Operation Damage Control

Caspar Weinberger's opinion was blunt and harsh. Asked how the four suspects in the Walker spy scandal should be punished if found guilty, the Defense Secretary replied, "They should be shot," adding that he supposed "hanging is the preferred method." Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who introduced a bill to make spying for money punishable by death, was even more draconian. "If there is an execution, it should be public and on television," he said. "I want the widest possible visibility of this kind of crime (to) deter people who may be starting down this road."

John A. Walker Jr., his son, brother and California accomplice need not worry about execution for their years of espionage while in the Navy. At present, the maximum penalty for spying in peacetime is life imprisonment; both Weinberger and Stevens knew that a harsher sentence could not be imposed retroactively. Nevertheless, the Defense Secretary's comment indicated how Washington's initial shock at the Walker case has given way to anger. Weinberger's outrage at the spy scandal was also directed toward a more practical purpose: he ordered the military to eliminate 10% of the security clearances currently issued to 4.3 million uniformed and civilian personnel. Navy Secretary John Lehman was ready to go even further. Said Lehman: "We want to reduce (security clearances) by half. We are starting with an immediate 10% reduction."

Lehman last week ordered tighter security procedures in all Navy units. Among other things, he reminded commanders to heed a requirement long on the books but often ignored: two persons must participate in the destruction of classified material. John Walker's son Michael is accused of filching classified documents out of a burn bag while serving as a seaman on the aircraft carrier Nimitz.

Weinberger and Lehman made their proposals after a formal assessment of the damages caused by the family-and-friend spy ring. The good news, the Navy said last week, was that the U.S. fleet of ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs), the most important element of the nation's sea, air and land nuclear deterrent, seems secure. Admiral James Watkins, Chief of Naval Operations, said SSBN tactics and equipment have changed greatly in the 18 years since John Walker served on two nuclear subs. "We remain convinced that our SSBN force is still 100% survivable," he said.

The bad news, in contrast, came in bunches. With possible access to U.S. teletype and voice communications systems, Watkins said, the Soviets gained "the ability to better understand what they observed" of U.S. naval maneuvers. This may have helped the U.S.S.R. shorten the American technological lead in antisubmarine warfare. Naval tactics and capabilities in air and surface warfare were compromised as well. Fortunately, the Chief of Naval Operations said, much of the information that might have passed to the Soviets was "perishable," coding systems that are constantly changed and hence of little use to an enemy. The main damage was done, Watkins added, in compromising the communications systems.