CARTER WARNS OF DANGERS IN REJECTING SALT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400390023-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 3, 2004
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: April 25, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

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By Vernon A. Guidry Jr. 'said. "The alternative, now and in the ' .. photographic satellites ancl
wash ingtonStarStaff writer' foreseeable future, is no agreement at. ?enable us to follow technological developments in
President Carter said today that 'White House aides say Carter lio J. Soviet strategic forces with great accuracy," Cartel
failure to ratify a strategic arms pe insisted:
agreement with the. Soviet Union with today's speech to shape the SALT1 . ? '
could lead to "a dark nightmare of .debate around four rqajor themes: the, But instead of offering details, he asked for trust.
unrestrained competition." heed.to continue the-arms control' ."The sensitive Intelligent e techniques cannot be
The warning came. in the press- , process; the place of SALT in the over-t disclosed in public,,but the bottom line Is that if
dent's long-awaited major defense of all defense posture of the United there 1s an effort to cheat on the SALT agreement
the SALT 11 treaty which is now virtu- States, the. ability of the United States' ... we will detect it' and. we will do so in time fully
ally complete after years of negbtia to detect any Soviet cheating, and the I to protect oursecurity." hesaid.
extent to which SALT could be linked Carter, already distressed about leaks on the veri-
tion. to other areal of U.S. Soviet relations. fication issue, warned, that "leaders in Congress
"A rejection yonALT 11 would have. `TbIs new arms control agreement secrets will be guarded"
significance beyond the fate of a sin must ensure that these s
gle treaty,., Carter said in remarks { will obviously serve our national when they are revealed behind closed doors.
prepared for delivery to the American interests,` Carter said. "It will reduce .
t the dangerous levels of strategic arms .TIl1E PRESIDENT was equally explicit in arguing
Newspaper Publishers Assactaison+ and restrain the development of fu
meeting to New York.: against any congressional attempt to make SALT
It would mean 'a radical turning ture weapons. It will help to maintain contingent on Soviet good behavior elsewhere ---
away from America's long term policy our relative strength compared to the the so-called "linkage" issue -- saying'it would
of seeking world peace, the control of Soviets and wili'avert a costly, risky : make no sense td add nuclear Instability to other
r and pointless buildup of missile .
nuclear weapons and the easing of launchers and bombers - at the end, troubled areas.':.
tensions between Americans and the which both sides would be even In any event, he went on, there is no carrot'and-
Snvietpeople under a system of inter stick situation.
-! secure. " ' ,.r '
I
national.law based on mutual Inter- SALT 11 is not a favor we are doing for the Soviet
ests, he said. ! t ? Unionhe stud. It is an agreement carefully ne
ALTHOUGH THE TREATY has not CARTER, adopting some of they Ian- gotiated in the national security Interest of the
yet been formally;signed.and submit guage of critics.who want more de- United States." .
ted, the Senate debate on SALT rata-. fense spending, said the upward trend: The SALT II treaty would limit both sides to no
fication is well under way. Stiff oppo-,) of Soviet military capability makes more than 2,250 bombers and missiles. Within. that
sition has 'already taken shape, with new U.S. strategic weapons necessary,, total, sub-limits would be'placed on types of weep,
II - no most notably intercontinental ballistic missiles
LT o
:rejection or significant amendment)
by the'Senate could be-used to force)
renegotiation on more, favorable
terms
"The fact is that tine` alternative to!
a perfect agreement
this treaty is not
,
drafted unilaterally by the United.;, concealment practices has been deep-.
States In which awe geld everythingli ehed by new worries following the,
and the Soviets gain. nothing,". Carter,,
strategic wcaporWy. The administration makes essentially the,iamt
argument in response to both: The present treaty I;
Imperfect but It is the best available. now and ac
cepting it Is better than aborting the arms contro
process., ? - -: ! ?.- , ,,.::: ;
s. "Without SALT, the world would be forced to con
,:elude that America had chosen: confrontation
rather than cooperation and peace,"Carter said.
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315ROO0400390023-4
,
many observers predicting, that the I ' even with SA
,treaty in its present'torm might well t ,...:t. "We. must modernize- our own. which carry multiple,: independently targeted
fall short of.the,needed two-thirds ap- strategic forces... . The defense budg 'hydrogen bombs. ?. ,
proval. ~. l at I have submitted will ensure that The number of warheads on each missile would
Carter's speech attempted to steer? our nuclear force continues to be be limited and each side would be restricted to
critics away from the notion that',;' essentially equivalent to that of the introducing only one significantly new type of mis-
-
at
tr
f
h
'
a
.t
e
Carter said, sale during the life o
Soviet Union,
y. . The question of whether the United- Conservative critics of SALT say the treaty Is one-
States can verify Soviet compliance, sided. In favor of the Russians and sets limits too
with SALT 11 has become one of the high to be meaningful. From the left there is critt-
most pressing questions in tha Senate cism that the treaty not only fails to halt the arms
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