OFFICIALS SUSPECT RUSSIANS SENT ATOM ARMS TO EGYPT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000400010010-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2005
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: November 22, 1973
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/06/09 .: 'I -112P75B00380R000400010010-0
! is ais Suspect C SS anS observed entering an, Egyptian I evidence" that nuclear war-'
port with nuclear weapons leftfheads had been sent for then.
f with most if not all theI As indicated by Mr. Kiss-
rS' ,6'`+ cry r weapons still on board. . inger's Conirrtents today, policy-
r u s'""A to l:...~:~ J Nuclear warheads chit low making officials still believe
levels of radiation, They areithat there is no conclusive evi-
extremely difficult to detect at1dence. But since Nov. 2 some
BY JOIN W. FINNEY any distance. Their forms do;dcfcnse officials have believed
Spcclal to The New York Times not differ substantially from I that dvidence has accumulated
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21--' had given to Ambassador conventional warheads for mis-ito the point where they think
Defense officials said today! Dobrynin, Mr. Kissinger said: silos. For these two reasons'that there is a reasonable
alone, it is said, it is difficult probability that atomic war-
that the United States had }ntel-I If the Soviet Union wen to in- to obtain "confirmatory evi-,heads were sent to Egypt.
ligence information suggesting; troduce nuclear weapons into dence," either with radiation- If some civilian officials re.
that the Soviet Union might local conflict this would be a detection devices or photo- main skeptical about the intel-
have moved nuclear warheads very grave matter and would graphs from reconnaissance ligcnce information, it is partly
into Egypt at the height of they be a fundamental shift in tradi- planes or satellites. because the Soviet Union, ex-
Arab-Israeli war last month. tional practices and one hard missiles Sell tto Egypt . cept for a brief period of coop.'
Disagreement is , reported) to reconcile with an effort to Reports `',ration with China in the nine=
within the Administration, how- . in the intelligence teen fifties, has been hesitant
bring about a responsible solu- community that the Soviet to share nuclear weapons with
ever, over how conclusive the tion." Union had introduced atomic other countries or to spread its
information is, and Secretary of; warheads in Egypt were first nuclear arsenal beyond its bor-
State Kissinger said at a news' A Key Word heard early this month after
Y dens or its forces stationed .in
conference today that tthe The emphasis in Mr. Kis- it became known that Soviet Eastern Europe.
United States had "no con-, singer's comments was upon Scud missiles had been sent to In contrast with the United
firmed evidence.". the word "confirmed, ap- Egypt during the war.. With. a States, which has equipped
ISO-mile range--long enough North Atlantic Treaty Organi-
Nevertheless, there is said to parently leaving open the ini- to reach Israeli cities from 7ation forces with nuclear
be general agreement within) plication that the United States launching points in north- weapons to be used with Amer-
the Administration that the) had at least circumstantial evi- eastern Egypt-The missilesIican permission, there is no in-
intelligence information hasi dence that Soviet nuclear war- can carry conversational or' nu- dication that the Soviet Union
raised the suspicion that Soviet heads had been sent to Egypt.' cleaer warheads. has similarly armed the War-
nuclear weapons may have At no point, Mr. Kissinger] At a meeting with reporters saw Pact forces.
been shipped into Egypt sonic started to say, "We have no l NQv. 2-at the time of the first In addition, some officials
time after the outbreak of hos- evidence," but then corrected' the reports-a senior defense say that the Soviet Union
himself to say "at least we, official, while in effect con-would presumably be reluctant
tilities Oct. 6 and that sonic, have no confirmed evidence." i ;firming the presence of Scud to station atomic warheads in
may remain there under Soviet., Commenting on the intelli ]missiles in Egypt, said there la, country where they could be
control. genre information, Senator had been "no confirmatory. seized by Arab terrorists.
But two senior members of Stennis, Democrat of Missip
the Senate Armed Services ppi and chairman of the Armed
Committee-John C. Stennis Services Committee, told. re-i
and Stuart Symington-said the porters that 'he was `not im-
pressed with the reports.
evidence did not convince them. Senator Symington, Democrat!
The intelligence information of Missouri, chairman of the]
was reportedly obtained before Joint Committee on Atomic En-
the Administration ordered a orgy's Subcommittee on Mill-
global precautionary alert of Lary Applications, said he had
American armed forces Oct. 24: investigated reports that the
Rusians had sent nuclear war-
at a time when the Soviet heads to Egypt and was "con- '
Union was believed ready to vinced they did not."
!send troops to the Suez Canal Part of the problem of in-
war zone. terpreting the evidence arises
Mr. Kissinger was then said f
froe ornifolllowingetheence men toof,
to have cautioned the Soviet the Soviet atomic weapons.
;Union through Ambassador
Anatoly F. Dobryynin about the Difference of Views
dangers of introducing nuclear Many defense analysts con-.
weapons into the Middle East. sider the methods sufficiently
Whether the intelligence infor- reliable to confirm the move-
into~
n ation was another, previously Egypt But rtoc other 1eofficials,I
undisclosed factor in the deci. particularly in the higher'
sion to order the alert was not civilian ranks of the Defense
.made clear' by United States Department and in the State
officials. Department, the intelligence
techniques provide circumstan-
At a news conference today, tial rather than conclusive
Mn I{issinger said, "We have proof. .
no confirmed evidence that the The interpretation of the in.
Soviet Union has introduced telligence information is further
nuclear weapons into E complicated, according to offi- ILLEGIB
'ro'Fd' Fl@~at~b0/0 09 : CIA-RDP75B00380R000400010010-0
and he noted, "There are Ir e r ari-acs caving 'gyp
Soviet statements rejecting this at about the same time that
allegaiion."" some-were observed entering.