WEINBERGER CALLS NUCLEAR PLANS REPORT 'INACCURATE'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00274R000300110007-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 16, 2007
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Relea-49 2007/05/16: CIA-RDP84B00274R000011000
Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger
has written to 70 newspapers to 'dis-
pute what he contends are "com=
pletely inaccurate" impressions that
Reagan' Administration policy in-
volves. the possibility of protracted
nuclear war. = -
"Our entire strategy aims to deter
war of all kinds, but most particu-
larly to deter nuclear war," Wein-
berger wrote. "To accomplish this
objective, our forces must be able to
respond in a measured and prudent
manner to the threat posed by the
Soviet Union."
Improvements in U.S. strategic
forces are needed, Weinberger said..
"but it does not mean that we en-
dorse the concept of protracted nu-
clear war, or nuclear 'warfight-
ing'" Instead, he argued, "It is the
Soviet Union that appears to be
building forces for a 'protracted'
conflict" -
WASHINGTON (0-Defense.
fence guidance statement;,: which:' wail" in a nuclear war and the belief
the Pentagon draws up e ach year to that the Soviets perceive nuclear
project its needs, - said that 'pro- ' war as winnable.
tracted nuclear war is possible': -"This is the kind of semantic
game that I don't think is useful to
,F. get into,? Catto said. ;'The main $.
Text Of.* ' letter- Part : point is that nobody is going to win g
clear war-perhaps as long as sd; Henry Catto,refused Tuesday to
capable of fighting a prolonged nu-.' Weinberger's chief spokesman,
the Administration had decided that any attack. Otherwise, we would be
to deter nuclear war, the United tempting them to employ nuclear
(The letter was sent MondaY .. tended period.
..u-.
response to press accounts, based on' - ..'Defer Any Attack'
:(The Los Angeles Times also re
ported ~ that, last fall,. the nation
Security Council adopted National
Security Decision -Document 13,
which- for-the first time declared
that it is U.S. policy to prevail in a
protracted nuclear war.)
In his letter, sent to 30 U.S. news-
papers and 40 foreign publications,
Weinberger said he was "increas-
ingly concerned with news ac-
counts that portray this Adminis-
tration as planning to wage pro-
tracted,nuclear war .... This is
stories ' misrepresent the Adminis-
tration's policies to the American
public and to our allies and adver-
Weinberger said that although
cept of protracted war, "we must
have a capability for a survivable
strate that our strategic forces could :
that "the United States' nuclear ca-..
pabilities must prevail even under'
the condition of a prolonged wai." ` `
(Weinberger signed the defense
guidance statement, which was
leaked to the New York Tunes this
spring. The Pentagon subsequently
completed a strategic master plan to
give the United States the capacity
to wage a protracted nuclear war,
which the Los Angeles Times re-
ported last week. That plan is now
awaiting the approval of the Na-
tional SecurityCounc7.< . =