99. Letter From Secretary of Defense Laird to the Chief of the Delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (Smith)1
Dear Gerry:
One of my most important responsibilities to you as head of the US Delegation in Vienna is providing adequate, accurate, and timely intelligence. As you know, we have recently discovered many new missile starts by the Soviets which include SS–9’s, SS–11’s, and SS–13’s, as well as increased production of the Yankee Class SSBN.
To insure that you are fully briefed on the latest evidence of the continued Soviet momentum in the field of strategic forces, as well as other related intelligence matters, I am sending Mr. Robert E. Morrison to visit you and the members of your Delegation. He is the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. I have directed him to check on the effectiveness of our intelligence support and to report back to me with recommendations on how we may improve this support.
This visit is intended as an assistance to you and the Delegation. I trust you will find it helpful and that you and your staff will find time to assist Mr. Morrison in this task.
Sincerely,
- Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: FRC 330–76–076, Box 12, USSR, 388.3. Top Secret.↩