U.S. DELAYS COMMENT ON REPORT OF NUCLEAR EQUALITY WITH SOVIETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000100130087-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 87
• Publication Date: October 1, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/05/25: Cl
Jt TICLE APF: . Z-, LOS ANGLES TIMES
ON PAGE 1 October 1982
J.S. Delays Comment
on Report of Nuclear
Equality With Soviets
By ROBERT C. TOTH, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON-The Pentagon withheld comment
Thursday on a report from an authoritative British in-
stitute that challenged Reagan Administration claims of
U.S. strategic nuclear weakness compared to the Soviet
Union. '
The International Institute of Strategic Studies said it
"does not endorse many of the current claims of sup-
posed U.S. weakness in strategic forces." The study also
said that "there is close to U.S.-Soviet parity in land-
and sea-based missile warheads and a U.S. advantage;
when aircraft weapons are included."
Defense officials do not deny that the United States
has a greater number of nuclear warheads. They note,
however, that the Soviets have more land- and subma-
rine-based missiles-2.100 vs. 1,700 for the United
States-and that Soviet warheads are more powerful on
the average because Soviet missiles can lift heavier
payloads.
Claims of superiority and inferiority for Soviet, and
U.S. forces rest largely on which specific weapons are
used as the criteria. Reaching a judgment on which na-
tion is stronger can be challenged by citing statistics to
support a preferred position.
Most significant to Defense Secretary Caspar W.
Weinberger and other Pentagon officials is that the im-
proved accuracy of Soviet land-based missiles, in com-
bination with their more-powerful warheads, will soon
make them capable of destroying more than 90% of the
U.S. land-based missile force in a surprise attack.
'Window of Vulnerability'
This so-called "window of vulnerability" will extend
until the second half of this decade, according to Ad-
ministration thinking, when the MX missile is to be de-
ployed. The new missile's purpose is to deny the Soviets
the capability of a successful surprise attack.
The concept of a "window of vulnerability" is not uni-
versally accepted in the United States or among its al-
lies.
Some Democrats and arms-control, champions have
argued, for example, that U.S. submarine-launched I
missiles and bombers will deter the Soviets from any
surprise attack against U.S. land-based missiles,
whatever the Soviet capability.
Even former CIA Director Stansfield Turner s
"there is no window of yu~nera ilitv in my vic-A " a!-
thouen the Carter Ad.Ti n;stration in which he servo
promoted the MX missile tmUally.
Turner recently said that he sunnorts deployment of I
thousands of nuclear-tip ed cruise missiles rather t:.ar
the to deter Moscow rrom a surprise attack I ts
superior and- as ba .isuc missile force.
Officials here said that Weinberger, after a brief dis-
cussion at a staff meeting Thursday morning, insisted on
reviewing the entire report of the British institute be-
fore responding to its contents. Articles on the report
were published by American newspapers Thursday.
: "We won't react to news stories based on a press re-
lease from the institute," a Pentagon spokesman said.
"We've asked for the report itself, and after looking at
"
it w
.,?'"
e
respon
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/05/25: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100130087-1