Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection

President Harry Truman received his daily intelligence digest, the Daily Summary, between 1946 and 1951. That year, the "new and improved" version called the Current Intelligence Bulletin began production. This remained the format of the president's daily digest through Dwight Eisenhower's two terms (with a name change to the Central Intelligence Bulletin in 1958). The Current/Central Intellegence Bulletin grew longer than its predecessor over time with the addition of more items and more analysis, and would eventually contain more graphics as printing technology improved.

Part 1: Current Intelligence Bulletin 28 February-30 June 1951

These reports focused on the ongoing Korean War and the steadily growing problem of Vietnam. The Soviets continued to isolate West Berlin and threaten Yugoslavia. The dominant issue covered during these months, however, was Iran's attempt to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, and the British efforts to resolve the situation.

Part 2: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 July-30 December 1951

The primary focus of these reports continued to be the Korean War. Other highlights include the signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty, which formally ended World War II, and the expanding membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The fragile post-war order was rocked during this period by the assassinations of King Abdullah of Jordan and Prime Minister Ali Khan of Pakistan.

Part 3: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 January-30 June 1952

The major issue covered in these reports remained the Korean War, characterized this period by stalemate on the battlefield and inconclusive ceasefire negotiations. Anticolonial sentiment continued to grow in French Indochina and began to become a significant factor in British Kenya. The United Kingdom received a new queen in February with the accession of Elizabeth II.

Part 4: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 July-31 December 1952

The dominant issue covered in these reports continued to be the Korean War, which remained a stalemate. Anticolonial and nationalist movements, however, grew in intensity in the latter half of 1952. Of special note was the end of the Egyptian monarchy with the overthrow of King Farouk in July, and the violent outbreak of what became known as the Mau Mau Rebellion in British Kenya in October.

Part 5: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 January-31 December 1953

There were significant changes in US and Soviet leadership in 1953, with the start of the Eisenhower administration in January and the death of Joseph Stalin in March. Coverage of the USSR dominated the reports for the year, including Soviet bomber and submarine production and increased threats to Eastern Europe. Korea ceased to be a main topic with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in July. Political instability in Iran, including the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh in August, and its prospective impact on oil exports also were heavily covered.

Part 6: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 January-31 December 1954

The dominant issue this year was the volatile situation in Indochina. The French began their withdrawal following their decisive defeat by the Vietnamese Communists (or Viet Minh) at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May. That summer at the Geneva Conference, the international community partitioned Vietnam, with the north to be governed by the Viet Minh and the south by a non-Communist regime. Another significant story was the debate on Western Europe's proposals to provide for its common defense, while preventing Germany from again becoming a major military power. Also of note was the June coup in Guatemala, in which the leftist regime of Jacobo Arbenz was replaced by a military regime under Carlos Castillo Armas.

Part 7: Current Intelligence Bulletin 2 January-31 December 1955

During this period, Argentine President Juan Peron was deposed by a military junta and the Arab-Israeli conflict intensified as Syria threatened Israel with military emplacements along the Golan Heights. The reports of 1955 were dominated, though, by the continuing Cold War. Early in the year, the People's Republic of China (PRC) shelled Taiwan-controlled islands off the coast of PRC's Fujian Province. The PRC rejected the establishment of a Chinese Nationalist regime in Taiwan, considering the island part of the PRC. The situation tested US resolve to protect an anti-Communist partner in the face of a serious threat from a Communist aggressor. In Southeast Asia, South Vietnam's new anti-Communist regime of Ngo Dinh Diem enjoyed very little public support. In the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as successor to Stalin, who had died in 1953.

Part 8: Current Intelligence Bulletin 2 January-30 December 1956

Nikita Khrushchev's efforts to secure political control in the Soviet Union, including his denouncement of the excesses of the Stalin era, was a theme of the reports of 1956. Khrushchev shocked delegates to the 20^th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February with a speech attacking the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin. Khrushchev's "softer" approach was put to the test in June with some localized worker uprisings in Poland, which were peaceably resolved. Much more serious was the nation-wide Hungarian uprising in October, which led to a Soviet invasion and deposition of Hungarian leader Imre Nagy. October also saw the culmination of the Suez Crisis, touched off in July by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Nasser. In October, Israel, the United Kingdom, and France (without US support) attacked Egypt in an unsuccessful effort to oust Nasser and reopen the canal.

 

See declassified Daily Summary reports from 1946-1951