'69 REPORT TO NIXON WAS SPLIT ON WAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R000300170014-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 6, 2000
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: April 25, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

i'~.sk~~;Zzv:; O POST
Approved For Release 2001/03 aPdI)QADP80-01601 RO
09
Xi ssinge ~ Study partment-while conceding Gravel's con-'
gressional immunity-nevertheless sought
to question his aides about the incident.
By Spencer Rich The case was argued before the Supreme
Washinrton Post Staff Writer Court only last week.
C In that could prove a virtual replay of
the Pentagon papers dispute, a govern-
ment study of the Vietnam war-prepared
for President Nixon just after he took
office three years ago-is-being circulated
here and has come into the possession of
several reporters and publications. ,
The unpublished report was put to-
gether under the direction of presidential
aide Henry A. Kissinger.
-It was designed to help lay out policy
alternatives in Vietnam for the new Nixon
administration. It was completed in
February, 1969.
Titled "Responses to National Security
Study Memorandum I," the document
concentrates on the political and military
situation in North and South Vietnam.
Although different government agencies
making evaluations all responded some.
what differently to the basic questions
posed, the document in general concludes
that while bombing had a substantial im-
pact, it, was not playing a decisive role
in the war.
Reports of the existence of a "Kissinger
study"-called "NSSM-I" for short-began
to circulate on Capitol *Hill last week.
The study was quoted by columnist Jack
Anderson in newspapers yesterday. A
discussion of the document, along with
several purported excerpts, also appears
in the current issue of Newsweek maga-
zine.
1 Several copies of the document are
believed to be circulating in Washington.
One' has been obtained by The Washing-
ton Post.
A copy is said to be in the possession
of Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska). Gravel
hopes to read it into the Congressional
Record on the Senate floor today.
Regardless of its classification the docu-
ment would become privileged and part
of the public record if Gravel succeeds,
in obtaining permission to make it part
of the official Senate debate,
It was Gravel who, only nine months
ago, obtained a copy of the then-classified
Pentagon papers from a private source
and read them into the record of a hastily
called subcommittee meeting shortly after
their publication had begun in The New
York Times. The repercussions of that
act are still echoing. as the Justice De-
Gravel's reading of the Pentagon'
papers, at a subcommittee meeting that
many senators felt was illegally called,
angered a number of senators. His read-
ing of the Kiss inger-NSSM study today is
likely to rekindle some of that resent
ment.
The
Nixon
NSSM-1 study was ordered by the
administration on Jan. 21, 1969-
as one of its first acts after
coming to office on.a pledge
tp end the war.. a
Kissinger apparently
posed 28 questions about the
war and the bombing. They
bought to determine thei'
ability of the enemy forces
to keep up . their flow of
material to the battle areas,
enemy 'forces . to continue
fighting and to keep up their
flow of materiel to the battle
areas..
The . answers were pro-
vided by the CIA. Defense
Department and State De-
partment, and they varied.
widely.
The CIA, in one of its re-
ports, quoted by Newsweek,
said, "The air war did not
seriously affect the flow of
men and supplies to Com-
munist forces in Lao and
South Vietnam. Nor did it
significantly erode North.
Vietnam's military defense
capability or Hanoi's deter-
mination, to persist in the
war"
STATINTL
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000300170014-9