Weinberger Error Noted in Letter From Adm. Crowe

In a letter released Thursday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a congressional questioner that Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger erred when he reported to Congress that the Soviets are moving ahead of the United States in nuclear warhead technology.

Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. attributed Weinberger’s mistake to “an administrative error” that occurred when the Pentagon put together a chart that subsequently was incorporated into the secretary’s report.

Weinberger’s allegation appeared in an annual assessment the Defense Department makes for Congress regarding the relative military strengths of the United States and Soviet Union. The document plays an important part in the federal budget process, since it provides a major justification for new military spending requests.

This year’s report--which was made in January and is not related to a Pentagon assessment of Soviet military strength made public Tuesday--said that during 1986, the Soviets improved their military position relative to the United States in various critical technological areas, including those involving nuclear warheads.

Questioned by Markey

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) questioned the latter claim, and in a letter dated March 24, Crowe replied:

“As a result of your inquiry, a review was made of the reason for showing a significant change in U.S. and Soviet nuclear warhead technology over the past year,” he wrote. “No substantive reason could be identified to justify such a change.”

Crowe traced the error to a table comparing the U.S.-Soviet standing in the 20 most important basic technology areas. The table initially appeared in a report entitled “The United States Military Posture,” which the Joint Chiefs issued earlier this year. It subsequently was incorporated into Weinberger’s “Annual Report to the Congress, Fiscal Year 1988.”

The table showed that the two countries are roughly equal in nuclear weapons technology, but an arrow indicated that the level is “changing significantly” in favor of the Soviet Union.

‘We Should Have Detected’

According to the admiral’s letter to Markey, however, “the offending arrow was apparently inserted in the source chart during the drafting process as the result of an administrative error which we should have detected during review of the draft report. We will correct this error in subsequent editions of the military posture statement.”

Markey, who supports a nuclear test ban, had asked the Pentagon to explain how Soviet nuclear technology could have surpassed that of the United States during a period in which the United States tested 25 nuclear devices and the Soviets none. The Reagan Administration and the Pentagon both argue that testing must continue to assure the reliability of nuclear weapons stockpiles.

The congressman said Thursday that he is satisfied with Crowe’s explanation.

“One of the toughest things to do in Washington is admit you’ve made a mistake, but it happens to all of us,” Markey said. “I’m pleased that Adm. Crowe has cleared this matter up and closed the ‘warhead gap’ once and for all.”