BRIEFING FOR REPRESENTATIVE MURTHA ON SOVIET MILITARY SUPREMACY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M01152R000500590033-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: June 18, 1985
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/03/11: CIA-RDP87MO1152R000500590033-2
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OLL 85- 4068
18 June 1985
SUBJECT: Briefing for Representative Murtha on "Soviet Military
Supremacy"
1. On 18 June 1985 at 1030 hours in Room 2423 Rayburn
House Office Building, Congressman John Murtha (D., PA) was
briefed by Doug MacEachin and DI/SOVA in response
ttached letter. They were accompanied by
Office of Legislative Liaison; Mr. Murtha was
accompanied by John Plashal and Bob Davis, staffers from the
Defense Subcommittee, House Appropriations Committee. The
briefing was conducted at the Secret level.
2. They answered Mr. Murtha's first six questions as
annotated on the attached letter and then engaged in a general
discussion of current political developments in the Soviet
Union. Mr. MacEachin made clear that because Mr. Sullivan was
a former employee of the Agency we were not willing to produce
a written review of his book. Mr. Murtha understood and said
that his main concern was whether or not the data used by
Mr. Sullivan was accurate. Mr. MacEachin said that in some
cases- -Mr. Sullivan's point
was we taken, but his data base appeared faulty, and that in
fact the Community figures
the number used by Mr. u Ivan. e n
he e ieved Soviet activities were sufficiently ominous that it
was not necessary to inflate the figures. Mr. Murtha
appreciated the briefing, enjoyed the general opportunity to
talk with Mr. MacEachin about his (Murtha's) recent visit to
the Soviet Union, and said that he had no further questions
about the Sullivan book.
Deputy ie n
Office of Legislative Liaison
c1 et, E`aisov Division
Distribution:
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1 - OLL Chrono
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Office of Legislative Liaison
Routing Slip
10.
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MAJQ'.RY up Wk
JAMIE L WHITTEN, MISSISSIPPI. CHAIRMAN
EDWARD P. BOLAND, MASSACHUSETTS
WILLIAM H. NATCHER. KENTUCKY
NEAL SMITH. IOWA
JOSEPH P. ADOABBO. NEW YORK
SIDNEY R. YATES, ILLINOIS
DAVID R. OBEY, WISCONSIN
EDWARD R. ROYSAL. CALIFORNIA
LOUIS STOKES. OHIO
TOM BEVILL. ALABAMA
BILL CHAPPELL JR.. FLORIDA
BILL ALEXANDER, ARKANSAS
JOHN P. MURTHA. PENNSYLVANIA
BOB TRAXLER, MICHIGAN
JOSEPH D. EARLY, MASSACHUSETTS
CHARLES WILSON, TEXAS
LNDY (MRS. HALE) BOGGS. LOUISIANA
NORMAN D. DICKS. WASHINGTON
MATTHEW F. MCHUGH, NEW YORK
WILLIAM LEHMAN, FLORIDA
MARTIN OLAV SABO. MINNESOTA
JULIAN C. DIXON, CALIFORNIA
VIC FAZIO. CALIFORNIA
W.O. (BILL) NEFNER. NORTH CAROLINA
LES AUCOIN. OREGON
DANIEL K. AKAKA. HAWAII
WEE WATKINS. OKLAHOMA
WIWAM H. GRAY RI, PENNSYLVANIA
BERNARD J. DWYER. NEW JERSEY
BILL BONER. TENNESSEE
STENY H. HOYER. MARYLAND
BOB CARL MICHIGAN
ROBERT J. MRAZEK, NBSiYORK
RICHARD It. DUSSIN,'E dQIS
RONALD 0. COLEMAN,ITEXAS
MEMORANDUM TO: Randy Randolph
Legislative Liaison
Central Intelligence Agency
MDNOWTY MEMBERS
SILVIO 0. CONRE, MASSACHUSETTS
JOSEPH M. MCDADE. PENNSYLVANIA
JOHN T. MYERS. INDIANA
CLARENCE E. MILLER, OHIO
LAWRENCE COUGHUN. PENNSYLVANIA
C.W. SILL YOUNG. FLORIDA
JACK F. KEMP. NEW YORK
RALPH REGULA, OHIO
GEORGE M. O'BRIEN. ILLINOIS
VIRGINIA SMITH, NEBRASKA
ELDON RUDD, ARIZONA
CARL 0. PURSELL MICHIGAN
MICKEY EDWARDS. OKLAHOMA
SOB LMNGSTON, LOUISIANA
BILL GREEN, NEW YORK
TOM LOEFFLER. TEXAS
JERRY LEWIS. CALIFORNIA
JOHN EDWARD PORTER ILLINOIS
HAROLD ROGERS. KENTUCKY
JOE SKEEN, NEW MEXICO
FRANK R. WOLF. VIRGINIA
BILL LOWERY, CALIFORNIA
CLERK AND STAFF DIRECTOR
FREDERICK G. MOHRMAN
i f f' I' i I (2021225-2771
Congressman Murtha of Pennsylvania recently read a book entitled "Soviet
Military Supremacy", and he would like the Central Intelligence Agency to
verify, or clarify, a number of points made by the author:
1. Statement on page 3 and 23, that Defense spending under President Reagan "is
far below the levels President Carter thought necessary for our safety."
(Note, I suspect inflation assumptions of 1980 have "buciQered" the
statistics behind the author's claim).
2. Ch k h fact b he author on chemica ana D10 Ica war are.
STAT
3. Ch 25 active Sovietd 1
combat divisions with units deployed in Central America and Africa."
4. First sentence of the footnote on page 23, which mentions the level of
Soviet spending on strategic nuclear systems.
6. Comment on the author's point (page 33 and 34) that the Soviets have placed
in orbit a prototype Synthetic Aperture Radar as a step toward develop'
capability to detect submerged submarines.
7. Also, please peruse the book to check for inconsistencies or inaccuracies.
Respectfully,
John Plashal
Staff Assistant
House Appropriations Committee
Defense Subcommittee
Congress of the United ~6tatez
touoe of Rtpreuentath ti
Commit" on.51ppropriationo
MuhinOton, PC 20515
June 5, 1985
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STAT
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