ORBITAL BOMB RATIONALIZING JOLTS OFFICIALS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300110026-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2006
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: November 5, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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A14 Sunda
Nov. 5,1967 THE WASHINGTON POST
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rbital Bomb Rati
By Murrey Marder
Washington Post Staff Writer
Defense Secretary Robert
S. McNamara has set the
scene for controversy over
whether the United States
has jettisoned a bargaining''.
point against Soviet space
bombs.
Ranking officials of the
State Department and of the
Arms Control and Disarma-
ment Agency appeared to be
caught by surprise over the
timing of McNamara's Fri
day announcement that the
Soviet Union may be testing
an orbital bomb.
Phil G. Goulding, Assist-
Public Affairs, when asked McNamara said that what
'`?"" sen to describe as a Soviet
partmental consultations, re- .;Fractional Orbit Bombard
plied: "We made advance :Iment System "is not a viola-
Namara) statement within ' ,Treaty. The treaty, designed
the Government a week to bar the orbiting or sta-
ago." tioning of weapons in outer
space, was ratified by the
Unaware of Conference United States and the Soviet
What produced one major Union less than a month
dispute, however, was not in I.. agn on net. 10.
McNamara's statement but The reason such a weap-
in his answers to questions. ons system does not violate
The State Department was the space treaty, McNamara
unaware that McNamara said, is because the space
was holding a press confer- ? weapons would be fired in
ence until it was over, and ..a fractional orbit, not a full
the international cons . Such weapons "could
quces of his disclosu the earth for several
nalizing Jolts 0
rbits before firing, McNa-
"fractional orbit" is per- no claim of violation could
mitted by the space treaty. be made; once a warhead
The treaty itself does not was attached, they added, it
Aof;,,o tho mnan;nO of the could be a moot point wheth-
the spokesman replied: "I
have no comment."
In New York, Ambassador
Arthur J. Goldberg, who
handled negotiations on the
space treaty at the United
Nations, declined to say if
he thought the Soviet sys-
tem would violate the
treaty. Goldberg said the So-
viet move "is a matter of
great concern. The Govern-
ment can only speak with
one voice on this matter and
That WOUlu ue a deal vFu- Leaui uar.... ~~ ~????r'+ lation of the treaty. But bids signatory nations from lated, because the world
lacing "in orbit around the could then be in the midst
ht P
McNamara said he thoug earth any objects 'carrying of World War Ill.
be employed in full orbit or struction ..." Some of the the subject indicated to
orbits, because there would scores of other nations that many specialists that the
be "no (military) advantage" signed the treaty might Administration is anxious to
to that. and there would be choose to challenge whether avoid picking a quarrel with
11
'
applies to
bit
or the Russians on a point it he (McNamara) is our
greater risk of discovery. the term "
Military opinion is divided parts of orbits as well. probably cannot prove, to spokesman on tll,:subject."
on that. But in any event, Sen. Henry M. Jackson avoid endangering U.S..
several diplomatic experts (D-Wash.) who will open hopes for getting American-
.privately expressed surprise hearings Monday on missil- Soviet negotiations to limit 1'
that McNamara conceded in ery, promptly questioned the immensely, costly nu-
advance what they believed McNamara's interpretation. clear missile arms race.
should be left to the Rus- "I want to find out if McNamara is intensely in-
sians to try to prove'. that a there has been a technical terested in that possibility.
violation of the space
treaty," said Jackson. "In Of One Voice
my judgment," he said,, The State Department,
"there has been a good-faith which has the legal respon-
violation...the idea of the sibility for interpreting the
treaty was to prohibit in -Outer Space Treaty, side-.
space such terror weapons." stepped all questions about
it yesterday, after debating
No Breach Unless... what to say. "You have See-
Other specialists pointed retary McNamara's state-
violation of the treaty, tech-
nical or otherwise, unless
its were conducting
the S ov e
"We believe the ground has
been. -covered in his state-
and I have nothing to
ment
,
tests with a nuclear war- add." When asked if the De-
head attached. Until that is partnent knew in advance
done, these specialists said, what McNamara would say,
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 Approved For Release 2006/01/30 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300110026-5
BACKDOOR APPROACH-The Soviet Union is testing an the U.S. ICBMs would fly over the North Pole, as shown
orbital rocket which could hit the U.S. from the south, by the dotted line, and would reach a peak height of 800
flying 100 miles high, as shown by the solid line. This miles. New over-the-horizon radars are being built to de-
would evade the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System tect launches hidden from BMEWS. The radar signals
(BMEWS) radars from detecting an ICBM launched against go around the earth by bouncing off the ionosphere.
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