NIKE START MAY HINGE ON TALKS WITH RUSSIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300080005-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2006
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: December 20, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2006/01/30 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300080005-2
WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 20, 1966
By Chalmers M. Roberts
Washington Post staff writer
a,tie united 6taties pnvuauly
will delay a start on `an anti-
mi'sile system' "until," it dis-
cusses with the Soviet Union
a passible. agreement to pre-
at r"aiv rnnnrl in the nu-
t cleat, arP s' race.
This was strongly indicated
yesterday by American offi-
cialswho declined to be oth-
erwise identified.
They said that the John-
NiKein"tar
May Depend
i uss t S
V
the Al is problem eyes aiiire
American intelligence teport,
ed that the Soviets 'were ,`de-
ploying such a system.
Word of this was first made
public on Nov. 10 by Secre-
tary of Defense Robert';. Mc-
Narziera.:. He reportedly is
loatih to. ask A "go-ahead. on
construction of the Nike-X,
the Amerrican ABM system
long under development, and
would prefer to increase of-
fensive missile strength on
the theory that the best de-
fense is a strong offense,
But. Congressional, pres-
Confe ?n With 1qb sfl'
pears to have, beeA bd
suit of Presidential onfez'
Lary of State Dean "Riksk ,mod
other top officials aver ,the
past few weeks.
The officials who, sppke
yesterday said. that.3. "zti?ixi-
mum,effot ought to be made
to see f..' he two nations can
avoid: going down the costly
ABM route,. espeelally: l ' the
end result would '40?. .xitz
change in their rival power
V1S144L11 ]. t
They pointed out that . the f
Id ea of a mutual freeze:ozd, of-t,
Pensive and defensive weap-!,
ons had been raised at the
Geneva talks AS far back as
January, 1964.. But they. said
that the American ,sugges-
tions for" such an across the
board freeze did not bring
Question of Separatiop
Other ?sourees hale diet-
l
ed that there:' never ;was any
effort to bring about a 4reef:a
on ABMs, alone. Whetlaerr"the new effort-_will:,be,,to@itf?
ate the ABM'. problem fro ri
that p,f offensiVe-amisslriell wasl
not clear ..yesterday;' x i
The most the officials 'wozild?
say was that-the Ulilte0?Statae
1 would like to sor'eho*' amend
its previous Genera "proposals,
to give special emphasis- andd
urgency to the ABM pra#lem?
But they ?added that tine
lem of these defensiver5ishw
siles nuclear tipped aare
the ICBMs (Intercontinental
ballistic missiles), cannot: be
separated from "the egntrol off
offensive `weapons. #
And control of .bocci AIiA'fal
and ~ ICBMs would' ;equlrej
mutual inspecion vvitliih T oth 1.
nations,. "sorriething .lb ;$oviet
Union has always rejected as'.
equivalent to espiozlae
auras to start 1vil e-X; backed
by" a united" 1Olflt Chiefs' of
Staff i'n the Penfagon,1 make
It "difficult td Bold off much
longer, if indeed" the Soviets
are? going ahead:;"'Administra-
tion officials differ, oon how
far the Soviets have yet gone
but none disputes the intelli-
anneee reports that dome sort
of deployment is under way
in European Russia.
The massive 'spending nec-
essary for :? a Nlke,X.System
welled add:"to tixe Presidential
budget woes for the next fis
cal year and for. sever Lyears,
afterwards..
proach will be made. was not
disclosed but several chan-
nels are readily available,
American and Soviet arms
control experts are currently
meeting at the United Nations.
The new Am.'riean ambassa-
Idor to the Soviet TTninn, T iew-
ellyn E. Thompson, will arrive
in Moscow the first week in
January and will have ' aceess
to the top Kremlin leaders,
And the. 1$-nation UN. Adis-
armament subcommittee "!will
reconvene again in Geneva
on. February 21.
President Johnson is known
to have ;,been agonizing over
See MISSILE, A17, Co. .1
system to protect this colkntry
against Soviet. missiles would
cost $30 billion or. more over
a period, of,five years."
The American officials wh,o?
discussed ` this new diplomatic
move said they hoped to~~ind
an answer to what.they termedI
the frightening prospect of a
ne'w and massively expensive
round in the arms race which,
in the end; probably, would
not alter the balance of power
between the world's two nu-
clear giants.
Just hpw' txie diplomatic ap-
son Administration probably
would hold off' a' budget eel
sign on` the 'Nike-X, ABNX sys,-
ter until sometime in Janu-
ary, or ,even until Pebrilar3C,
pending, a diplomatic explpra.
tion with the Kremlin.
The Soviet Union already Is
beginning deployment oi an
ABM system to stop incom-
ing American missiles in case
of war. A similar American
Approved For Release 2006/01/30 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300080005-2