TURNER THROWS CARTER AND ANVIL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380121-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 121
• Publication Date: May 1, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R00 400/380 1-6 tt
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WASHRIGTOII WEEKLY
1 MAY 1979
f s CarterAn
By John. D. Lofton, Vi'i'.
Managing Editor Washington Weekly
CIA Director Stansfield Turner last week threw
Jimmy Carter an anvil when what the President
desperately needed was a life preserver.
On Tuesday, the New? York Times front-paged a
story which reported that Turner has told the
Senate that it will take until 1984 for the U.S. to
fully restore the intelligence - capability for
monitoring Soviet missile tests and development
that was lost with the shutdown of two electronic
listening posts in Iran. One of these posts, our base
at Kabkan,. was especially valuable'since it was only
600 miles- from the main Soviet missile testing
launching site.
The Times quoted a SALT II Senate critic who
heard Turner's testimony- as saying: "From what
we've been told, the United States-would only be
completely back" in business one year before' the
Treaty is scheduled to run out."
Following the Times' Turner story, the Adminis-
tration began a frantic scramble to explain and
clarify what Turner really meant. Defense Secretary
Harold Brown issued a statement acknowledging
that it would take "about a year" to replace lost
Iranian facilities "depending on how fast we can
carry out monitoring programs under develop-
ment." Brown agreed, however, with Turner that it
An Atlanta Constitution reporter, Angelo Lewis,
quotes a source close to the Senate Intelligence
Committee as characterizing the Administration's
current position as "hiding behind secrecy." This
source says: "What the Administration ought to do
is to admit that there are certain things they can
verify and others they can't:
In-Washington, Sen. Garn says there is nothing
the U.S. can do "in either the near or long term" to
compensate for the loss of electronic listening posts-
in Iran, 'making verification of the new strategic
arms limitation treaty with the Soviet. Union `..'an impossible task. "For the foreseeable future, there is no?replace-?
ment for the Iranian sites," noted Garn. "Satellites
are too far away and the U-2 is not a viable answer
because of antennae site limitations, among others.
Even if we get a few site for collection,.it will take
years. By that time, the Soviets will have introduced
a new generation of ICBMS," he added. -
The Utahn's comments were prornpted by what
he termed attempts by the Carter Administration
and 'its SALT sellers" to minimize the impact of
the loss of the Iranian listening posts' on U:S.
monitoring and verification efforts. He has already
accused the Administration of leaking information
would take until 1983 or 1984 for the U.S. to regain to the New York Times on plans to use.a modified.
"all" the intelligence capability lost in Iran. eversion of the U-2 to help monitor Soviet missile
:.
Meanwhile,' down at Jekyll Island, Georgia, test,
where the President was vacationing, White House,
press secretary,' Jody-Powell joined the campaign `' .
to discredit: CIA Director Turner's' assessment:
Accusing Sen. `Jake Garn (R-Utah) of leaking the:
information to the paper, Powell said the story in
.the Times was, `-'inaccurate" and "distorted."
said that if Garn "worked for the Administration,
he no longer would" as a result of the Senator's
having allegedly; peddled bum dope to the Times.
But it looks as if it was Powell who was' ped-
dling bum dope to the press about Garn. The
White House press secretary subsequently .backed"
off his remarks about Garn saying that he "under-
stood" that the Senator had been the source of the
Times' information but he didn't mean to imply
that he (Powell) knew the origin of the paper's
information. (Ques rAge;g e%IF@lepsVff/01/
will Powell continue to work for, the Administra-
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