STAFF BRIEFING ON SOVIET SDI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 7, 2012
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: January 25, 1988
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07: CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9
C/GAkcawe
00A n1c
25 January 1988
OCA 88-0246
SUBJECT: Staff Briefing on Soviet SDI
1. I _ I OSWR
briefed the following nine personal staff members of Soviet SDI
in the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing room on 22 January
1988:
Bruce MacDonald, Sen. Bumpers
Carlton Thomas, Sen. Harkin
Jonathan Stein, Sen. Simon
James Bruce, Sen. Johnston
Dennis Culkin, Sen. Heinz
Ron Tammen, Sen. Proxmire,
Alfred Cumming, Sen. Gramm
Jonathan Winer, Sen. Kerry
Kirk Robertson, Sen. Pryor.
No transcript was taken.
2. BACKGROUND. In 1986 and 1987, several of the Senate
staff present drafted a report entitled, "SDI: Progress and
Challenges." The OSWR officers who read this report said that,
although it was critical of US SDI, it was generally well
researched and drafted. This briefing was requested, in part,
to provide information for the drafters of the forthcoming
edition of this report. Other staff was invited because they
have expressed interest in the issue and have received other
briefings on it. Bruce MacDonald organized the meeting and
said that they hoped to invite Gen. Abrahamson to brief this
group later in the year.
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07: CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9
2. The OSWR briefers made the following key points in
their hour plus briefing:
o They do not believe the Soviets have the current
capabilities--financial or technical--to develop a strategic
defense system similar to the proposed US effort.
o The Soviets have done a substantial amount of work on ABM
applications, but they are working on an evolutionary path from
their current capabilities rather than some exotic
breakthroughs.
o briefed on Soviet SDI. The Soviets have a
terminal defense system now, a leadership defense system. They
have a pre launch strategy, ie. first strike.
of described the basic composition of the US SDI and
compared the Soviet efforts to it, category by category.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07: CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07: CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9
SECRET
3. The questions directed at the briefers were generally
focused directly on the briefing points. Key examples:
3. Follow-up. Sen. Kerry's staff indicated that they
would recommend that Sen. Kerry receive this briefing. Sen.
RumnPrs staff person indicated he wanted another briefing
Ron Tammens of
Proxmire's staff said he wanted to review the vu-graphs used in
the briefings. This request was obviously in the context of
drafting the SDI report described above. n
Senate Division
Office of Congressional Affairs
Distribution:
Orig - OCA Record
1 - RR Chrono
OCA/Senate/
(28 Jan 88)
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07: CIA-RDP90M00005R000300060018-9