IN YOUR LETTER OF JUNE 7 YOU REQUESTED THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REACTION TO H. R. 2760

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00363R000400870020-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 18, 2007
• Sequence Number: 20
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R000400870020-5
TILE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Honorable J. Kenneth Robinson
Ranking Minority Member
Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman:
In your letter of June 7 you requested the Defense Depart-
ment reaction to H.R. 2760, a bill that prohibits US support
of military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua and
authorizes an overt interdiction effort in cooperation with
governments in the region. Under Secretary Ikle sent you a
preliminary answer on June 15. I am pleased to provide you.
now with a more detailed response to your questions.
Past experience -tells us that the support of an insurgency
movement is nearly impossible to interdict if the insurgents
have the advantage of a nearby sanctuary area, protected against
any and all interdiction efforts, which can be used to direct
and funnel supplies over many different routes. The passage
of H.R. 2760 would effectively turn Nicaragua into such a
sanctuary.
Nicaragua, of course, is the pivotal link in the support
system to the El Salvadoran guerrillas. Arms and supplies
flow into El Salvador from Nicaragua overland through Honduras,
as well as by sea and air. Nicaragua also provides extensive
assistance to the insurgents in terms of training, command and
control and overall guidance of the guerrilla war effort.
An interdiction program which treats Nicaragua as a
sanctuary would be prohibitively expensive. For example, inter-
diction against ground supply flow alone could cost upwards of
$300 million the first year, and at least $100 million for each
subsequent year. Even at these levels, little interdiction
could be achieved against air or waterborne infiltration.
Given the limited resources of friendly Central American
nations, and their shortage of trained personnel, an interdic-
tion program of this magnitude would certainly require extensive
deployment of US personnel to the area. If the insurgents and
their supporters in Nicaragua decide to fight the interdiction
then US personnel would become the target of enemy attack. In
short, the involvement of the United States in combat in Central
America would likely be much greater than the sponsors of H.R.
2760 had in mind.
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APPLY
Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R000400870020-5
 Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R000400870020-5
The report of your committee of May 13, 1983, states
that the insurgency in El Salvador "depends for its lifeblood --
arms, ammunition, financing, logistics, and command-and-control
facilities -- upon outside assistance from Nicaragua and Cuba."
We agree with this assessment. I continue to believe,-however,
that this critical support to the insurgency in El Salvador cannot
be curtailed through interdiction efforts that have to treat the
territory of Nicaragua as a sanctuary.
Sincerely,
Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R000400870020-5