Page:The Air Force Role In Developing International Outer Space Law (Terrill, 1999).djvu/65

 In preparation for the 16th UN General Assembly in 1961, the Department of State circulated a position paper proposing a US sponsored initiative rifled "Advocacy of a Regime of Peace and Law in Outer Space." Essentially, its purpose was to begin UN discussions of various space law issues. Will Carroll, a civilian attorney assigned to the Air Force JAG's International Law Division, represented the Air Force in meetings with Benjamin Foreman, DOD assistant general counsel for international affairs. Foreman had been designated by Cyrus R. Vance, DOD's general counsel, to define DOD's legal concerns in outer space for the former's use in dealing with a recent State Department outer space initiative.

Cyrus R. Vance (center, arms crossed) gets briefing in Vietnam while serving as secretary of defense. Vance had earlier served as general counsel in DOD and played a key role in formulating the Kennedy administration's space policy, especially as it related to international law.

After discussions with Carroll and representatives of JAGs from the other services, Foreman recommended to Vance that he object to any UN discussion of the legality of orbiting space vehicles. The DOD background paper for a planning luncheon regarding the Department of State initiative noted that the Air Force continued to take the position that no agreements concerning the use of outer space should be made until the United States was assured that the agreements were "genuinely reciprocal." Also noted was the fact that the Air Force had expressed a