NOMINEE HINTS DELAY ON SALT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000302440058-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2010
• Sequence Number: 58
• Publication Date: January 11, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/15: CIA-RDP90-00552R000302440058-7
Nominee Hints Delay on SALT
THE WASHINGTON POST
11 January 1981
arid when to proceed with the Soviets
would be a matter for priority policy-
ihaking early in the new administra-
tioLS.. . , -
i.1r :yesterday's testimony, Haig- did
nat'commit himself on precise dates,
but his emphatic statements. on the
preconditions for negotiations seemed
clearly to indicate his line of thinking..
t3tl:think we are totally ill-prepared,
cinder` the. current menu of decisions
that-have been made [by the Carter
administration] to. negotiate success.
fiiU'y:.the kinds of arms control break-;
throughs I would like to see," the re-
tired- general said:. "I would -like to.
have- some - rather dramatic improve- '
rherit in bur overall posture as an in-
centive to--greater-breakthroughs;' he
added. ,
?"I`laig's thinking appeared to be a
refined- version of Reagan's campaign
tttll-for' the United States to use the
"trump card" of a U.S. military build-
up to impress the Soviets to make
By Dori Oberdorfer
wwhlnptonPotStaff Writer
Alexander M. Haig Jr., in his second day of testi-
mony on his nomination to be secretary of state,
called yesterday for a "rather dramatic improve.
mene ? in U.S. military power before resumption of i
arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union.
Haig's remarks strongly suggested a substantial
delay in any U.S. effort to resume negotiations with
the Russians on limiting strategic nuclear weapons.
'I1vo- strategic arms limitation treaties, SALT I ne-
gotiated and ratified under President- Nixon,. and
SALT II, negotiated by President Carter but never
ratified, have been the focal-points of. the relations
between the nuclear superpgwers over most of the
last decade. ;c E
In some two hours of interrogation by, the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, Haig cast new light
on a variety of topics,'from Cuba to,Angola to Chi-
na, which bear on what he is likely, to recommend
as the most powerful foreign policy figure in the top.
rank of the administration of. Ronald Reagan.
The , senators accepted most of :what he had to
say. in a deferential fashion reflecting a common- ex-
pectation that,.after further days of questioning and.
attempts to inspect. Nixon White House tape re
cordings,. Haig will, be confirmed as secretary -of
state. e
The timing and strategy of arms control negotia-'
tions with the Soviets is particularly important be-
cause a number of provisions .of the SALT II treaty
will expire at the end of this year. While never rati-
fied by the Senate,.the provisions of the treaty have
so far been observed by both parties, - according to
the State Department.: _ .: .:
Reagan, in the final days of the presidential.-cam
paign, said that -"as president, I will- immediately,
open negotiations on"a SALT III treaty." Reagan'
has not repeated the pledge since the election, how
ever..-
Last Tuesday, Reagan's choice for secretary of de-
.fense, Caspar W. Weinberger, said it would take at
least "a good six months". for the new administration
to be ready to resume arms control negotiations. On
Friday, Haig told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee that this represented a "personal" obser-
vation by Weinberger, and that the question of how
concessions
While seeming to stave off negotia-
tions on arms limitation, . Haig volun-
teered that he would "not at all" pre-
clude "talks" with the Russians before
the U.S. military posture is remedied.
But he also said 'that "we've got to
change the backdrop [evidently refer-
ring to military power] under which
those talk-, and ultimately the negotia-:
:tions themselves will be conducted:
successfully." 1
As . in the six-hour session on his
nomination Friday, , members of the
:Foreign Relations -.Committee;
-broached a great variety of topics to.
Haig. in an attempt to learn his views ;
and exert their influence on them.
And as on Friday, Haig. in a some- t
times gravelly voice, sitting alone at ~
the long witness' table, refused to be
pinned down to commitments and de-
tails.
His answers, even so, were sugges-
tive of attitudes and avenues in the
high policy councils of the Reagan
ad-
ministration. Among' others, -he ad-:
dressed these topics:.
? U.S relations with ' Cuba, ,which
in - the new
are likely to be strained
.
'administration. Asked if he would try
' to improve relations with Havana,
Haig replied, with an increasingly i
hard edge to his voice, "It would bel
very, very difficult for me to support
efforts toward normalization with Cu-j
STAT
ist activities in this hemisphere (,e -
signed to change by force legitimate
governments."
? The Clark amendment prohibiting
U.S. covert or overt o erations in -i
srola a provision of law t hat Haug. r
scribed as "a self defeating and unnec- I
essarv restriction" on the executive
branch in a situation that is "highiv.i
.dynamic." A
Cuban troops in Angola tipped the
scales of civil war to the currenttigov-
;erning Group. Ha:g noted that an op
position Qroup once suonorter{ by he
CIA, LNITA, is "still virulent and
.strong and functioning." PnFnra L: _.
election as president, Reagan has sug- i
nested at times that the r 3
shot, su lv arms to 'UNITA as a.
counter to Cuban an Soul t Pt'ortC .
? U.S. relations with the People's
Republic of China, which is "a strate-,,
gic relationship" of overlapping inter-
ests that should be further developed
but not, however, to function as a 4
constant "irritant" to improved rela-
tions tions with the Soviet Union. Haig did
not rule out future arms sales to Chi-
na, saying that this "extremely sensi-
tive" issue will continue to be re-
viewed 'In the light of the internation-
al environment." .
Haig declined to give his views on
,the possible official relations with Tai-
wan, an idea broached by Reagan last
September that caused an explosive
reaction in Peking. The secretary of
state-designate said he wants to talk
at length to Reagan before taking a ?
stand. Haig did say that China has "a
long way to go" before it is a military
threat to Taiwan.
In discussing U.S. assistance to in-
ternational financial institutions such
as the World Bank, Haig noted that;
his position was made "extremely del
icate" by some campaign statements.
and provisions of the Republican na-11
tional platform. The GOP called for;
emphasis on. bilateral assistance -
rather. than multinational - banks -
whenever possible, and Haig spoke:
'approvingly of the bilateral route. .
Responding to a'question, Haig re-1
jected any . suggestion 'that - he will.
strictly. adhere to provisions of the:
GOP platform, which he had no part
in drafting, though he promised to be,
aware of them and take them into
consideration as decisions are made. :
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/15: CIA-RDP90-00552R000302440058-7