CIA to Suffer if SALT Is Dumped: Colby

Former CIA Director William E. Colby today said the United States would suffer an intelligence loss if President Reagan followed through on his tentative decision to abandon the 1979 SALT II agreement with the Soviet Union.

Colby, who served under former Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, said the Soviets have provided valuable information about their missiles and other weaponry, despite a tradition of secrecy.

“Abandoning it means we are back to the dark shadow of Russian tradition--trying to find out what they are doing without any extra help,” Colby said.

“SALT II does not make them transparent by a long shot. They still have the basic thought process of trying to keep secrets,” he said. “But the fact is they have gradually been forced into exposure of their strategic weaponry to a degree which is really quite startling.”

Easier Access to Data

Colby and Walter Slocombe, a former Pentagon official who worked on the treaty, held a news conference at the Arms Control Assn., a private group headed by former U.S. negotiators.

Slocombe said the treaty gives the United States easier access to information on Soviet missile tests and other useful data. “It is not in the overall U.S. interest to see the treaty collapse,” he said.

Reagan in May announced that he would allow the number of U.S. strategic bombers carrying cruise missiles to surpass treaty limits toward the end of the year. He said his decision was based on Soviet violations. Moscow has denied the charges.

Slocombe said the Soviets were illegally disguising missile tests and otherwise flouting the unratified treaty. But he said if it is abandoned, “they can begin putting covers on things, shifting around.