Office of the Historian

255. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to Vice President Mondale1

Washington, October 2, 1980

SUBJECT

  • Soviet High-Yield Nuclear Testing (U)

The President has reviewed the conclusions from the September 24 SCC Meeting on Soviet High-Yield Nuclear Testing2 and has directed that the following tasks be undertaken:

—OSTP should reconstitute its outside panel of experts to review the yield assessment problem. (C)

—There should be a second round of bilateral consultations with the UK on this issue. (S)

—ACDA with DOE should prepare a study by October 20 of the NSS development program, identifying reasons for delay and providing options for faster development, including their costs and the possibility of accepting some loss in system capability. The paper should be reviewed on an interagency basis by the Working Group, including OMB, prior to SCC consideration. (S)

Zbigniew Brzezinski3
  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files, Box 116, SCC 343, 9/24/80, USSR Nuclear Test. Secret. Also sent to Muskie, Brown, Duncan, Earle, Press, Jones, and Turner.↩
  2. See Document 254.↩
  3. Aaron signed the memorandum on Brzezinski’s behalf.↩