March 20, 1968

Mr. William C. Foster
Director

United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agenc
Department of State Building

Washington, D. C, 20452

Dear Mr. Foster:

I am very eager to write an article, or a series of them, on scientific
research for peace. I am writing you now to ask you for help in locating
and obtaining source material on the subject.

If I recall correctly, your agency was originally founded with the expecta~
tion that it might plen research programs in this area, and I would be
grateful to you for documentation on this mandate and on the policies that
have been adopted by the agency for its implementation. An outlinedof the
current research prograus supported by or for the agency would be very use-
ful, and some clarification of the way in which the conclusions of such
research can reach the public, as well.

vValsay D My

A perhaps quite similar question would be an indication of specific suggested
goals of the kind of scientific or technological innovations that could con-
tribute most directly to world stability.

While what I have in mind most immediately is work in the natural sciences,

I realize that social scientific investigation must play the largest part in
current activities, and I would be grateful for any way to obtain a sound
perspective on what is going on here. I am really at the moment more interested
in discussing the methodology than any political conclusions, and I hope you
will then not misunderstand if I suggest a specific example. But may I ask, for
example, for the source you might point me towards as a thoughtful discussion
of the theory of mutual deterrents, and how it mipbht be used to answer the

question whether there should be a previous advertisement of committed thresholds
for reaction or not.

I realize that it may be unreasonable of me to fire such a barrage of questions,
and that you may not be able to react to all of them, but I would appreciate
any comment that you can take the trouble to make.

Sincerely yours,

_ Joshua Lederberg
‘Professor of Genetics

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