SCIENCE AND WEAPONS REVIEW CABLE, SW SWRC (DELETED) 26 AUGUST 1988

Created: 9/2/1988

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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SUBJECT: SCIENCE AND WEAPONS REVIEW 26 AUGUST8

USSRi ATTEMPTING TO IMPEDE WESTERN TACTICAL LASFR WEAPflNC DEVELOPMENT?

THE SOVIET FOREIGN MINISTER RECENTLYPEECH AT THE UN ON THE NEED TO PLACE LIMITS ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN CONVENTIONAL HFAPQNS. INCLUDING ANTIPERSONNEL LASER WEAPONS. THE SPEECH IS THE FIRST POSITIVE SOVIET RESPONSE TO A PROPOSED BAN ON THESE MEfiPONS INITIATED IN6 BY SWEDEN. THE NEW

SE

POSITION HAV MORAL GROUND" ON THE PROGRESS ON DEVELOPING

E INTENDED TO ASSUME THE "HIGH ISSUE AND TO IMPEDE US SUCH WEAPON*}.

1. USSR: ATTEMPTING TO IMPEDE WESTERN TACTICAL LASER WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT?

ISARMAMENT AT HIS SPEECH HE REMARKED DEVELOPMENTS IN CONVENTIONAL POINT, SHEVARDNADZE STATED:

RECENTLY, SOVIET FOREIGN MINISTER EDWARD SHEVARDNADZE SPEECH DURING THE THIRD SPECIAL SESSION ON

THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) IN NEW YORK. DURING ON THE NEED TO PLACE LINUS ON NEW WEAPONS. ELABORATING ON THIS

MEMBERS OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT ON

OF THE CESSATION

AND PROHIBITION OF THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS FOR DEVELOPING AND EW KINDS AND SYSTEMS OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS. WE REGARD AS EXTREMELY

PAGE UEAIIA2 .

INTERESTING THE IDEA OFYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF SCIENTIFIC ANO TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS IMELY ELABORATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON PREVENTING THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR .WEAPONTHIS SHOULD BE DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE WITH RESPECT TO LASER, GENETIC, AND ELECTROMAGNETIC SYSTEMS. NE NOTE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPOSAL OF SWEDEN TO BAN THE USE OF BATTLEFIELD LASFR HEnPDNS FOR BLINDTNS PERSONNEL. wgjg

THE SWEDES REPEATEDLY HAVE ATTEMPTED TO HAVEESOLUTION CALLING FOR A BAN AGAINST ANTIPERSONNELA PONS--BASED ON HiWAJLLIMLAW GROUNDS APPROVED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THEY FIRST FORMALLY PROPOSED SUCH A RESOLUTION DURING THEH INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS CONFERENCE IN GENEVA IN OCTOBER 6 AS PART OF THE LAW ON LAND WARFARE. (THIS RESOLUTION HAS REJECTED BY THE CONFEREESESULT OF USSRN)SITION FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES. INCLUDING THE

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THROUGHOUT THE SWEDES SOUGHT

PAGE 6 2 SUPPORT FOR THIS RESOLUTION. FOR EXAMPLE i

IN APRIL THE SWEDISH MISSION IN GENEVA HOSTED AN INFORMAL MULTINATIONAL MEETING TO REVIEW THEIR PROPOSAL. (THE SOVIETS WERE NOTICEABLY ABSENT AT THIS MEETING AND THE SWEDES WERE OPENLY DISAPPOINTED BY THEIR ABSENCE.)

IN AMBASSADOR BRITT THEORIN, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SWEDISH DELEGATION TO THE UN DISARMAMENT COMMISSION, STATED THAT SWEDEN CONSIDERED THE USE OF ANTIPERSONNEL LEAR CONTRAVENTION OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES IN THE LAW OF LAND WARFARE."

IN SWEDEN CIRCULATED A "REQUEST FOR VIEWS" OF THE RESOLUTION THEY WOULD PROPOSE TO THE 2ND UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN NOVEMBER

COMMENTi

SHEVARDNADZE'S SPEECH IS THE FIRST POSITIVE RESPONSE BY THE

beginning ofpage 2 3 U' t

soviets about the swedish initiative to banJ-ffSifJ^. up untilecent un statement, the soviets and their warsaw pact clients have been silent or were negative on this issue. although shevardnadze'sn oneouivocal endorsement of the swedish proposal, we believe that the statement enior soviet diplomat will encourage the swedes to continue to seek and develop international support for this proposal. this

ImportantHE Soviets for tho

first, until .the statement by shevardnadze, no major power had endorsed the swedish proposal. in fact, in previous

h the united states and the ussr have been unreceptive to the proposal. with the soviets

the proposal of sweden to

ban the use of battlefield laser they may be

attempting to assume the "high moral ground" in the eyes international community.

page3 -6 EC Kf

westernhe ussr

tvdeveloping laser technology makes

Xg_wea^nNSiets' by publicly acknowledging the ?nMpfTJ*Tt ?l se shedish proposal, may be attempting to

'C J AL env"onment forEvelopment programs that they thf hPABe engineering development

4DE US RESEARCHweapons development tn tuc iiccd hschaccessibie to the public scrutiny than in the ussr. the soviets may hope their recent

swedish proposal rfnlpDoeur0pean huitarv laser research rSCRUTINY and debate, with the hope ofif not outright

cancellation. this tactic would be especially advantageous to the soviets because their

SpENLDEbI?EtDT SUBJECT

OPEf^ebateand, thus, could proceed unhindered..

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