LETTER TO RONALD REAGAN FROM JAMES A. MCCLURE, MALCOLM WALLOP, STEVE SYMMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M01152R000400500002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 10, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

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ER 85-4937
Office of Legislative Liaison
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3. Admin Officer
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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
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OR f i l l 0,-.,,,51 I 1-:X: : _ 71777777
United states
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185- 4937 " H
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December 10, 1985
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The fundamental-issue affecting American national
security is whether the United States should continue.to
comply with the unequal, unratified SALT II Treaty, or
finally allow this still proposed Treaty to expire on
December 31, 1985, under its.own terms. Your decisive
personal leadership is required on this issue.-
Your own position opposing the "fatally flawed" SALT -I-I
Treaty was made-quite clear-during-the 1980 Presidential-:
campaign. As the attached annex indicates, we'have just - --
learned that you sought the withdrawal of---the -proposed SALT
II Treaty at a National Security Council meeting on May-.21,
1981 but that the State Department worked to maintain the -
existing Carter Administration - "interim restraint, -
no-undercut" policy of complying with-SALT I-I.---In-June,
1982, the State Department's defiance of your request went
even further, and the State Department reportedly converted
SALT II into an even more unequal arrangement tantamount to a
secret Executi-ve Agreement. This action also defied the
Jackson Amendment requirement for equality, as well as the
Constitution and the Arms Control and-Disarmament Act. Now
we have learned from news reports of a briefing by Secretary
of State George--Shultz that the State Department-has gone--
still further,. and --has- agreed with-the-Soviets---to-extend
indefinitely--this-unratified Treaty even--.after it: expires.--
We agree with your long-standing-statements and_with_the_.__
report of the--Senate Armed Services.=Committee that- U.S:-SALT
II compliance -has--not---been in the--national- security interest of the United States.--- Continued U-.-S. -SALT- II compliance will
require the UP=S. to-destroy 2,500=more warheads on highly--
survivable Poseidon'- submarines. -_-Such massive. U.S.--unilateral _
disarmament under- SALT II -will- seriously.- undercut all
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remaining military, economic, and political arguments for
your own SDI and Strategic Modernization Program. We
therefore request that you advise us as to whether you will
allow SALT II to expire on December 31, 1985.
Very respectfully,
Annex: Analysis of-:-the=:Constitutional -
Status and Hilitary Effects of
the SALT II Treaty
Copies to: ----"Secretary -of--Defense
Secretary -of--.State--
Chairman, JCS
Director, CIA
Director, ACDA
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ANNEX: Analysis of the Constitution Status and Military
Effects of the SALT II Treaty
The fundamental issue affecting American national
security is whether the U.S. should continue to comply with
the unequal, unratified SALT II Treaty, or finally allow this
still proposed Treaty- to expire on December 31,- 1985 under -
its own terms. Your decisive personal leadership is required
on this issue.
Your -SALT II Position .
Your own position on the proposed SALT II Treaty was
made quite clear during the 1980 Presidential campaign. You
repeatedly stated that SALT II was "fatally flawed." You
also stated on October 30, 1980 that "SALT II is illegal...
because we're not eoual in this Treaty." You even stated in
May 1980 that
"I believe-the SALT II Treaty should be withdrawn, and I
especially believe---the. --U.S. should not abide by- its-. .
terms prior to ratification:---_To_-abide by--the-terms of,
the proposed ---agreement--would--violate artic-le-- 33- of=the
Arms Control and-Disarmament Act of 1961-"---
The Senate Armed. Services Committee. agreed with= you-when =it----
determined --in December, -- 1979 - that- the -.proposed SALT IL-Treaty
is unequal, unbalanced-,---destabilizing,-- and-- "not-in-the-
national security interest of the United States-." -- -
Former President Jimmy Carter even characterized the
1980 Presidential Election as a "national referendum" on his
proposed SALT II Treaty, but he lost.
Burt's Insubordination
Accordingly,---we--obviously-- expected=-:that- one=-of your.--
first acts as =Presi-dent=would - have--been= toy-withdraw the-------
proposed proposed SALT --II.-Treaty---from- the-=Senate.- 1"Te.-are pleased. to
learn now that=-early'" n--your-- Admiii_st-r.ation=-you indeed- _= -: --:-_ --
ordered this -done-, --but you.-:were-=thwart-ed-by---State=Department-
appeasement- -The--Washington imes:_(.Novembe-r_ 15-, -1985)-
reports excerpts- fr-om--a=-July :16, -1981-secret--memorandum -from----,--
Richard Bur-, -=then ..Dir-ector:.of-_-.Politico-Military affairs -at,.----
the State Department,-- to- then--Secretary: of---State-:Haig.=: --Burt
wrote:- -: =--=_
"As you tol-d_ me_ following- the -May-.21 -, =198-1 --National-
Security Council-Meeting; the-,President- stated-a -.--
preference for withdrawing the SALT II Treaty, and-.-when
and how to-do.-so was--briefly-discussed there and,
subsequently, in- the -interagency meeting:"
Burt then insubord-inatel.y -added:- ---
"My own preference would-be to avoid withdrawing the
SALT II Treaty-from the Senate."-- -
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Richard Burt went on to outline to Secretary Haig a detailed
plot to countermand what he again acknowledged to be your own
"Presidential preference." Burt's plot succeeded, and your
own clearly expressed "Presidential preference" for
withdrawing the proposed SALT II Treaty from the Senate was
thwarted. In place of your own clearly expressed order, the
State Department substituted the existing Carter. -
"no-undercut, interim restraint" policy of U.S. compliance
with the unratified SALT II Treaty. But you stated -in May, -
1980 that the existing Carter. interim restraint policy defied
the Treaty-making powers of the. Senate and Section 33 of the
ACDA Act.
The SALT II Secret Agreement
More significantly, in June, 1982, 'the State Department
went further, and even secretly "agreed" with the Soviets
that their forces could be "capped" at their falsely claimed
higher, June 1979 level of 2;504 Strategic Nuclear Delivery
Vehicles, wit-hout-,- however, the U. S. baying the right- to the
same number. -_--T-his- State Department =concessionary,-.secret--
agreement conver-ted the SALT II--.Treat-y into an- even- mor-e- --.
unequal agreement than= before. - This- explicit -U.S.=-agreement
to unequal levers- also was- inconsistent with--the 1972 Jackson- -_---
Amendment to--SALT=-I, -requiring equal -levels of forces i-n SALT-
II, and because it secretly constrained U.S. forces-by -
Executive Agreement- alone;--it-..also-- was inconsistent- with the-
Treaty-making- power-of -the -Constitution --and--contr-ary.-to._ _. - -
Section 33 of the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. Finally,
because the secret-agreement was not-conveyed to Congress,
the action was a blatant violation of the reporting
requirements of the Case Act.
As we have -already_informed . you repeatedly, we will -
resolutely pursue -Constitutional, - legal;- and -legislative - - -- -
remedies against-_-the=---State- Department--i-f--U-.S.--compliance--with---
the unequal.,- unr-atif-ied -SAL-T'=-3I--1reaty extends--past_=its_ expiration -on-_31--December1985.------- = _=
SALT II Extension
Mr. President, -we--the-refore read .with- alarm the--:---
following from.- t-he_lead story-_--of -The- New York Times-.o-n -
November 23;=--1985-:
"A senior State-Department official said today that the.-
United States-had told the Soviet Union before the--,
- -
Geneva Summit meeting-that- it-.would indefinitely :.
continue its-policy=-of= not-undermining. the 1979
[SALT II]- arms-- treaty.-:.f ? _ _ --- -
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The Washington Post of November 27, 1985 quotes you as
saying that you did discuss SALT II personally with
Gorbachev, but that you "made it plain" to the Soviets "that
we certainly were no going to bind ourselves to something
that was not equally binding on them." The point is,
however, that the State Department has illegally bound the
U.S. for six years already.
Now the State Department's early-November, 1985-Moscow=--
commitment to indefinitely extend the unratified SALT II
Treaty defies your own preferences, the 32 plus-confirmed
Soviet SALT violations, the treaty-making powers of the _.
Senate, and the-national security interests of the country.
It is dangerous enough that the U.S. has-illegal-ly compl-ied-
with an unratified, unequal, proposed treaty for six years
almost to its expiration, and even after the State Department
secretly converted it into an even more unequal and illegal.
Executive Agreement. But to indefinitely extend this
unratified,-proposed treaty is both irresponsible and a
usurpation of power by the State Department. It is also
extremely dangerous to--American national security, and a-s
such constitutes -U-.S. -appeasement-and--unilateral disarmament-.--
Mr. President,. you -have already--confirmed --1 1-- Sov i-et = - : -
violations of. SALT-II. to -the -Congress, and several=-more have
recently- been--reported. -You---have already- confirmed-a total--
of 32 Soviet SALT--Break Ou-t-'violatio.ns -to Congress.. We-
respectfully- remind-.:you that. during -your-May--_1985 trip to
Europe you correctly stated-:-- -- - ---
"There is considerable evidence now that compliance with
SALT II has been rather one-sided, and if it has been,
there is no need for us to continue."
Moreover, on March -27,=-1984-, you al-so-correctly stated:-
"We had two--treaties--the=SALT -treat ies-=the-=SAL-T__Treaty-
I and SALT Treaty7.3I. --And - SALT- Treaty--11.- was- not ratified by=-the- Senate, I m--pleased --to -say =-=No---one. has:-=--
paid any attention- to -the fact. that-under 'those- two- -
treaties-=the.:Sov-iet=Union-:-under--SALT =I,_==from==that--time:
on added 7,950-nuclear warhead s=to--.ts-arsenal,-and-
3,850 of those=-were- added since:- after--- everyone-.signed:- - -
SALT -II;"
Defense Secretary-.Aleinberger agreed,: when-he_stated=on
December 20,-1984:- -
"The Soviet -Union has built more -of-the big nuclear
-
warheads capabl-a-==of -destroying -U. S. -missiles -.in-- their--.
concrete silos than-we-initially-predicted they would -
build, even without-any SALT agreement. We now confront
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precisely the situation that the SALT process was
intended to prevent."
Danger of SALT II
The Soviet Union has built up its strategic forces -
during the period of-the 1979 SALT II Treaty through the end
of 1985 to a level much higher that the Joint Chiefs of Staff
predicted in 1978 that the Soviet Union would have by the end-
of 1985, even if no SALT II Treaty had been signed. This is-
because Soviet Strategic Nuclear Delivery Vehicles have -
increased by-about one fourth, and Soviet strategic nuclear
warheads have more than tripled by the end of 1985. In
contrast, the U.S. has-strategic forces-by-the end of 1985
even lower than the JCS predicted in 1978 that the U.S. would
have by the end of 1985, even within SALT II constraints.
Let SALT II Expire-
Your 1984 and_.1985-SALT II statements suggest that you.
still believe in your.- clearly- expressed May -21, 1981= --
"Presidential -preference"-- to- withdraw- the'SALT II -Treaty= from =.
the Senate,..-as-you repeatedly promised during the 1980_
campaign. We-urge you=-now--to finally over-rule _
consistent insubord-inate appeasement-efforts- by the State.
Department to -thwart your- long stand ing---prefer-ences- and-- - -- - --
promises, and-even-to- thwart=--the Const-itution, -.and:-allow the
proposed SAL-T II-Treaty-to-expire under its own-terms on--. .
December 31, 1985. You already--have strong Senate support for
this action, because on June 20, 1984, 99 Senators voted on a
roll call vote to approve a Symms amendment reaffirming the
fundamental principle of international law that if the
Soviets are violating SALT II, the U.S. should not be bound
by it.
Moreover, on November- 1 , 983, --.more - than one.--third of_=;.-=-
the Senate =present v-oted to oppose- SALT. II,_.: on a- .roll call.-
vote on another .Symms-=amendment -~=
In sum, the- Defense- Department bas--- reported- =that-- if - .the--
U. S. continues to--comply- with -.SALT- II-; _ -this-will- require the- --
U. S. to 'destroy--2.,500=more -warheads on--highly,- surv-ivable
Poseidon submarines. :-Suc-h-massive =-U.S.--unilateral
disarmament-=.under- SALT -II= wi13=.-comple-tely--under-cut-ali._---_--
remaining-military-,-economics and=. political arguments- for---.,-
your own SDI- and Strategic--Modernization Program.--: =. -
W'e request that-,you--advise us as-to-whethe.r you-will
allow SALT --II to, expire: on -December . -31 , = 1985.
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