WASHINGTON ROUNDUP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R001200120019-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 26, 2005
• Sequence Number: 19
• Content Type: OPEN

Approved For R ` ashi'ngfr t?R a-9
Somali Missiles Senate delegation from the Armed Services and Appropriations committees accom
panied b
st
ff t
h
i
y
a
ec
n
cal experts, will visit the Somali Democratic Republic to ascer-
tain whether construction of a USSR missile
base is und
.
er way at Berbera, a port
jutting into the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea. The invitation of So-
mali Ambassador Abdullahi Ahmed Addou was accepted after the committees were
guaranteed free access for an inspection. The trip is set tentatively for July 2-7. Pie-
sentations by Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger, backed by reconnaissance
photographs (Aw&sT June 16, p. 19), that there is a major Soviet base building at
Berbera were characterized by Addou as "unfounded and of pure fabrication." So-
malia is only aiming to develop Berbera into a major free international seaport, with
airport facilities, he said, adding that the U. S. Navy has accepted an invitation to
send its ships there soon for a visit. But the ambassador declined to state whether So-
malia, in its own right, has stored missiles.
Sen. John C. Culver (D.-Iowa), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said
in a speech to the Senate: "The Soviet missiles said to be in Berbera are the old Styx
type... . This antiship missile became operational over 15 years ago, has a limited
range of only about 20 naut. mi. and carries only non-nuclear warheads. Even if a
few have been sent to Berbera, they cannot be used until put aboard missile patrol
boats." Behind the Pentagon-Somalia clash is the coming Senate showdown vote on
whether the U. S. should develop a major naval and air installation on the island of
Diego Garcia, south of the tip of India. The main argument of proponents is that the
Soviet buildup in the Indian Ocean area dictates a U. S. naval presence there.
=-y vuiaineu uy me senate Judiciary subcommittee on ad-
ministrative practice and procedure concerning the Civil Aeronautics Board's ab-
breviated investigation of illegal airline political contributions (Aw&sT Mar. 31, p.
26) have been turned over to the Justice Dept. "to see whether criminal prosecution
is warranted," according to the subcommittee's draft report. The draft, being circu-
lated for comment and not yet an official subcommittee report, states that the Mar.
21 hearings reveal "a strong likelihood of highly improper and possibly criminal be-
havior on the part of Board members themselves." Directly conflicting testimony
from then CAB acting Chairman Richard J. O'Melia and former CAB Chairman
Robert D. Timm requires additional investigation by Justice Dept., the draft said,
ivy utsc-osure Supreme Court ruled 7-2 1"~astw
Approved ForibEeld+asles2Qt {tuLal s: ~Ah~i4#fg ~~ ~m1mi 91O .~'h~i iineedoion need
?p rte' tn enance. `e Frreedom -FT
formation Act, the court said, did not repeal the section of the Federal Aviation Act
of 1958 that allows the FAA administrator to withhold from the nubile infnrmat;-
 Approved For Release 2005/11/23 : CIA-RDP80BO1495R001200120019-9
Approved For Release 2005/11/23 : CIA-RDP80BO1495R001200120019-9