X Article - The Clifford-Elsey Report

The Clifford-Elsey Report

In July 1946, President Truman enlisted the services of one of his senior advisers, Clark Clifford, to prepare a report on Soviet relations that would provide detail on Soviet disregard for post-war agreements. The President, who was growing frustrated by Soviet actions, wanted “to be ready to reveal to the whole world the full truth about the Russian failure to honor agreements.” With the assistance of George Elsey, Clifford set out to write a report that would take the analysis of the Long Telegram and translate it into concrete policy recommendations. The pair solicited the input of senior officials in the Departments of State, War, and Justice, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Central Intelligence Group, and utilized the expertise of George Kennan and Charles Bohlen in writing their report.

The final report, entitled American Relations with the Soviet Union, was presented solely to the President on September 24, 1946, and it did not circulate beyond his desk. In fact, President Truman ordered that all copies of the report be delivered to him because the report was of great value to him “but if it leaked, it would blow the roof off the White House...we’d have the most serious situation on our hands that has yet occurred in my Administration.” The report would remain top secret and un-circulated until it appeared in Arthur Krock’s Memoirs in 1968.

The report provided Truman with the background of wartime relations with the Soviet Union, insight into existing agreements, and most important, detail on Soviet violations of agreements with the United States. It also stressed the importance of a well-informed public because “only a well-informed public will support the stern policies which Soviet activities make imperative”.

The first mention of the concept of “restraining and confining” the Soviet influence appeared in the Clifford-Elsey Report.