EDEPARTMENT OF STATE MEMORANDUM osgfli June 10 193a To The Secretary From - Reginald Bartholomee False Alarm on Soviet Missile Attack A NCRAD'computer mistakenly indicated hoth on June 3 and June 6 that the Soviets had launched mis silos against the US In neither case did our warning 'sensors indicate any attack - Each false alarm lasted about three minutes No offensive US forces were launched either time although bomber engines were started -There is no serious riek that such false alarms would mistakenly cause us to launch an attack since the computer only performe a burglar alarm function and _does not play any oirect role in decisions to retaliate Nevertheless these incidents inevitably raise concerns here and abroad m about the dangers of an accidental nuclear war Defense Minister already has re sponded to oppositidn questions about the incident in Parliament Brezhnev sent a letter to the President to protest a false alarm last November We may hear from the Soviets directly about last week s incidents Taee al _ ready has carried critical commentaries In this post Afghanistan environment however any official Soviet response could he at a lower level but the tone might well be much sharper I will follow up with DOD to ensure that they are aware of our concern and get back to us on the improve- ments they are making We alao are asking DOD to inform us directly about such incidents in the future a 8 Drafted x28685 6 9 80 Concurreoce PM DCGompert S P PWilson UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE 1 REVIEW THEODORE SELLW 23 DEC 2092 199304439 CLASSIFIED at q 0 2 7 This document is from the holdings of The 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