WIKILEAKS - RUSSIA COMPLAINT RE US AIR NEAR-MISSES, SWEDEN - 1977

WIKILEAKS CABLE - 1977 RE: SOVIET COMPLAINT OF SECOND AIR NEAR-MISS  LINK TO CABLE - HERE. Date: 1977 February 18, 00:00 (Friday) [REGARDING] REPLY TO SWEDISH GOVERNMENT ON INCIDENTS INVOLVING Date:1977 February 18, 00:00 (Friday) Canonical ID:1977STATE038249_c Original Classification:SECRET Current Classification:UNCLASSIFIED Handling Restrictions:EXDIS - Exclusive Distribution Only Character Count:3292 Executive Order:GS Locator:TEXT ON MICROFILM,TEXT ONLINE TAGS:MOPS - Military and Defense Affairs--Military Operations | PINR - Political Affairs--Intelligence | SW - Sweden | US - United States Concepts:AIRSPACE VIOLATIONS | ALLEGATIONS | OBSERVATION AIRCRAFT Enclosure:-- N/A or Blank -- Type:TE Office Origin:ORIGIN SS - Executive Secretariat, Department of StateOffice  Action:-- N/A or Blank -- Archive Status:Electronic Telegrams From:Department of State Markings:-- Not Assigned -- To:USEUCOM VAIHIGEN GERMANY ... CONCERNING THE SOVIET COMPLAINT OF A SECOND NEAR MISS INCIDENT ON JANUARY 5 INVOLVING THE SAME RC-135 AIRCRAFT AND ANOTHER AEROFLOT AIRCRAFT.  THE SECOND CROSSING, AS INDICATED IN REF D, OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR AFTER THE FIRST, VERY NEAR IF NOT EXACTLY ON THE BOUNDARY OF SWEDISH-CONTROLLED AIR SPACE. THE RADAR SCOPE FILMS SEEN BY SWEDISH DEFENSE STAFF OFFICIALS AND THE EMBASSY'S AIR ATTACHE SHOW THE RC-135 AIRCRAFT IN THIS INSTANCE PASSING EXTREMELY CLOSELY BEHIND THE SOVIET AIRLINER. WHILE THESE FILMS ARE CERTAINLY SUBJECT TO VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT INDICATE VERTICAL SEPARATION, THERE IS NO DOUBT WITHIN THE SWEDISH DEFENSE STAFF THAT THE TWO AIRCRAFT PASSED VERY SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSER TO EACH OTHER THAN THE FIVE NAUTICAL MILE SEPARATION DESCRIBED BY THE RC-135 AIRCREW.  UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND BECAUSE SWEDISH DEFENSE OFFICIALS ARE PROBABLY WILLING TO TESTIFY OTHERWISE, THE EMBASSY BELIEVES IT THE BETTER COURSE NOT TO INDICATE THE FIVE NAUTICAL MILE SEPARATION TO SWEDISH AUTHORITIES AND WILL NOT UNLESS SO INSTRUCTED.  SOURCE - WIKILEAKS - HERE.

COMMENT


New to this, so it took me forever and much clicking backwards and forwards trying to understand the 'to' and 'from' aspects ... as well as a lot of reading and re-reading trying to understand overall, as I've never paid attention to this type of information before.

So this would appear to be the US Embassy (Sweden) cable to:  US EU COM (in GERMANY)

That would then be the UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (IN GERMANY) - website -  http://www.eucom.mil/  -  I'm guessing.

Cable appears to be under the service of DAVID SHIVERICK SMITH, US Ambassador to Sweden at the time:

David Shiverick Smith ... was the United States ambassador to Sweden from 1976–1977 [to:  April 29, 1977]   [wikipedia]

According to Palm Beach News, Smith, who died in 2012:

[was] assistant secretary of the Air Force and the Eisenhower administration

His military career resumed in 1953 when, as assistant secretary of the Air Force, he was commissioned as a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, a position he held on inactive duty for 21 years before retirement in 1975.

He joined the diplomatic corps in 1976 when President Gerald Ford appointed him U.S. ambassador to Sweden.

After his service in Sweden, Ambassador Smith resumed his law practice ... in Washington until he retired in 1990.

The Cable

As I read the cable, the US EMBASSY (in SWEDEN):

• decided the best course was to by-pass full disclosure to 'the authorities' 

unless instructed otherwise by the US EUROPEAN COMMAND (in GERMANY).

BUT, it is unclear to me which way the Swedish Defence staff officials are swinging -- ie does "probably willing to testify otherwise" mean willing to back up the US denial account, or does it mean to willing to testify against the US denial of violation account?

This 'secrets' stuff is lost on me.  LOL.  Bit slow catching on.

Also unclear to me if the 'authorities' in question are the SWEDISH BOARD OF CIVIL AVIATION or some other authority.

Anyway, it looks like the US Embassy was going to withhold information (and, basically, withhold the truth) from the very authorities that Russia had complained to?

But the Swedish Defence staff officials knew what had occurred and could hardly 'unsee' it, so wouldn't Sweden itself then have been complicit in withholding information, if such course of action was adopted? 

What does that say about the case against Julian Assange?

................................................................

Separation (Aeronautics) - here. 
Boeing RC-135 - here.