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The general debate in the Political and Security Committee, which lasted five days, revealed in sharper detail the fundamental opposition of the Soviet Union to the establishment of an Interim Committee. Mr John Foster Dulles, in outlining the United States views, stressed the responsibilities with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security conferred upon the General Assembly by the Charter, and, while he recognized the primary responsibility of the Security Council in this regard, he declared that the United States considered it necessary to establish an Interim Committee for study, inquiry, and discussion on behalf of the Assembly in the period between the present session and the third regular session. This Interim Committee, which would be composed of one representative of each member State, would have four major substantive functions : (1) The preparatory functions of examining, investigating, and reporting to the next session on matters in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security and friendly relations among nations which might be listed with the Secretary-General for inclusion on the agenda of the next regular session. In an urgent case it could advise the Secretary-General to call a special session. (2) The " follow-through " function of checking on the execution of any recommendations of the Assembly in relation to international peace and security and friendly relations. (3) To initiate the work necessary to enable the Assembly to make recommendations regarding the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace, and to initiate the studies required for the purpose of promoting international co-operation in the political field. (4) To report at the next regular session on the advisability of establishing the Committee on a permanent basis. It was, he said, the intention of the United States proposal that the Interim Committee should respect fully the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. Thus the Committee would not deal with items on the current agenda of the Security Council, nor would it study subjects already under consideration by such bodies as the Atomic Energy Commission. Furthermore, in order to avoid any question of unconstitutionality, it should be quite clear that the Interim Committee would be only " an internal organ of the Assembly, similar to others already created to study, report, and recommend to it and not to member States or any organs of the United Nations."