Secret Note Constituting an Agreement on the Stockpiling of Atomic Weapons in the Netherlands
Document 5
Note from U.S. Embassy, 26 January 1960, Secret
Foto Btz 190144a
SECRET
I have the honor to refer to Articles 20 and 21 of the Communiqué issued by the North Atlantic Council on December 19, 1957 and to conversations which have taken place between the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Government of the Netherlands and between the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Government of the United States regarding the stockpiling of atomic weapons in the Netherlands.
It is the understanding of my Government that in the course of these conversations agreement in principle was reached to the establishment in the Netherlands of elements of a stockpile of atomic weapons to be provided by the United States to meet the requirements of forces assigned to NATO. In order to implement this Agreement in principle, my Government suggests the following arrangements:
- The location of the stocks will be determined by SACEUR in accordance with approved NATO military plans and in agreement with the Netherlands and the United States military authorities or SACLANT.
- Except as otherwise agreed, the costs of land procurement and of construction, development and maintenance of the storage sites and associated facilities, including those required for the support of the United States special weapons custodial and support personnel, shall be borne by the nation for the support of whose forces the storage sites are intended. To the extent that the North Atlantic Council agrees to the NATO infrastructure funding of NATO atomic stockpile construction costs, including the cost of those installations, the apportionment of costs will be subject to NATO infrastructure procedures.
- Installations and facilities for atomic weapons storage and maintenance will be provided and maintained in accordance with NATO standards and criteria. Installations and facilities for normal logistic support (housing, messing, offices, etc.) which may not be specified under NATO criteria will be provided and maintained in a manner comparable to United States standards and as mutually agreed.
- It is recognized that the custody of any stocks of atomic weapons provided by the United States will be the responsibility of the United States and that United States personnel will be assigned in the Netherlands for this purpose. The provisions of the Agreement with Annex between the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands relating to stationing of United States forces in the Netherlands effected by an exchange of notes at The Hague August 13, 1954 will apply except as superseded by this Agreement.
- When the weapons are released by appropriate authority they will be employed in accordance with procedures established by SACEUR or SACLANT. United States forces will be responsible for the maintenance, surveillance and assembly of the atomic weapons, including the provision of personnel and technical equipment for the performance of these functions.
- External security of all atomic weapons in storage or during movement in the Netherlands will be the responsibility of the Netherlands. The details of external security arrangements will be determined by the appropriate United States and Netherlands military authorities in accordance with the directives of SACEUR or SACLANT.
- United States forces will be responsible for movement of the atomic weapons to point of exit for intra-theater redistribution of weapons as determined by SACEUR or SACLANT. Netherlands forces will be responsible for the transportation of weapons within the Netherlands subject always to the provisions of Article 6 above.
- A reliable means of signal communications will be provided by the Government of the Netherlands to meet the purposes of this Agreement. To the extent that the North Atlantic Council agrees to NATO infrastructure funding of such new communications facilities, the apportionment of costs will be subject to NATO infrastructure procedures.
- The Netherlands responsibilities cited in Articles 6 and 8 will apply only to stockpile facilities made available to meet the requirements of Netherlands forces assigned to or earmarked for NATO.
- The Netherlands will in general provide at no expense to the United States Government administrative and logistical support for United States forces in support of Netherlands units such as common items of supply, organic transportation and such other support including support for dependents as may be mutually agreed.
- Supplementary technical arrangements within the scope of the Agreement to define specific responsibilities of the respective United States and Netherlands services pertaining to the various delivery systems and associated installations will be negotiated separately between the appropriate representatives of the United States and of the Netherlands.
I propose that if the foregoing is acceptable to your Government, this note and your reply indicating such an acceptance will constitute an Agreement between our two Governments on this subject, the Agreement to enter into force on the date of your note in reply.
SECRET
DRAFT
Excellency,
Referring to the exchange of notes of today’s date regarding the stockpiling of atomic weapons in the Netherlands, I have the honor to propose an agreement concerning the following list of forces which the United States Government is authorized to station in the Netherlands in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of that agreement.
It is in accordance with the terms of the notes concerning that subject which were exchanged at The Hague on August 13, 1954 that in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6 of the notes regarding the stockpiling of atomic weapons in the Netherlands, United States Custodial Units stationed in the Netherlands be added to the list of forces exchanged at The Hague on August 13, 1954.
If the foregoing proposal is acceptable to your Government, I have the honor to suggest that this note and your Excellency’s reply thereto indicating such acceptance shall be considered as constituting an agreement between our two Governments concerning this matter which will come into force as of today’s date.
This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive, Suite 701, Gelman Library, The George Washington University, 2130 H Street NW, Washington D.C. 20037. Phone: 202 994-7000. Fax: 202 994-7005. . Read related article: “US Nuclear Weapons in the Netherlands: A First Appraisal,” 2021-01-08.
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META DATA
As Fessenden had anticipated, the JAEIG moved forward toward a favorable determination for the Netherlands fairly quickly and the two government finalized the stockpile agreement through an exchange of notes in January 1960. Given the NATO mission for the nuclear weapons, both the Hague and Washington agreed that SACEUR and SACLANT [Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic] would designate the location of the stockpiles “in accordance with approved NATO military plans” and the two governments. That SACLANT was involved suggested that naval nuclear weapons, such as anti-submarine weapons, would be involved in the program.
Other issues covered by the agreement were such matters as costs, U.S. custody, the role of “appropriate authority” in weapons release (the U.S. president), the role of U.S. forces for weapons assembly and other matters, provision of external security by Dutch forces, and the division of labor for transporting the weapons. The annex to the note provided for the deployment of U.S. custodial units in the Netherlands.