Office of the Historian

52. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense Brown to President Carter1

Washington, March 3, 1978

During preparation for your visit to the National Military Command Center (NMCC) on 28 January 1978,2 I examined available SIOP targeting options for non-Soviet Warsaw Pact (NSWP) countries. I believe the information on the effects that ‘withholds’ could have on fatalities and on attack effectiveness in the NSWP may be of interest to you.

[3 paragraphs (21 lines) not declassified]

Your visit to the NMCC set a most welcome precedent. Continued practice exercises of the SIOP with your participation will prove valuable in refining that decision process.

Harold Brown
  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 86, Defense: 1978. Top Secret. Outside the System. Carter initialed the memorandum.↩
  2. See footnote 2, Document 50.↩