No Objection To Decl ssification in Full 2013 11 15 NL -12-11-6-1 3_-3 - -· --·· ---------·------ -·-- --···- -- -- ------ - ----------·--· --·· c -- IL 'j 2858-XX MEMORANDUM THE WHITE HO USE TOP SECRET SENSITIVE WASHINGTON ACTION May 9 1980 MF MORANDUM FOR ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI FROM WILLIAM E ODO JASPER WELCH SUBJECT Nuclear Employment PD C lV The final version of the PD on nuclear targeting policy is at Tab A have covered it with a short memorandum to the President explaining that Harold Brown fully supports it and that there are some excellent reasons operational and political for him to sign the document Tab I • TS we We believe that it is wise to have it signed before asking Defense to develop a briefing strategy for the NATO NPG and others You can hold the directive for a week or so while that is being done S RECOMMENDATION --- That you sign the memorandum to the President at Tab I ' U - _ - TOP SECRET SENSITIVE Review on May 10 2000 Classified and Extended by z Brzezinski Reason for Extension NSC l 13 e No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12 1-6-16-3 2858-XX MEMORANDUM THE WHITE HOUSE WASHISGTON TOP SECRET SENSITIVE ACTION MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT FROM ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI SUBJECT Nuclear Employment Policy C The basic strategy document of your Administration PD-18 called for a follow-on review of our nuclear employment policy Two major studies one on targeting and one on secure reserve forces were completed in 1978 and presented to the sec in April 1979 Although the sec accepted most of the recommendations it also called for additional work S At the same time Harold Brown began implementing the sec accepted recommendations In January 1979 as part of his annual Defense Report Harold laid out publicly the rationale for our evolving employment policy and gave i t a name countervailing strategy Together with the Joint Chiefs Harold has been working out a de tailed implementation directive that he woulcL issue In the past few weeks the few outstanding issues have been resolved S Harold and I have discussed next steps and we believe that it is wise to codify these changes in a Presidential Directive as originally intended by PD-18 The text of such a directive which would replace the extant NSDM-242 is at Tab A Harold has edited it personally and has discussed it with the Joint Chiefs of Staff because it largely concerns military contingency planning Otherwise i t has been closely held S The directive marks a significant step in employment doctrine main features are Its Maintenance of a strong thread of continuity with our past deterrence doctrine to include nucl_ear support for our allies New emphasis on flexibility which will make us better able to adjust to any surprises that growing Soviet capabilities could present us in operations This is to be achieved through better staffing capabilities a gradual increase in reserve forces and better targeting of mobile and soft military targets as well as c3r Renewed emphasis on c 3 r as a more and more critical element of an effective deterrent capability TOP SECRET SENSITIVE Review on May 10 2000 Reason for Extension NSC l 13 e No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 l No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NJ -12-11-6-1' _ l 2 TOP SECRET SENSITIVE A requirement for exercises to validate and improve our doctrine and capabilities Your participation in IVORY ITEM exercises in 1978 gave a much needed check of our plans The new directive calls for two exercises annually TS In addition to the requirements for an integrating directive on employment policy within the military services and the intelligence community there are two other compelling reasons for this document s First Harold can use references to it in public and private statements which are intended to complicate Soviet planning and to convince them and our allies that we will not be paralyzed in a crisis between cataclysmic options and capitulation This is particularly critical for the next few years while a number of our strategic programs are not yet fully deployed S Second it may help blunt sharp criticism that we are not dealing adequately with the changing requirements for deterrence in the face of growing Soviet forces and capabilities S RECOMMENDATION Sign the Directive at Tab A ' U - TOP SECRET SENSITIVE No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 l No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-_6-16-3 THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON TOP SECRET SENSITIVE Presidential Directive NBC- The Vice President The Secretary of State The Secretary of Defense TO ALSO SUBJECT The Director Office of Management and Budget The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff The Director of Central Intelligence Nuclear Weapons Employment Policy C In PD-18 I directed a follow-on study of our targeting policy for nuclear forces I have reviewed the results and considered their implications for maintaining deterrence in the present decade particularly in light of the growing Soviet strategic weapons arsenal and its capabilities S The most fundamental objective of our strategic policy remains nuclear deterrence I reaffirm the directive of PD-18 to that effect The purpose of this directive is to outline policies and actions in the nuclear force employment field to secure that continuing objective S Our strategic nuclear forces must be able to deter nuclear attacks not only on our own country but also on our forces overseas as well as on our friends and allies and to contribute to deterrence of norit·nuc·te-ar attacks To continue to deter in an era of strategic nuclear equivalence it is necessary to have nuclear as well as conventional forces such that in considering aggression against our interests any adversary would recognize that no plausible outcome would represent a victory on any plausible definition of victory To this end and so as to preserve the possibility of bargaining effectively to terminate the war on acceptable terms that are as favorable as practical if deterrence fails initially we must be capable of fighting successfully so that the adversary would not achieve his war aims and would suffer costs that are unacceptable or in any event greater than his gains from having initiated an attack C TOP SECRET SENSITIVE Review on May 7 2000 Reason for Extension NSC l 13 e No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 ' No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11--_6-16-3 TOP SECRET SENSITIVE 2 The employment of nuclear forces must be effectively related to operations of our general purpose forces our doctrines for the use of forces in nuclear conflict must insure that we can pursue specific policy objectives selected by the National Command Authorities at that time from general guidelines established in advance S These requirements form the broad outline of our evolving countervailing strategy To meet these requirements improvements should be made to our forces their supporting C3 and intelligence and their employment plans and planning apparatus to achieve a high degree of flexibility enduring survivability and adequate performance in the face of enemy actions The following principles and goals should guide your efforts in making these improvements S Pre-planned options The Single Integrated Operational Plan will provide p e-planned targeting for strikes against the Soviet Union its allies and its forces It should provide for retaliatory strikes that will be effective even if the Soviets attack first without warning and in a manner designed to reduce our capability as much as possible It will be developed with flexible sub-options that will permit to the extent that survival of C3 allows sequential selection of attacks from among a full range of military targets industrial targets providing immediate military support and political control targets while retaining a survivable and enduring capability that is sufficient to attack a broader set of urban and industrial targets In addition to the maximum extent possible pre planned -·options -will be provided for selection in reiiponse to specific lesser contingencies including attacks on Cuba SRV and North Korea as appropriate Targeting of China will be accomplished by pre-planned options for the reserve force TS While it will remain our policy not to rely on launching nuclear w apons on warning that an attack has begun appropriate pre-planning especially for ICBMs that are vulnerable to a preemptive attack will be undertaken to provide the NCA the option of so launching TS Flexibility _ In addition to pre-planned options we need an ability to design nuclear employment plans on short notice in response to the latest and changing circumstances This capability must be comprehensive enough to allow rapid construction of plans that integrate strategic force employment with theater nuclear force employment and general purpose force employment for achieving theater campaign objectives and other national objectives when pre-planned response options are not judged suitable in the circumstances S To assure that we can design such plans our goal should be to have the following capabilities on a continuing basis in peacetime during crises and during protracted conflict Staff capabilities within all unified and specified commands which have nuclear forces to develop opera tional plans on short notice and based on the latest intelligence TOP SECRET SENSITIVE No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16- TOP SECRET SENSITIVE 3 Staff capabilities at the seat of Government to support the NCA for coordinating and integrating the nuclear force employment for all commands Intelligence and target development capabilities which permit damage assessment and acquisition of a broad range of targets fixed and mobile on a timely basis for military operations S Reserve Forces Pre-planned options should be capable of execution while leaving a substantial force in secure reserve and capable of being withheld for possible subsequent use The forces designated for the reserve should be the most survivable and enduring strategic systems consistent with the need for a flexible and varied reserve force capable of being effectively employed against a wide target spectrum and withheld if necessary for a prolonged period The· secure reserve force will be increased over the next two years to support a more flexible execution of our countervailing strategy This will be done according to the Secretary of Defense's guidance TS ' Targeting categories overall targeting planning appropriate to implement a countervailing strategy will result in a capability to choose to put the major weight of the initial response on military and control targets Military targets must be selected for the purpose of destroying enemy forces or their ability to carry out military operations Strategic and theater nuclear forces should to the extent feasible be used in combination with and in support of general purpose forces to achieve that objective S More specifically the following categories of military targets with appropriate sub-options for different theaters should be covered in planning · strategic and theater nuclear forces including nuclear weapons storage military command control communications and intelligence capabilities a l other military forces stationary and mobile industrial facilities which provide immediate support to military operations during wartime TS In addition pre-planned options capable of relatively prolonged withhold or of prompt execution should be provided for attacks on the political control system and on general industrial capacity TS There must be extensive and effective coverage in the pre-planned options of all categories Methods of attack on particular targets should be chosen to limit collateral damage to urban areas general TOP SECRET SENSITIVE No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16- _ TOP SECRET SENSITIVE 4 industry and population targets outside these categories consistent with effectively covering the objective target and where appropriate overall olans should include the option of withholds to limit such collateral damage TS · Command Control and Communications and Intelligence Flexibility in contingency planning and in operations will be highly dependent on our c 3 I capabilities including their ability to acquire targets assess damage and survive attack Strategic stability in an era of essential equivalence depends as much on survivability endurance and reconstitutability of c 3 I capabilities as it does on the size and character of strategic arsenals C PD Nsc 53 directs that our c 3 I programs and our guidance to telecommunications common carriers support the development and maintenance of such capabilities In addition PD NSC-41 directs that we seek greater continuity of government should deterrence fail Implementation of PD NSC-53 and PD NSC-41 must be pursued in parallel with that of this employment directive C The relationship of acquisition policy to employment policy Our acquisition programs must be evaluated in terms of their support for the employment policy ordered by this directive The required flexibility survivability endurance and target destruction capability must be taken into accou1 -t -i 1 de e oping -P1 og r ' 2 s for acqu iring nuclear weapons systems and their supporting CI systems needed to support our countervailing strategy S · Implementation As new targeting capabilities are developed and as our operational staffing support change to meet the foregoing directives they must be reviewed and t_ested to validate their feasibility and soundness For that purpose -- At least two exercises involving the National Command Authorities should be conducted each year to evaluate · our 9apabili ties and our employment doctrines Continued study and analysis of means to improve and refine our countervailing strategy of general conflict should be conducted by the Department of Defense The results of these exercises studies and analysis will provide the bases for modification and any further development of employment and acquisition policy A report will be rendered to the President at least annually on our employment plans including but not limited to on the size and capability of the reserve forces the degree of flexibility available TOP SECRET SENSITIVE No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 N 1-6-16-3 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11-6-16-3 --- - --- ---- TOP SECRET SENSITIVE 5 limiting factors in achieving flexibility and the status of programs to provide improvements Any change or new pre-planned options will be submitted to the President for his review and approval in accordance with current procedures TS NSDM-242 is superseded by this directive U · J - · '· TOP SECRET SENSITIVE No Objection Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-11 1