SOVIETS SEEN BENT ON FOILING VERIFICATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400400006-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 9, 2004
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: December 12, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R00040c4Q,0pk6
BALTIMORE EVENING SUN
12 December 1978
-- - r rtd Mever
theirr'a description of the- most modern
system,,the? KH-1L This. break gave the
Soviets vital information.oa the range and
the espionage Ernst, Was.-the: TItRT case: un
;_WASHTi iGTON
The Soviets behaveas if they are beat
on signing a SALT treaty, but they do not
seem eager to facilitate its most crucial;;
aspect-the process of verification:
In fact, Carter administration officio
are becoming convinced that the Sovi
have undertaken: a- multipronged?
paign to reduce the effectiveness of Amer
!can surveillance.
Espionage, camouflage, deception and
political pressures are all being orches
trated to obscure from view the extentof
..Soviet military Progress:-
Thefirst priority for. the Soviets waste'
'discover just?how eUective the American
surveillance techniques: were *an ho.
they workec};;Tlseirinitial breakthrough oin
of seliin im
cans:were-fonnd; gniltg..
tanttecbni'calsecrets.tatheKGB:i dw?.
:But-the:Soviets really liad'no grasp of
the advanced state oVAtierican? satellite-:
surveillance until a young~ex-CIA' emplo
es,. -William Kampiles'obliging1y sold.
Troubling signs of ambiguous activity_-1
have been spotted in one of the old missile
`.: fields that. the Soviets were supposed to
have deactivated. Now that they know the
15 watching satellites have 20-20 vision; via-
lations have become harder to identify...;,
On their long southern border stretch
- log from Turkey through Iran to.Afghani-
stan,the?Soviets know there are ground
testing? ranges could add'to than evidence
Communist coup in-Afghanistan; po-
` Iitical' pressure on. Turkey and' mounting :
revolt in Iran could combine.: to make it
impossible for-U.S. observation 'posts .to
function anywhere along this arc .The loss
of infoimation.would be serious
The ultimate threat to Ainericanverifi?
cation capability is-the Soviet'deployment,
of an. anti-satellite orbital interceptor. Al.
ready successfully tesEecl+ it can be used in
a: tirne bf-grave crisis. to;close, thbicoun-
try's'eyes- by destroying our surveillance
I satellites. No similar capability yet exists
on,the:_Americanside..aa
U.S. senators who will be looking skept-
ically at the verification involved in the
SALT II agreement.are already alarmed,
by the delays and uncertainty in ascertain
ing the offensive potential of the MIG-23s
deployed in Cuba.- If the President toler.
ates this ambiguity, his readiness to call
they Soviets to account ba SALT-violations
T.. In spitaof the damage done by ucces
, ful Soviet espionage, the American verifl
cation.::capabi'li'tyremains,'a: formidable
cific guarantees against iuterferrencewitb
verification procedures. are;.writteir into:
`
'
eie,tbat in this
s
=the treaty; most ezpertagr
:respect SALTis sWl'a rim woortth taking s
In,-, maldni! tbi3' case1 ' CT.K Dit to .:
-Staid .:Turner,will be. theiirartii-ad-'.
i enater coERittees. vigatrng u
these mine an rnurkywaters;.the admi
. ral's best. course will . be to maintain "a
scrupulous,,objectivity'and' 16 claim, no
more. for verification than the facts allow,
while= am",, vulnerabilities" where'i
lite. ,;., . '.c' :.;., .~~., ?~, .;air
7 viously realize-could be seen by the satel'
x
>
p
o
~` ?- rmed='wit . Kaaipiles:>' information,
ly subjact:td. verification under the terms
x ' :x. .r i .' '^3'.. ",:
eat
t
ftl
Weapons:systems.tttatwere not speaflcal
used v+e;camoriflage and.deceptloir
Througiicat,SALT'I;the: Soviets ,bava
try's.abii~ty_ttl_ascertaia:that..they are eb-'
practice; itwill.seriously.impairthis cound:
SS-1&. If they do abt:.; agree to halt this
-.-Russian,- defensive reactiolL. to ' their
,,.newly perceived._vulnerability:.liasw-been
promptsThe Soviets have begun using-an.
unbreakable code to prevent U a monitor-
iti.of the:tests of, their. biggest- ICBK the:
accuracy of the new satellite's vision and
compromised the whole technology: i ,.
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 CIA-RDP88-01315R000400400006-1