WHY U.S. POLICY HAS FLIPPED ON EXPOSING RED SPACE DUDS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00297R000201420007-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 23, 2013
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/25: CIA-RDP74-00297R000201420007-9
HERALD
Rut We Still haven't Baird AU
Why U.S. Policy Has Flipped \N
ere-
On Exposing Red Space Duds
By BOBBAT S. BOYD
et tessataster Berea
wAstarttrrort The sud-
den U.S. decision to publicise
? ItOlaket stow failures chinas-
' ec i long, bithind.the-scons
' strategy me,-
friumt intside the
government.
The civilian
ellent7
anneenteed bite
W Cd ne allay.
night Bud Bus-
, sia ettink out
on Live attempts
?Teach the
rplimets in the
last tare years Boyd
and the shah try was only a
partialsiosess. Some officials
oin the Space Agency, the Stets
-?,-,epartiM and the U.S. In- ,
formation Agency have been
urging all along that Oh*
t world be told about Russian'
'failures at well as successes.
Military men and' the Central
Internam. Avricy bad ve-
toed the id* however, on the
;groins& that it would give
Away their secret sources of.
tinformation. ?
Their view ? that security.
considerations outweighed pot-
sible propaganda benefits ? .
,had been government polievl.
;until now. The decision to,
. tweak the truth loosiwas ap-
parently ratifhd at, the meet-'.
;Mg of the Notional Security,
Council Wednesday. The an- '
nouncetnent came in the form
of a letter from Space Agency
Director James Webb, reply-
Ing to a request for informa-
tion from the chairmen of the
,Senate and House space coal-
:rnittees. But this was only a
smokescreen. The congression-
al committees had been told.
. in confidence, of the Russian
failures long ago.
They simply went along
with the adkainistration's
de-
cisiori to relies* the informa-
tion now,
* * * ?
SPACS AGILItclf Spokes.
men refuse to say why it is
considered all right now to
talk about Russian failures
but not earlier.
But CM reason was that
word of the nelt-to-laFt MIR ?
Sian failure, an attempt to
Shoot gxocket to Venus on
Aug. 25, two days before our
Mariner II, leaked out last
week.
- Pieces at the Russian
elle were observed circhniz !hi,
earth by members of a civiitste
moon-watch team organ hos.t
by the Smithsonian AstroPhy-
sical Observatory.
When they :reverted what
they had seen, the Space
Agency was forced to con-
firm it. ?
"When we knew of the
%fail-
re, and they knew that Sus
knew, there wasn't much point
concealing it", one source said.
The other, more important
reason for the publicity was.
apparently the worsening in.,
tornadoes& situation.
"Irk involved in cold.
-WSW strabsilP."a Nor!. _eV
*tit sa.id. "I wish / cot* ten
,pou that whole story, but Mt
*ill probably never comeieut*
* * *
, CRUM factors affecting
the thin's& of the armennce.
merit v, ere the successful midi,
ceursa manatver? to straight-
en out the VB. Venus shot
Tuesday. and the break-up of
the Russian Sputnik IV over
Wisconsin early Wednesday.
"It seemed an appropriate ?
occasion in view of the con.
fusing times." said Sen. Spas.
said Holland (D., 'Fla.), a
member of the Senate Space
Committee.
The U. Information 'Agave
.cY beau broadgeating repte
on the Soviet bantam over
the Voice of Aeolic& lbws.
day. It also relayed the stied:,
world via Bs livireletis Press
network.
"We ',stemd to pound this
message hone,* ? a' USIA
spokesman said. "The world
$,tinuid know about Soviet tail.
urir;
as well as . Soviet ine-
coneb."
One high space offidal skid
he thought the decision to tell
the world was long overdue.
I hope it shows wiry* meths.
" he said. "Our detection
methods ate Way . well
known. They don't Involve pee.
pie inside the Swift Union
ho could be. hurt. so It seems
:ate, enough to release it."
? * *
.sNOTBESI source said Mill-
lacy men fought ' the an-
nounce:nand Until the very
hist.
"It's so ridiculous," he *id.
?
"They didn't want to identill
the country where . the shot - ? ?
came from?as V It "lid be ?
any plat* but Rinds:" ' ? ?
Officials declined to discuss
U.a. detectkn. man* It Is
knoWn, however, that the,
Specs Agency and.. the re'
tense Department makdain a
world - wide nonfat tracking -
network. The Air Foot pub-
licly brags abont d* ability ,
id Its *antic mina, early -1
wand's, systetn?hrearialitaxi;
ss.s* in
arid Britain ? dodged Rus-
sian missile sholerne Mau u
they rise Over Op
'The Spat*
cllned to talk-
stbly Russian as ?
the many rowels -
suecessful attempts * Pit
MOM into orbit.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/25 : CIA-RDP74-00297R000201420007-9