Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XLIV, Part 1, National Security Policy, 1985–1988

213. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Carlucci) to President Reagan¹

Washington, undated

SUBJECT

• Report on Soviet Noncompliance with Arms Control Agreements—NSDD

Issue

Whether to approve the attached National Security Decision Directive on the Administration’s current annual report on Soviet Noncompliance with Arms Control Agreements.²

Background

At the request of the Congress, the Administration has provided three annual reports to the Congress on Soviet Noncompliance with Arms Control Agreements. The reports, prepared by the interagency Arms Control Verification Committee in both classified and unclassified versions, provide extensive analyses and verification findings on a wide range of compliance issues raised by Soviet activities. Because of competing priorities, including the Reykjavik summit, and because of the complexity and contentiousness of most such compliance issues, the current report (which was due on December 1, 1986) is, like the past annual reports, somewhat overdue.

Discussion

The attached NSDD outlines your established concerns about the extensive pattern of Soviet violations and the adverse military and diplomatic implications of the Soviet failure to correct their noncompliance and to continue their massive military buildup. The NSDD reviews your decisions on putting behind us the expired SALT I and SALT II agreements, which the Soviets continued to violate, even as the United States continues to exercise utmost restraint in its strategic force modernization as we press for equitable and verifiable agreements on deep reductions in US and Soviet nuclear arsenals. The NSDD reflects our best judgments as to the Administration’s findings on individual compliance issues, including clear violations and troublesome Soviet activities with regard to the ABM Treaty, the Biological and Chemical Weapons conventions, the Threshold Test Ban Treaty, the Limited Test Ban Treaty, and the Helsinki Final Act. Finally, the NSDD addresses major issues for further study by agencies.

Recommendation

OK NO

____ ____ That you review and approve the proposed NSDD attached at Tab A.³

1. Source: National Security Council, National Security Council Institutional Files, Box SR–094, NSDD 260. Secret. Sent for action. Prepared by Kraemer.
2. Printed as Document 215.
3. Reagan neither approved nor disapproved the recommendation.