DEC LASS Authority l b OFFICE OFTHESECRETARY 53 June 10 1980 2 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY 44-0 Subject Non proliferation I think you are at risk of ducking the non-proliferation issue If you have decided to duck it that's fine and back off However I don't think that you should duck it and I don't think that you should forward a nonprejudiced decision to the President Gerry Smith would like you to forward a recom mendation which is biased toward his position Much like Tarapur the Department has a highly specific view which has little sup port either from a domestic or an international political perspective Tarapur may be behind us but I don't think you should let non-proliferation get behind you without exerting a personal interest The State Department position on nuclear development is largely a function of the bias of the State Department negotiators Gerry Smith is a life-long nuclear power advocate His participation in nuclear development dates back to the four years when he was a Special Assistant to the Atomic Energy Com- mission -- from 1950 to 1954 Like to many others in this field he sees nuclear development as a technology which must go ahead And I suspect that he views current resistance in this country as something which should be overcome Thus it is his view that while we are not prepared to develop full-scale nuclear breeder reactors domestically we should encourage them internationally The fact is that this Administration has articulated a policy the result of which is to discourage the proliferation of plutonium around the globe The fact that decisions like Tarapur have been inconsistent with that policy does not justify a major change in that policy More importantly I am disturbed by the fact that the people who are in charge of our so called non proliferation policy have a life-long vested interest in SEC RET DECLASSIFIED Authority we 4 9w - SECRET the proliferation of nuclear power And I think as Secretary of State you have a responsibility to take that into account in your advice to the President In fact I am shocked that here tofore prior inclinations of the negotiators have not been a consideration Leon SECRET                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu