Date

Aug 22, 1978

Description

This summary of Document 6 in this EBB (FRUS Document 82), prepared by Odom for Brzezinski’s possible use in a memorandum to President Carter, shows the point about C³I vulnerabilities in its entirety. Odom saw it as an “extremely serious” problem because a “small Soviet attack on our C³I could make it virtually impossible for the surviving or successor NCA to retaliate for days and weeks, perhaps months.” Odom’s statement that U.S. strategic forces were in a “poor condition to respond” is also striking and may relate to the other excision in FRUS Document 82.

Source

JCPL, Zbigniew Brzezinski Material - General Odom Files, box 6, Chron, 5/1/78-8/31/78

Document published in following posting(s):

New State Department History Details Nuclear Targeting and Continuity of Government, 1977-1980

Apr 17, 2024

Memorandum From the Military Assistant to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Odom) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski), “Key Points from Your SAC/NORAD Trip,” 22 August 1978, Top Secret (“Outside the System”)