Letter to Honorable Dwight D. Eisenhower
Letter to President Eisenhower from Senator Stuart Symington concerning the position of Soviets and long range missiles.
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OCR Page 1 of 7TOP SEGRET
Copy 2 of 2. Series B
SECURITY INFORMATION
Dilnited States Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C.
wai
August 29, 1958
Honorable Dwight D. Eisenhower
The White House
Dear Mr. President:
C.
Allen Dulles, Director of CIA, briefed me in his office in late
July re the current position of the Soviet in the long-range
missile field, intermediate range ballistic missiles and inter-
E
continental ballistic missiles.
I subsequently received information that would appear to show
that Mr. Dulles heavily underrated Soviet missile development
to date, as well as planned capabilities.
Upon receiving this information I analyzed our own missile pro-
grams and thereupon became convinced the latter are inadequate
to meet the growing danger.
This conclusion would seem obvious if our planning has been
based on incorrect information - and that is why I am present-
ing this paper to you.
More specifically, if the information contained is correct, we
believe the planning incident to our weapons system, primarily
missiles, beginning now and lasting at least into 1964, is so
insufficient in this area as to leave ourselves and our allies
subject to overt political, if not actual military aggression
from the Sino-Soviet alliance - with a relatively slight chance
of effective retaliation &gainst such aggression between 1960
and 1962.
On August 6, therefore, I again saw Mr. Dulles with Mr. Thomas
G. Lanphier, Jr. We pointed out to Mr. Dulles in some detail
our reasons for believing that his estimates were inaccurate.
In each case where there was disagreement, the figures presented
to Mr. Dulles were much greater as to Soviet accomplishment than
the figures he had presented me a few days previously.
DECLASSIFIED
Electrostatig reproduction made
for preservation purposes by the
Authority MR 76-145,+1
Eisenhower Library for replacement
Rf
TOP SEGRET
of a deteriorating manuscript item.
By
NLE Date 5/29/79
SECURITY INFORMATION