What did the declassified documents reveal?

From the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this is a declassified record detailing discussions on strategic military options during the Korean War, dated March twenty-seventh, nineteen-fifty-three. This document provides insight into high-level deliberations regarding the potential use of chemical and atomic weapons, as sourced from documents2.theblackvault.com. This document, originally classified Top Secret, was released under the Freedom of Information Act and subsequently declassified, making it available through public archives. Its release provides a direct window into the strategic thinking of U.S. military and diplomatic leaders during a critical period of the Cold War. This is a draft record, not cleared with any of the participants, detailing the substance of discussions from a State-Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting held in Room 2C-923, the Pentagon Building, on Friday, March twenty-seventh, nineteen-fifty-three. Present were General Bradley, Mr. Paul H. Nitze, General Collins, Mr. John M. Allison, General Vandenberg, Mr. Herman L. Phleger, Admiral Fechteler, Mr. Joseph Chase, General Lemnitzer, Mr. Frederick E. Nolting, Admiral Libby, Mr. Charles C. Stelle, General White, Admiral Fife, Mr. S. Everett Gleason, and Admiral Smith. Admiral Fechteler stated, "As I understand it on the directive, we are going to strike out the phrase, 'or offensively,' use Allison's language, and then Allison and Libby can work out a supplementary message." Mr. Allison responded, "That's fine, but I would like to remind you that our Secretary has not yet studied or approved the directive." Regarding chemical ammunition for Korea, General Bradley reported, "General Clark has asked that he be given a supply of chemical ammunition to store in Japan. He knows that our policy is to use chemical warfare only in retaliation against chemical attack, but he believes that if the enemy should undertake chemical warfare against us, it would take too long to transport it for retaliatory use after the attack, and that therefore he should have a store of such ammunition in Japan. We thought that we would like to talk this over with you before we sent forward a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense." Mr. Nitze inquired, "Have we sent chemical ammunition to N-A-T-O?" General Bradley replied, "I don't think so, but we did have chemical ammunition in Europe during the last war and there may well be considerable amounts of it still over there." Mr. Nitze then stated, "I had not realized that the question related only to the Far East, and I think we would have to take another look at it on that basis." General Collins added, "In the new paper on alternative courses of action in Korea that we have just sent forward, we had a section which indicated that consideration should be given to use of atomic weapons. Personally, I am very skeptical about the value of using atomic weapons tactically in Korea. The Communists are dug into positions in depth over a front…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA From The Department Of State And The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, This

◆ BLUF — The short version

From the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this is a declassified record detailing discussions on strategic military options during the Korean War, dated March twenty-seventh, nineteen-fifty-three. com. This document, originally classified Top Secret, was released under the Freedom of Information Act and subsequently declassified, making it available through public archives.

Date: OCT 7 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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From the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this is a declassified record detailing discussions on strategic military options during the Korean War, dated March twenty-seventh, nineteen-fifty-three. This document provides insight into high-level deliberations regarding the potential…

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Questions about this case

What was CIA From The Department Of State And The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, This about?: From the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this is a declassified record detailing discussions on strategic military options during the Korean War, dated March twenty-seventh, nineteen-fifty-three. com. This document, originally classified Top Secret, was released under the Freedom of Information Act and subsequently declassified, making it available through public archives.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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