signed unbound
1979 · Washington, D.C.
by VANCE, Cyrus R. (1917 - 2002)
Washington, D.C., 1979. unbound. 1 page, 10.5 x 8 inches, Washington, D.C., June 19, 1979. Written to George Ball, former Under Secretary of State under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, informing him that President Carter would like him to review the prospectus relevant to the "newly signed" Salt Treaty, in full: "As you know, the President and President Brezhnev have signed a new strategic arms limitation treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. In review of the critical importance of this undertaking, the President wanted you to see and review the relevant documents at the earliest opportunity. I am enclosing advance texts of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Treaty (with their associated Agreed Statements and Common Understandings); the Joint Statement of Principles and Basic Guidelines for Subsequent Negotiations on the Limitation of Strategic Arms; A Memorandum Regarding the Establishment of a Data Base on the Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms (together with a Statement of Data on the Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms as of the date of signature of the Treaty); and a Soviet Statement on Backfire. The President will transmit the official texts of these documents to the Senate upon his return from Vienna. I hope that you will give these documents your most careful consideration." George Ball (1909 - 1994) was Under Secretary of State 1961 to 1966. He is remembered as the only dissenter against the escalation of the Vietnam War. He shaped American policy regarding trade expansion, the Congo, the Multilateral Force, policy toward de Gaulle France, Israel and the Middle East, and the Iranian Revolution. George Ball knew Cyrus Vance when the later was Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Johnson and both were very influential in augmenting American Foreign Policy, as both had the ear of the President. At the time this letter was written, the Carter Administration had provided Ball with some of the greatest military secrets of the United States and the Soviet Union, yet he did not possess even the minimal of Security Clearances. Paperclip impression and gentle browning at the top; unfolded and in very good condition. United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to that position, he was the Secretary of the Army and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. (Inventory #: 266934)