LETTER TO WILLIAM J. CASEY FROM EDWARD W. SIMON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M00539R002804720030-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 21, 2009
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: November 1, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
ROUTING SLIP
EXDIR
DDA
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DDS&T
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3637 (1041)
Compt
C/ACIS
SUSPENSE
INFO
43utive Secretary
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11 -3 ecUt1Ve Registry
85-
4431
November 1, 1985
William J. Casey
Director-, Central Intelligence
Agency
Washington, DC 20505
Enclosed is your copy of a letter to the President--of-the United-
States suggesting some solutions to the dilemma of Nuclear
Disarmament.
- My-purpose, as a: concerned individual,-is to simultaneously bring this-
me-s sage to your attention. As an official-and- leader,-your positive
action-and support to this concept can help move us toward the goal of
controlling and eliminating this major problem.
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August 6, 1985
President Reagan
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. President:
As President of the United States, you carry awesome responsibilities,
particularly in the areas of National Defense. I personally admire the
way you appear to be handling them; however, as a citizen, I wish to
express some viewpoints regarding Nuclear Disarmament and would deeply
appreciate your reply and comments.
Personal Assumptions and Viewpoints
(1) Nuclear Weapons will not prevent Nuclear War! It's impossible to
safely control and monitor this kind of power on a human level
because when man has the power to destroy, he will ... eventually.
(2) Greed and lust for power is part of human nature and is a fact of
life. At times these traits are tempered by reason and compassion,
but more often fueled by ignorance and hatred. Therefore, when
several opposing forces possess destructive power of nuclear mag-
nitude, all life lives in the shadow of instant annihilation based
on individual and random decisions. Once unleashed, there is no
turning back and no stopping point!
(3)
Scare tactics and jockeying for advantages of strength through
escalation of nuclear weapons won't work as a deterrent- In
this complex world, confrontations over strategic interests,
overreactions to international tensions or miscalculations are
unavoidable and will happen. The question is not "if" but
"when".!
(4) S.A.L.T. agreements, non-proliferation treaties, parity and the
like will never insure survival because the capacity for total
destruction will still be retained even if a limited disarmament
is negotiated.
(5)
Survival of life should take priority over all things and all
ideologies, be they Political, Religious, Economic or Social,
because in the event of Nuclear War, these things will cease to
exist anyway.
(6) There can be a solution to this dilemma, however, if reasonable
people in power will make the kind of effort and commitment to
compromise, negotiate and, most importantly, re-conceptualize.
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President Reagan
Page 2
August 6, 1985
Concept Suggested and Personal Viewpoint
(1)
Remove Nuclear Weapons from all nations and outlaw them through
a Multi-National World Body. Call for the strengthening, activa-
tion and reorganization of the United Nations and develop it into
the world governing power it was designed to be. Its ultimate
purpose would be to eliminate Nuclear Weapons,through an organized,
systematic and proportionate process and to maintain these weapons'
future extinction.
(2) As a Body, it could elect a Governing Tribunal along with a balance
of power similar to a large-scale National Government. (At present,
I understand the U.N. to be only a forum for World opinion without
the power base necessary to control crisis, and is ultimately
ineffective.) All nations would proportionately contribute ade-
quate funds (now used for making weapons), armies and equipment to
this "Body" and commission it to control and absorb all Nuclear
bombs and warheads from all nations.
(3) Once properly organized, this organization would govern the methods,
locations, dates and times toward achieving the goal of liquidating
all Nuclear Weapons in a simultaneous and proportionate fashion
through agreements and cooperation between nations. It would then
be charged with locating, collecting, diffusing and dismantling
every Nuclear warhead through direct supervision with the essential
technical manpower and equipment necessary to accomplish this task.
(4) It would have the authority, technology and organization to verify
and keep surveillance on every nation on earth for an indefinite
period to insure compliance and to ban the capacity for further
production of Nuclear Weaons. This organization would lay down
ground rules on a world level that could be carried out and con-
trolled through international representation and forces. The major
conditions being that only conventional weapons could be manufac-
tured and maintained anat all Nuclear Weapons must be orderly
turned over to this "controlling Body" for dismantling and/or
destruction.
Individual nations (like individuals) are unable to negotiate agreements
between themselves when they can't trust each other. They need an
arbitrator, and what better arbitrator can there be than one that repre-
sents everyone?
Many who have the power of office may say that this is wishful thinking
and fraught with impractical idealism and naivety. Their rebuttal might
be that nations must maintain their "Security" and "Sovereignty" through
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President Reagan
Page 3 .
August 6, 1985
"Strength.". However, if these same people can realize that the destructive
power we've created to "protect" us can and probably will turn on us by our
own hands, then we can all focus on the real enemy and deal with it accord-
ingly., _.
"Surely, with commitment, this can be negotiated and accomplished within
five years. If our country would make the effort to influence this direc-
tion in arms negotiations, with total commitment to the process - and not
give up when it seems impossible to achieve - then, perhaps, the future
can be insured.
Mr. President: Conditions today demand that the probability for Nuclear
War be eliminated. Presumably, all of Earth's sane
population (and their leaders) would like to eliminate
Nuclear Weapons from their arsenals provided it could
be done without posing a greater threat. Why can't this
be accomplished by approaching negotiations along lines
outlined above?
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