UN General Assembly
1951

70. First, Mr. Truman, President of the United States, in his speech on November 8, included in his proposal on the reduction of armaments - which, as I have already mentioned, is reduced to a simple census of basic simpler weapons - a reserve; according to this, the proposed reduction of armaments cannot really be undertaken until there is an adequate international system, adding that, in order to reduce armaments, it was necessary above all to have an equitable and safe procedure. Mr. Truman did not bother to explain what he meant by this: a safe international system and a fair and safe procedure. Can it not be inferred from his speech that the United States will not be ready to implement the arms reduction program until this fair and safe international procedure has been developed? (I wonder if there is not a discreet allusion to the right of the veto in there, which apparently, would make both our Organization and its procedure unsafe.