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The Australian Government, the US Alliance, and the Cuban Missile Crisis: a History and Policy Analysis

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The Australian Government, the US Alliance, and the Cuban Missile Crisis: a History and Policy Analysis The Australian Government, the US alliance, and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A history and policy analysis Laura Thompson Doctor of Philosophy College of Arts & Education Victoria University, Australia 2017 Abstract In October 1962, the world was brought to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. The Cuban Missile Crisis marked the closest the United States (US) and the Soviet Union came to military conflict that might have led to nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. This thesis investigates the Australian Government’s policy response to the crisis. In doing so, it makes an original contribution to Australian Cold War history and to the extensive literature on the crisis. The Australian Government’s policy response to the crisis is examined in the context of the Australia-US alliance. A diplomatic history, this thesis relies heavily on declassified government records from Australian and American archives. Additionally, oral history interview transcripts, audio-visual materials, Hansard, newspapers, and private collections, were consulted in order to reconstruct comprehensively Australia’s policy on this matter and the factors that shaped it. This thesis examines: Australia’s awareness of the Cuban situation; the Menzies Government’s policy on the crisis, specifically, factors it considered—and did not consider—in formulating its policy; and the Government’s immediate implementation of that policy, including the reactions of some sections of the Australian community to that policy. It demonstrates that despite limited advance notice and awareness of the Cuban situation, the Government swiftly declared support for the US in the crisis, specifically, its resolution to be presented to the United Nations Security Council. It !ii reveals that certain politicians, diplomats, and public servants were concerned about: Australia’s obligations under the Australia New Zealand United States Security Treaty; the legality of the US response; the precedent set by the quarantine; the implications of US policy on the crisis regarding Australian nuclear ambitions; Australia maintaining its trade relationship with Cuba; and the repercussions the crisis could have on collective defence arrangements, which Australia relied on for its security. Despite these concerns and challenges, the Government considered the successful management of the US alliance paramount in formulating and implementing its policy on the crisis. !iii Doctor of Philosophy Declaration I, Laura Thompson, declare that the PhD thesis entitled “The Australian Government, the US alliance and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A history and policy analysis” is no more than 100,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. LAURA THOMPSON 30 August 2017 !iv To Clive, in memoriam !v Acknowledgements Victoria University, Australia (VU), awarded me a scholarship that supported me to undertake my PhD. The National Archives of Australia (NAA) and the Australian Historical Association also awarded me a digitisation scholarship that enabled me to access remotely a number of records held at the NAA, Canberra. I am sincerely grateful for their generous support. Staff at archives and libraries in Australia and the US provided valuable assistance. I am indebted to: Andrew Cairns of the NAA, Canberra, who facilitated countless declassification requests; Edmund Rutlidge of the NAA, Sydney, who knew where to dig for relevant ABC records; David Langbart and Edward Uribe of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, who were a wealth of knowledge on NARA and its records; the staff at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum; and Mark Armstrong-Roper and the staff of the VU library. I also wish to thank the individuals who kindly took time to correspond privately with me on my research. I am especially grateful to my supervisors, Phillip Deery and Allan Patience, as well as Lyndon Burford, Leonardo Campus, Benoît Pelopidas, and those who attended the Wilson Center’s Nuclear History Boot Camp 2016, for their insights, suggestions, and constructive feedback, from which this thesis has benefited immensely. My colleagues at Victoria University, particularly those in office E212, have provided me with incredible support and many laughs throughout my PhD experience. Special thanks goes to Lutfiye Ali, Kara Dadswell, and Rob Kaczan. Finally, thank you to my grandfather for inspiring my love of history and my family for fostering it. Thank you to Jason Stanley for his support, and to my friends for their encouragement and patience. Thank you to Joshua Egan who, in recent months, has taken care of me so that I could take care of the PhD. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my beautiful dog and study buddy, Clive, the first to hear all of my research ideas. !vi Contents Tables viii Illustrations ix Acronyms and Abbreviations x Note on Publications xv Note on Sources xvi Introduction 1 1 Australians Learn of the Crisis 18 2 Cabinet Formulates Australia’s Policy on the Crisis 88 3 The Cuban Crisis and Australian Nuclear Ambitions 125 4 Australian Legal and Ethical Commitments to the US 194 5 Australia-Cuba Trade: An Irritant in Australia-US Relations 222 6 Initial Implementation of Australia’s Policy on the Crisis at Home and Abroad 272 Conclusion 333 Bibliography 341 !vii Tables Table 1 Total value of Australian imports from, and exports to, Cuba for financial years 1952–64. !viii Illustrations Illustrations contained in this thesis have been reproduced with the permission of Fairfax Syndication and the JFK Library: Illustration 1 Sydney Morning Herald, 25 October 1962, 4. Illustration 2 Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November 1962, 2. Illustration 3 John F. Kennedy Library and Museum (JFK Library): 1963-07-08 B, AR, AR8009-B, C, “Luncheon in Honor [sic] of the Prime Minister of Australia Robert Gordon Menzies, 1:30PM,” 8 July 1963. Illustration 4 Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 1962, 2. Illustration 5 Sydney Morning Herald, 2 November 1962, 2. Illustration 6 Sydney Morning Herald, 26 October 1962, 2. !ix Acronyms and Abbreviations AAEC Australian Atomic Energy Commission ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission/Corporation ACT Australian Capital Territory AEST Australian Eastern Standard Time AFA Air Force Association AIB Allied Intelligence Bureau ALP Australian Labor Party AMA Australian Medical Association ANU Australian National University ANZ Archives New Zealand ANZAM Australian, New Zealand and Malayan area ANZUS Australia New Zealand United States Security Treaty (1951)/ alliance ASD Australian Signals Directorate ASIS Australian Secret Intelligence Service AT&T American Telephone and Telegraph Company AUST Australia AUSTEO Australian Eyes Only AWM Australian War Memorial BAC British Aircraft Corporation !x BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BHP Broken Hill Propriety Company Limited CDF Central Decimal File CIA Central Intelligence Agency COCOM Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls CPD Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation CSR Colonial Sugar Refining Company CTBTO Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation CWIHP Cold War International History Project DCGS Deputy Chief of the General Staff DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade DMI Directorate of Military Intelligence DSB Defence Signals Branch EEC European Economic Community END Extended nuclear deterrence EST US Eastern Standard Time ExComm Executive Committee of the National Security Council FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters GMT Greenwich Mean Time IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency !xi ICBM Intercontinental ballistic missile IISS International Institute for Strategic Studies ITN Independent Television News ITV Independent Television Network IRSIG International Regulations on SIGINT JFK John F. Kennedy JIB Joint Intelligence Bureau JIC Joint Intelligence Committee KT Kilo-ton MRBM Medium-range ballistic missile NAA National Archives of Australia NARA National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, US NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NFZ Nuclear-free zone NLA National Library of Australia, Canberra NMA National Museum of Australia, Canberra NPT Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968) NSA National Security Archive NSW New South Wales NTBT Nuclear Test Ban Treaty !xii NTI Nuclear Threat Initiative OACSI Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence OB Outside Broadcast OSS Office of Strategic Services PKI Indonesian communist party PM Prime Minister PRC People’s Republic of China RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RAF Royal Air Force RG Record Group RSSAILA Returned Sailors’, Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia SAGW Surface-to-air guided weapon SEATO South East Asia Treaty Organisation SIA Secret Intelligence Australia SIGINT Signals Intelligence SIS Secret Intelligence Service SLBM Submarine-launched ballistic missile SOE Special Operations Executive TFX Tactical Fighter Experimental TNT Trinitrotoluene UK United Kingdom !xiii UKUSA United Kingdom-United States Agreement UN United Nations UN Comtrade United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database US United
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