ANOTHER BLOW TO SALT II

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380023-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: May 24, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380023-5
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Another blow' -to SALT
The government of Turkey dealt another
blow last week to President Carter's unsup-
ported assertion that the. S^H (arms
control) treaty with the Soviet Union can
be adequately verified.
Previously, Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) director StaniMld Turrierr, a' arter
appointee, had testified - to the dismay of
.his boss - that it could, take the United
States as long as five years to recover the
intelligence capacity lost -when the new
revolutionary government in Iran closed
down U.S. monitoring stations. 'The elec-
tronic outposts had been used to check up
on missile developments in Soviet central
Asia.
Because of the Iranian shutdown, the
use of reconnaissance planes assumed new
importance in SALT II verification.
Now the Turkish government has an-
nounced it would allow U.S. reconnaissance
planes to fly over Turkey to check Soviet
compliance with SALT II only if Moscow
.did not object.
The Turkish announcement amounts to
giving the Soviets veto power over U.S.
flights. The reconnaissance plane involved
is the U-2 (the same kind that was shot'
down over the Soviet Union in 1960 when
the pilot, Gary Powers, was captured,
charged with espionage and later- exchang ,
ed), and it is inconceivable the Soviet
Union would give its-permission for flyov-
ers which could not only check on SALT II
compliance but other military develop-
ments, as well...: .
:, Officials speculate that Turkey's stance
was a calculated. effort to obtain the best
possible deal, on the foreign military aid
package which passed the U.S. Senate
Tuesday. The senators voted to restore a
$50 million grant to Turkey, in addition to
approving $400 million in economic and
military credits.
But even with this action, there is. no
assurance that Turkey will be any less'
unpredictable than it has been in recent
months. The nation faces a volatile internal
situation, which seemingly dictates that the
shaky Turkish government not do anything
to upset the Soviet Union.
The episode demonstrates that if SALT
II verification depends in any way upon
Turkey, it is in a lot of trouble. -};:
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380023-5