ATTACHED NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88G01117R000200460002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 3, 2011
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: June 2, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

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86. 2425
NOTE TO: Deputy Director for Intelligence
Director of Congressional Affairs
FROM: Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
1. This is the article that Secretary Weinberger raised at Friday's
breakfast. I think on too many occasions we respond to questions from
the Hill in total ignorance of the fact we may be tiptoeing through a
mine field where there are grave policy disputes and issues at stake to
which we are totally oblivious. Accordingly, when we answer a straight
forward question, we inadvertently, like a dim-witted dinosaur, set off
explosions all over town.
2. Surely, there must be some way when we get Congressional
inquiries of this sort, that we can check around and find out a little
background from the policy agencies to see if we are being set up -- that
is, in our innocence and ignorance being used. If we found that the
issue involved is indeed controversial, either within the Executive
Branch or between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch, we
could still go ahead and prepare an intelligence assessment but consult
with the policy agency both to forewarn them and perhaps, through
consultation, minimize t
he damage without sacrificing our objectivity.
F- I
Let me know your views.
Robert Gates
Attachment:
N.Y. Times, 29May86 Article
(CIA Disputes White House on Soviet Antimissile Gains)
Distribution:
1 - DDI
1 - D/OCA
1 D/Exec-Staff
1 - D rono
1 - ER
CON,MNTIAL Cl By Signer
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/05/03: CIA-RDP88GO1117R000200460002-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/05/03: CIA-RDP88GO1117R000200460002-7
ARTICLE AP-7V- NEW YORK TIMES
ONMGE 29 May 1986
C.I.A. Disputes White House
On Soviet Antimissile Gai
4 WIU.W,_.1. BROAD The X-ray device, writes has be
ns
en
under development to the united States
for six years, focuses the
ow
f
-~ w ev
ince ere.
reat
Se"
Union's X-ray laser research is not so
.ca
of thrat, mAatlo~n, hem is clessic
rayed it earlier this year ro bad
Mr. a
P Markey said
a statement. Markey B
The Department of Energy, respond-
"The .
Energy has exa en~Departmenc
per capabilities Si to soviet X-r
justify its budg
test ban treaty the iepr t Union. request for the
k+ra " U.S. X-ray laser pr
reported recently that it did "suspect..
This
the wants to Spend more than' inistre liti
that the Russians were "subatanually
ahead" of the United States in such re-
'b. nearly double la
search laa~nd might be able to deploy sr. ksarke Year's budga.
who is chairman of and
sX-ray"With no ~tio sal t~estinng." expl he
department I@ manufacture of the for nationde.
Sign
's
nucl
ear weapons, ra
C.I.A. for its an an Soviet X-
The stetUs of the Soviet research Is
central to debates on the United States' Mss Written as
Fit c.~.r,.....
continued research on X-ray lasers and A test ban treaty. the other advanced nuclear weapons.
w"O ment wrote, "could be very of i Energy
Administration officials say the
v
Soviet ffecctiv
American research is intended only to
dear-directed . energy a
the.
Xs-rays deSoviet vice is ~ llmeant r for ut in (NDEW),
if the Soviet
are well ahead of the Particularly U.S. in NDE
President Reagan's Proposed ad-
technologi s."
which they
valr-Od ress is "nonnil u lear defense
'Pat this to be the can, bu
say the
Administration wants the we cannot know for sure " it continued
,
nuclear de- If the Soviets are su
vice for Its antimissile system and that
bstantially ahead
the Russians, who have stopped tbOY might be able to achieve the capa
nu- b14, to deploy testing, are at a standstill in such
loy nucleardlrecte
research. e
rT weak with no additional test
The Soviet leader, Mikhail S. Gorba- Ire
C.I.A.
chev, announced a unilateral Soviet re+~P to Mr
moratorium on nuclear testing last Au- AeY W_-
Bust. He recently said the moratorium 1vid D. Rtes s r
tion ~ Ma 23 was written
will be extended until Au
nkirs
gust a tin
hope that the United States would join rector en o
in a Permanent ban. The Administra- r. has rejected all such Soviet offers e does not believe that the
and said repeatedly that the United et nuon can nut ear ven
States will continue its testing. -wed CMr' R'MDna wi can.
er o
an
eXPIOC114 hydrogen bomb p
radiat;on that In theory can destrooyy
~y~~ Pspace.iIt is the pro-
l of
devices that the proposed
Lion calls
'nuclear.driven directed ons. American scientists hivve esti-
mated that to perfect such devices
might require dozen., or even hun-
dredo, of nuclear tests.
lu
se
in
of
ay
et
o-nn
o
st
v
e
s
W
t
.
,
-
d
-
tt)
.t u lna adds .1 ? ?? it ueu said. adding that '.r pIelevant classified
data is available should you desire a
briefing .99
~ l We Soviet Union declared its
moratorium Aug. A, the vfts" of the atomi
b
c
ombingf Hi
oro-
si
00unced 11 underground dma, the United States has . an-
nuclear tau
according to Chris es
t, a ap'
oke&
man at the Nevada Tart Site, opera
ted
by the Energy Department.
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