V o L u m e I : a d

the opportunity for East-West rapprochement seemed in the offing, as the

USSR became more pliable in its foreign policies. This new atmosphere cast

doubts on the necessity of NATO’s costly defense expenditures and its

approach to strategic defense.

The new international environment and the recent changes within

NATO made essential a review of its strategic policies. Upon the initiative of

Harmel, NATO’s North Atlantic Council undertook to examine East-West

relations, NATO’s internal organizational structure, and its overall defense

strategy.

In December 1966 Harmel was tasked with studying the future goals of

NATO and the means by which to achieve them. In December 1967, the

North Atlantic Council embraced the Harmel Report, together with NATO’s

new strategic concept of flexible response and a five-year plan for defense

policy development. The Harmel Report proposed increased dialogue and

consultation to ease East-West relations and the maintenance of NATO’s

basic defensive capabilities. In essence, the report embraced the concept of

détente, which would soon be implemented by the United States under Pres-

ident Richard M. Nixon.

In spite of calls for détente, the report could not rule out the possibility

of a future crisis. It therefore suggested that the Allies maintain suitable mil-

itary capabilities to ensure a balanced response commensurate with the threat

that it faced. Thus, the strategic concept known as flexible response was

included in the report’s recommendations. Flexible response would provide

NATO with a variety of military options—from conventional to nuclear—in

the event of a future conflict. Perhaps the Harmel Report’s biggest achieve-

ment was the restoration of harmony among NATO’s members.

Anna Boros-McGee

See also

Détente; North Atlantic Treaty; North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Origins and

Formation of

References

Kaplan, Lawrence S. NATO and the United States: The Enduring Alliance. New York:

Twayne, 1994.

Schmidt, Gustave, ed. A History of NATO: The First Fifty Years. 3 vols. New York: Pal-

grave Macmillan, 2001.

Presidential advisor, roving ambassador, and governor of New York. Born on

15 November 1891 in New York City into a wealthy family, Averell Harri-

man graduated from Yale in 1913. He entered the banking and shipbuild-

ing businesses and in 1932 became the board chairman of the Union Pacific

Harriman, William Averell

895

Harriman, William

Averell

(1891–1986)

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Railroad. During President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New

Deal, Harriman worked for the National Recovery Admin-

istration (1934–1935) before joining the Commerce Depart-

ment in 1937. In 1941 he became a top administrator in the

Lend-Lease program.

In 1943 President Roosevelt named Harriman ambas-

sador to the Soviet Union, a post he held until 1946. Harri-

man saw clearly the impending conflict with the Soviets

over Eastern Europe and urged a firm hand in any negoti-

ations with Moscow. President Harry S. Truman named

Harriman ambassador to the United Kingdom in April 1946,

a post he held only until October, when he was named sec-

retary of commerce. In 1948 Harriman became chief admin-

istrator of the Marshall Plan. In 1950 during the Korean

War he became Truman’s national security advisor. In 1951

Harriman headed the Mutual Security Agency to coordi-

nate aid programs to Europe, a post he held until 1953.

Harriman unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party’s

nomination for president in both 1952 and 1956. He was

elected governor of New York in 1954, serving one term.

Initially named ambassador at large by President John F.

Kennedy in 1961, Harriman became assistant secretary of

state for Far Eastern affairs in November 1961, where he

played a key role in ending the Lao conflict. In 1963 he

became undersecretary of state for political affairs, negoti-

ating the limited nuclear test–ban treaty with the Soviets

in 1963.

The expansion of the Vietnam War led to more important postings for Har-

riman, who was originally a hawk on Vietnam. President Lyndon B. Johnson

appointed Harriman ambassador at large for Southeast Asian Affairs. He served

in that post during 1965–1968, traveling extensively and working to secure sup-

port for American involvement in Vietnam. As the war turned into an American

quagmire, Harriman searched globally seeking a negotiated peace settlement,

becoming a dove on the war. In 1968, President Johnson dispatched Harriman

as lead negotiator to the Paris peace talks. Harriman found his efforts ham-

pered by the refusal of Moscow to rein in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

(DRV, North Vietnam), by the unwillingness of Hanoi to negotiate in good

faith, by the inability of Johnson to follow through on his proposals, and by the

intransigence of the South Vietnamese government. With the election of

Richard Nixon as president, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. replaced Harriman as the

lead negotiator. Harriman returned to public service again in 1978 during Pres-

ident Jimmy Carter’s administration and led the American delegation to the

United Nations General Assembly’s special session on disarmament.

Harriman wrote a number of books, including Peace with Russia (1959),

America and Russia in a Changing World (1971), and Special Envoy to Churchill

and Stalin, 1941–1946 (1975). He continued to make official visits to the Soviet

896

Harriman, William Averell

Financier, industrialist, diplomat, and governor of New

York, W. Averell Harriman had distinguished careers both

in the private sector and in government, and was one of

the nation’s top diplomats. (Library of Congress)

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