-004
Sound recording of a meeting held on May 28, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency William Foster, and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs William R. Tyler. The main subject of the meeting is Europe and specifically the current situation concerning the Multilateral Force (MLF). An interview that morning with German minister Kai-Uwe von Hassel has President Kennedy quite concerned over Germany and prospects for the MLF. The group also is working on gaining British support for the MLF; a draft letter to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan is reviewed. Near the end of the meeting the treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), and possible upcoming negotiations on the treaty are debated, with President Kennedy taking a pessimistic view of the prospects for success of the negotiations. Four segments of the recording totaling 57 seconds have been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 12958. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 89, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 89 in its entirety.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-089-002
Sound recording of a meeting held on May 25, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss European Defense and Canadian/European balance of payments issues. Soon after the meeting begins President Kennedy takes a 14-minute telephone call with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, during which President Kennedy is provided with a synopsis of the previous day’s meeting in New York between Attorney General Kennedy, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, James Baldwin and other black leaders who met to discuss the present civil rights situation in Alabama. Please note that only the President’s side of the conversation can be heard in this recording. Meeting discussions resume after the telephone call. Three segments of the recording totaling 1 minutes and 51 seconds have been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 12958. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 89, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 89 in its entirety.