U.S. Plan to Secretly Base Nuclear Arms Abroad Reported

The United States has developed a contingency plan to base nuclear weapons in seven foreign lands without telling any of the governments involved, according to a report issued Wednesday by a think tank that studies defense issues.

The report, by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal group often critical of U.S. defense planning, said the weapons were earmarked for Bermuda, Canada, Iceland, the Portuguese-owned Azores islands, the Philippines, Spain and the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The report said the governments were told of the plans only after accounts were published in some of the countries involved.

Michael I. Burch, the chief Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on the report.

Administration officials said the President has not given the Pentagon advance authority for deployment of the weapons, and any such move would require the approval of the government of the country involved.