'DISINFORMATION' LINK DRAWS IRE OF PENTAGON SPACE DEFENSE OFFICER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190006-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: March 21, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190006-8~'TAT
WASHINGTON TIMES
21 March 1986
`Disinformation' link draws ire
of Pentagon space defense officer
By Walter Andrews
HE 'VASHJNG-ON MMES
A key Pentagon official yesterday
said he was "appalled" that remarks
he made in a speech this week were
linked to a magazine report that the
Pentagon is conducting a disinfor.
mation program on the Space De-
fense Initiative and other military
programs.
The magazine article referred to
appeared in Aviation Week and
Space Technology. It said the Pen-
tagon, in conjunction with the CIA,
is putting out false information on a
number of weapons programs to
confuse the Soviets.
Four U.S. senators, all Democrats,
asked the Senate Intelligence Com-
mittee Wednesday to look into
charges that the SDI office may have
given the Soviets a secret classified
briefing last June and also may have
used Congress and the media in a
disinformation campaign to give the Soviets false or misleading informa-
tion.
"Trying to link an attempt by us [the SDI office] to explain what we do with the Soviets - and why cer-
tain information is not readilyavailable -to some deliberate disin- _ campaign is appalling," said Lt. Col. Simon Worden, a special
assistant and SDI representative at the Geneva arms talks. In a telephone interview, the colonel said his position was "misrepre-
sented" by the linkage implied in thesenators' request and in a press re yesterday. Lt. Col. Worden said that the re porter who wrote the story did not contact him. The reporter, of The Washington Post, quoted from a transcript of the colonel's Monday to a convention of the American Jewish Congress and obtained comments
from an SDI spokesman. "The way it
was
' Col. Worden said.
The briefing
referred to was one
given
Lt. Gen. James Abraham-
son last June during arms control
negotiations. .
The four Democratic senators
a
for an sking the investigation Intelligence Committee
week's magazine
article remarks are and this William week
, J. Bennett Johnston of Lou
isiana
, Dale Bumpers of Arkansas
and Lawton Chiles of Florida. The colonel said his Monday
re
marks may
have caused possible
confusion because he also had
said
there were some circumstances in
which the Soviets would be
given
valid classified information
kept
from the American people.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190006-8