GREENPEACE ATTACK LINKED TO KEY ATOMIC TESTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000503860005-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: September 25, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000503860005-8
NEW YORK TIMES
ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAGE_
A
25 September 1985
Greenpeace Attack Linked to Key
Atomic Tests, While details of France's nucleat
the edge of French territorial waters, g m remain secret, offs;
By PAUL LEWIS Admiral Fages warned, it would be dif- testin progra
spe" to TM New York Times ficult to prevent the crews from sailing, , cials report that this year's nuclear
PARIS, Sept. 24 - The sabotage of in fast dinghies to the atolls of Mururoa' tests mainly involve two types of weap-
an antinuclear protest ship by French I and Fangataufa, where the tests are ons components. The first is the 1.50.
agents was intended to stop the envi- carried out. The admiral asked for kiloton warhead for the M-4, which 19
ronmentalist group Greenpeace from additional police forces to capture any- now being fitted on French submarines
disrupting the testing of two types of one who landed on the atolls, and he re- and will later be upgraded by the
nuclear weapons that are part of a new quested more information about the longer-range M-5. The second type is a
generation of French armaments, ac- Rainbow Warrior's movements. 60-kiloton warhead to be used on a new.
cording to French sources and others. Greenpeace officials say they think medium-range ground-to-ground mis-
But it is not known why the French the French decision to sink the boat re- sile known as Hades that is scheduled'
intelligence service took the drastic flected both the importance of the nuv' for deployment.in 1992.
step of sinking the Greenpeace boat, clear tests and the fact that the Raino Other new French nuclear weapons
the Rainbow Warrior, instead of in- bow Warrior was far larger and better" include a medium-range air-to-ground'
capacitating it in some other way. A equipped than a ship used in a Green- missile with a 100-to?300-kiloton war'
Greenpeace photographer was killed in peace protest in 1982. The Rainboo head, which is now being issued to the
was able to stay at sea much air force, and a neutron bomb, or radia,.
W
the attack in New Zealand on July 10. .
A former officer in the Special Air
ervice, an elite British undercover
paramilitary body trained in sabotage,
expressed amazement at the decision
to sink the vessel, asserting that it
could have been put out of action in
many other ways.
Increasing French Anxiety
amor
longer and to transmit photographs 9f' tion weapon, which has been tested but
what the crew saw, they said. is not yet in production. A new warhead
Stephen Sawyer, the Greenpeace for France's land-based intercontinett-
project coordinator, noted that the. tat missiles is also planned. In addition;
waters around Mururoa were closed to France regularly tests existing weap-
shipping on May 28, shortly aftep ons from its stockpile to insure that-
sa
k
y.
, sources
France carried out its largest explosiotl ? they wor
in two years. In the test, a 150-kiloton Many experts see France's new nu-
warhead for the M-4 missile was ex- clear weapons as part of a gradual shift
ploded on may 8, just before such mis: away from de daulle's belief that,
siles were deployed on the new subma _ France could stay out of a European -
rine inflexible. war by threatening any aggressor with
Mr. Sawyer speculated that the test, nuclear destruction. Instead, the'
might have caused radiation leakage. French increasingly favor a more flex-
or damage to the atoll and thus in- ible strategy based on joining other`,'
creased French determination to keep allies in the defense of West Germany.'-.
out intruders. The M-4's, which carry six independ
1 e mid='
ac
d
There has been speculation that the
size and importance of France's cur-
rent nuclear testing program may have
encouraged the authorities to take
drastic steps to keep out intruders.
While it remains unclear who or-
dered the French intelligence service
to sink the Rainbow Warrior. a Govern-
ment report on the incident, issued_lasL
month, indicated that authorities itf e,
French nuclear program were increas-
ingly anxious about Greenoeace's
plans to send a protest flotilla to the Pa-
cific test site this year.
Adm. _Henri Faxes, head of _ the
French Nuclear Testing Authority,
made repeated requests for help to
Charles Hernu then Defe ,
and Adm Pierre T . Shsu.h ad.of
the intelligence service,_ according to
the vernment report.
Even if the flotilla were stopped at
A Major Modernization
The new nuclear weapons that
France is testing in Mururoa this year'
are part of a major modernization of its,'
nuclear deterrent that has been under
way for several years but is only now,
yielding results. -
In addition to acquiring more flexibl%
and advanced weapons, French
sources and others said, France ap-
pears to be slowly modifying its tradi-'
tional independent defense policy itt
favor of greater cooperation with its"
allies.
s, rep
ently targeted warhea
siles having a single one-megaton war
head. The change will allow subma-
rines to attack many smaller targets%
and permit a more graduated nuclear
response than massive retaliation.
In addition, France's decision to de-'
velop new tactical nuclear weapons, in
cluding the Hades, the neutron bomb
and the air-to-ground missile, all ap-
pear designed to enable it to fight a
ground war in Western Europe instead
of concentrating its forces on the de-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000503860005-8