https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/4a80262e448c6ec8cd866792f27b897c.pdf 25e3bc52c2e8d7cc7425d2e3cd1ca0a6 PDF Text Text he Acces Docume ^ DEPARTMENT OF^EXTERNAL AFFAIR Subject - V .. Date B-S.M.J?. April 19,JL969 Publication Toronto^..G^be and Mail U.S. might become 2nd class without Safeguard, Nixon says By TERRANCE WILLS Globe ond Mail Corresponded WASHINGTON - The Safeguard anti-ballistic missile; system is "absolutely essen-'. tial to the national security" of the United States, President Richard Nixon said yesterday. Without S a f e g u a r d , the United States is in danger of falling into a "second class or inferior" position militarily because intelligence reports show that Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile capa- ; bility and its plans for a mi- i clear-armed submarine force are both 60 per cent higher , than they were thought to be a year ago, Mr. Nixon told a news conference. The P r e s i d e n t rs strong stand for Safeguard, during a nationally t e l e v i s e d news t conference, solidly committed him to fight all out for deployment of the $7-billion defensive'missile. • i The proposed ABM system , has run into wide and deep , oppositiion on Capitol Hill and throughout the United States. Some leading Republicans are ' opposed to it, but there are proportionately more Democrats in Congress against it. The anti-ABM forces are being led by Senator Edward | Kennedy of Massachusetts, front-runner for the Demo- ! cratic Party nomination for presidential candidate in 1972. However, Mr. Nixon said yesterday he does not want the issue to become partisan and he respects the right of Republican senators to hold opinions opposed to Safeguard. i Actbrmation In fact, there is "vigorous ' dissension" within the Administration's National Security Council about Safeguard, he said in a comment that appeared to slip out and that would not appear to be designed to aid the pro-ABM forces. ^ Mr. Nixon said, however, that he is confident that Safeguard will be approved by Congress. He has said before it will be a close fight in the Senate, perhaps hinging on one vote. There are few on either side who dispute that assessment. = = = = = But that is about the only element in the debate that is not in dispute. The anti-ABM forces say the system will escalate the arm's race, cost billions above the estimate, and ruin any hope of arms limitation talks with the Soviet Union. The pro-ABM forces, led by the Defense Department, say the system is essential to protect the U.S. deterrent ICBM force and thereby preserve the balance of terror, and that it will speed talks with the Russians. Safeguard would .deploy ABMs, designed to disarm attacking ICBMs, around nine • U.S. Minuteman ICBM bases and Washington. It is the Rep u b l i c a n Administration's. modification on the former Democratic Administration's Sentinel system, which was passed by Congress last year and which would have seen the missiles deployed around ' 15 cities. ' Mr. Nixon' told the press -conference yesterday: "Even since the decision to deploy the ABM system called Sentinel in 1967, the intelligence estimates indicate that the Russians' capability with regard to their SS-9s, their nuclear missiles, was 60 per cent ! higher than we thought then, that their plans for nuclear sians are going for a firstsubmarines were 60 per cent strike" by deploying giant 25higher than we thought then." megaton SS-9 missiles that His decision favoring Safe- could destroy the U.S. ICBMs. guard was "to avoid failing Mr. Nixon said yesterday he into a second class or inferior is puzzled why the Russians position vis-a-vis the Soviet "are moving so heavily in this direction (but) as far as the Union." intentions are conSafeguard is essential for Soviets' cerned . . . (it) is not somethe national security and "es- thing I am going to comment sential to avoid putting an upon. I don't know what their American President, either intentions are. this President or the next "But we have to base our President, in the position where the United States would policy on' their capabilities, be second rather than first or and when we project their at least equal to a potential SS-9 plans into 1972 or 1973, if ..we ^allopthOSe plans to go forenemy." Mr. Nixon also emphasized ward, without taking any acthat, in the 1970s, the Chinese tion ourselves either offenwill have "a significant nu- sively or defensively to counclear capability which would - teract them, they will be submake our diplomacy not cred- stantially ahead -of the United ible in the Pacific unless we States in over-all nuclear cacould protect our country pability. We cannot allow that against a Chinese attack to happen." aimed at our cities." At the time of the Cuban His decision was based not missiles crisis, the United on Republican versus Demo- States was four to five times crat but on what is best for ' ahead of the Soviet Union in the country, he said. "I am nuclear capability, he said. going to fight as hard as I can "We don't have that today. for it because I think it is ab- That gap has been closed. We solutely essential to the secu- shall never have it again because it will not be necessary rity of the country." Defense Secretary Melvin for us. Sufficiency as I have Laird has testified on Capitol indicated is aU that is necesHill that he believes the Rus- sary." 000256 A � Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDBM00224 Title A name given to the resource Transcript from Globe and Mail Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 4/19/1969 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived RG25-A-3-c, file 27-11-7, "DEFENCE - CONVENTIONAL AND NUCLEAR ARMAMENTS - ANTI - BALLISTIC MISSILES (ABM) = DEFENSE - ARMEMENTS DE TYPE CLASSIQUE ET NUCLEAIRE - ENGINS ANTIMISSILES (ABM)," vol. 10357, part 6, Library and Archives Canada, (LAC). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource External Affairs Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Canadian Crown Subject The topic of the resource Anti-ballistic missiles Description An account of the resource US Might become 2nd Class without Safeguard, Nixon says Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en