INTERNATIONAL ARMS TRADE INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 5, 2012
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: August 11, 1988
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
~~~~~
i i AUG 1988 ~~ ~'~ .,.,..,...,..4~
FROM:
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
VIA: Acting Deputy Director for Intelligenc
trade data. (Attachment A)
1. Action Requested: That you sign the attached
memorandum to William F. Burns, Director of ACDA, which
responds to his request for the declassification of arms
Senator Boren. (Attachment B)
3. We strongly feel that it would be inappropriate to
declassify the type of information being asked for. The
response we have prepared is consistent with the response we
prepared for the Office of Congressional Affairs when it was
answering a similar request from Senator Proxmire via
letter from Senator Proxmire to Secretary Shultz.
you a memorandum asking that the Agency make an effort to
declassify arms trade data. His request was prompted by a
2. Background: On 25 July 1988, William F. Burns sent
4. For your convenience we have also attached a copy
of the guidelines that we have developed for responding to
requests for detailed arms trade information. (Attachment
Attachments:
A. Memo to General Burns
B. Senator Proxmire Material
C. Guidelines
25X1
Lill I.
51H1
n neat
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
SUBJECT: International Arms Trade Information
DDI/OGI/C/ISID/AT/William Weber:
stribut
Orig -
ion:
Addressee, w/atts
1 -
DCI, w/atts
1 -
Executive Registry, w/atts
1 -
ADDI, w/atts
1 -
DI Registry, w/atts
1 -
C/NIC,
w/atts
1 -
D/OCA,
w/atts
1 -
OD/OGI,
w/atts
1 -
OGI/ISID, w/atts
(11 August 1988)
25X1
STAT
SECRET 25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 c~nn?nm 25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
CentrallntelligenceA~ency ER 2875/1 88
23AUG1988
MEMORANDUM FOR: Major General William F. Burns, USA
(Retired)
Director, United States Arms Control
and Disarmament Agency
REFERENCE: Your memo to DCI, dtd 25 Jul 88, Same Subject
1. I share your belief that arms trade and production in the
Third World will be of increasing concern to us in the years ahead
and deserves to be analyzed more extensively. The Intelligence
Community has taken several steps in the last few years to improve
its abilities to monitor and anal ze arms transfers to the Third
World.
2. Regularly disseminating less aggregated data than we
currently provide would jeopardize these new methodologies and
place our monitorin capabilities at risk.
Please be assured, however, that classified arms trade
information is ,broadly disseminated to experts with a variety of
perspectives.
4. As a result, I believe that efforts to tailor the data now
made available by the Intelligence Community for publication in
ACDA's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers in some other
fashion, as proposed by Senator Proxmire, would risk more than
would be gained. We would, of course, be willing to review any
specific proposals you would like to make in this regard.
/sl 'I~illiam H. 'Webster
William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
Q
Next 1 Page(s) In Document Denied
STAT
STAT
STAT
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
. ~~i~~~r~m rnvnm~n~
'MnscoNSn~
~lnit~~ ~tate,~ ~enat~
June 13, 19813
The Honorable David Boren, Chairman
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Louis Stokes, Chairman
House Permanent Select Commmittee
on Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20515
On June y, I gave a speech on the Senate floor on the subject
of arms transfers to developing nations. The idea for the speech
grew out of a Memorial Day column in the New York Times by James
Reston in which he cited a report that stated that the world was
engaged in 25 wars in 1987. Most of these conflicts took place
in underdeveloped parts of the world.
In preparation for that speech I sought information detailing
the value of the arms exported to these nations at war and the
countries that were the main suppliers of these arms. I
consulted the annual Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA)
publication on this issue, titled World Military Expenditures and
Arms Transfers 1987, but I was unable to find this information.
In fact, the most detailed breakdown of nation-to-nation arms
transfers was a table that cumulatively covered the period 1982-
1986, but it did not even include all the arms exporting nations.
I contacted ACDA to get some answers but much to my surprise,
I was told that this type of detailed information was classified
and unavailable to the public. Consequently, I was forced to use
aggregate figures that detailed the value of the arms transfers
from the communist and non-communist world to various regions of
the world for the ten-year period of 1977-1986.
I question the decision to keep classified this important
information. I propose that the U.S. declassify a list of all
the world's arms exports to countries at war. I believe that
this would provide the basis for negotiations with the Soviets on
limiting or eliminating the export of arms to nations at war. It
also would provide a year-by-year public record of the major arms
exporting and importing nations, and the types of arms being
transfered.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 ' Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
Page 2
I am interested in the reasons that the U.S. government cites
for keeping this detailed arms transfer information classified.
I would like to see ACDA publish a yearly report citing the
total arms exports of all nations, the recipient nations of
these shipments, and the types of weapons transferred. As
Chairmen of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, could
you inquire of the administration the justification for
classifying this detailed information on global arms transfers
and relay to me their response?
With best wishes,
,~
Sincer~Yy, ;'
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020~8
Senate
The Senate met at 9:30 a.m_. on L.`ie
expiration of Lhe recess, and w?as
called Lo order by the Honorable Jor~
BRUttz, a Senator from the State of
Loufsiana
PRAY?8
The Chaplain, the Reverend Rich-
ard C. Halverson, D.D.. oL`ered the fol-
lowing prayer.
LeL us pray:
ilessed is late action trhose Cod us
lP:e Lord ? ? ?.-Psalm 33:12.
Eternal God, dust and hol; in all
Thy avays, thank You that our Found-
ing Fathers took seriously the words
cf the psalmist-that nation is blessed
whose God is the Lord. The proces-
sional athlete calls it fundamentals= '
the sociologist calls it roots-but by
whatever name it fs indispensable to
self-understaadirg, self-worth and dig-
nity, self-realization sad progress, per-
sonaIIy and collectively. Our Foundir~
Fathers debated long and hard as to
the relation between church and
state-but whore^er their views, they
believed earnestly that virtue ar:d
faith in Gcd were indissoluble. TI;^.;
crafted our political system in the con-
viction trot a Creator God endorsed
human rights, which are Lna:ienable-
and to secure which is the n:azdote of
a gocerzunent which receives its power
from the consent of the grn~erned.
Help us, Righteous Father, to see that
at the heart of present frustration
with imponderable social evil is discon-
nection from our spiritual/moral
roots-that to return to these funda-
mentals which guided and nurtured
our unprecedented blessing as a nation
is essential to our preservation. Hear
us and awaken us, O Lord, our God.
Amen.
APPOIIvTTMENT OF ACTIPFG
PRESIDENT PRO TE~SPORE
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
clerk tsill please read a communication
to the Senate from the President pro
tempore [Mr. SzExxtsl.
The legislative clerk res.d rye foIlow-
ing letter.
II.S. Scna'ra.
PR!Sr7GYS !RO TL'1SPOR$
-washinQton, DC. Ju-u 9, 1333.
To the Senate.?
Under the pro~?isio:u of rule 1, sec~ian 3,
of the StanainY Rules of the Sena:? 1
hereby appoint the Honorable JCrL`i
THIII3SD6Y, Jul+r>r 9, 1933
EREAIIL a SeRaLD? from the Stale of I.nulsi-
ana, to ptrform the dunes of the Chtir.
Joy C. Sreiats.
Prrstdent pro tamywe
I,Cr. BREAUg thereupon assumed
the chair as Acting President pro Lem-
pore.
RECOGNITION OF 'THE
MAJORITY LEADER
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Under the standing order, the
zna;ority leader +s recognized.
b:r. B i~RD. Ikir. President, I ask
unanirsous consent that my time be
reserved until later.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Without objection, it is so or-
dered.
RECOG~TTION OF THE
REPUBLICA.*d LEAD
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Under the st~zding order the
Republican leader is now recoeni:.ed.
blr. DOLE. I make the same request.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. R tthout objection, it 15 so or-
dered.
IvIORNING BUSI'N'ESS
The ACTL~IG PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. tinder Lhe previous order there
will now be a period of morning busi-
ness net to extend beyond the hour of
10 am with Senators permitted Lo
speak therein for not to exceed 5 min-
u.,es
T Chair recognizes the Senator
fr Wisconsin, Mr. Paoxaarxa.
UR MOST DISGR_9CF.y"JL FID-
ERAL WASTE: AR14IS TO DEVELr
OPING COUNTRIES
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President. re-
cently, senior New York Times colum-
nist James Reston observed a chilling
fact. On last Memorial Day, when
many of us were speaking in our home
States about the blessings of peace,
much of the world was engaged in
deadly and heartbreaking wars. How
many wars were going on last year?
Answer: 25. That is the report of a
Washington research Institute called
World Priorities. Reston reports that
Futh Leger Shard, wlro signed the
report, asserts that more a-ars were
fought in 1987 then in any precious
Fear on record. Of course, practically
ail of these Z5 a'e.rs are sh'li Going on.
Already, Vlorid Priorities estL~r_ates
that 3 million people-75 peree-rt of
them civilians-have died in these
mars. It also estimatPS ttrat fn ail the
Bars since the end of World War II in
1945, the death tota3 ticeeds 17 mil-
lion.
This wholesale and largely senseless
~illirrg has hero going an !n Latin
America, the Middle East, Africa, and
Asia. The location of these wars tells
us something. North America has been
spared this bloodshed. So has Europe.
The killing, the trauma, the misery of
tear has been entirely fznposed on L`:e
people of~the tinderd~elvped world.
But the efficient, des.d?y ~eaporrs to
fight ma-~q of these wars came from
the United States and the Soviet
Union, from France and Poland, from
West Germany and Czechoslocakla.
Much of the cost of these weapons was
extracted from the aL~ea,dy impover-
ished developing countries and aII of
the profits from fabricaturg lhere
weapons of death went to developed
countries like the IInited States and
tl:e Soviet Union.
The huge war casualties mE3sure
only a part of Lhe misery imposed on
these coun[ries. People in these devel-
oping countries are desperate for cap-
ItaL They suffer grossly luadequate
ho~~~in .Many are litPratiy st. rvi_~rg.
Most are able to afford o.-rly the most
rudimentary kind of health care. For
them, war has been especiaIIy cruel
War has taken from these people
iauch of the pathetically limited .re-
sources they so urgently need to
scrape a bare living from the soil. War
has brought widespread burning of
their homes. It has brought Lhe killing
of their livestock. War has directed
the energ=es of their youngest and
strongest manpower from oanstructiue
work to kiting equaIIy poor and mi_scr-
able neighbors.
So what can we do about this gro-
tesque situation? Reston proposes as a
starter that the major nations that
dominate world communications pub-
tlch anannual tally of those who have
been k~ed in a?ar in the preceding
year. This is a wise be~nIling. I pro-
pose that we go further_ I propose
that the United States declassify a IisL
of all the world's arms exports to
countries at war. We should rt;port
t1=L-- alo^g with a record of t`re number
of human beings killed in each war in
the preceding year.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8
Q
Next 2 Page(s) In Document Denied
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/06 :CIA-RDP90M00005R000400030020-8