Curbs on Soviet Envoys Urged

The United States needs strict limits on the number and movement of Soviet bloc diplomats and visitors to halt the Kremlin’s campaign of “systematic looting of Western secrets,” the Senate was told today.

Testifying before a Senate espionage panel, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Perle said the United States must act to combat what he called “the most audacious, well-run campaign in modern history of illegal trade diversions, espionage and acquisitions of publicly available information.” FBI Director William Webster told the subcommittee on investigations that about one-third of the 2,500 diplomatic and commercial officials from Soviet bloc nations are affiliated with intelligence agencies.