CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1955/10/21

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03002334
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: September 20, 2019
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2019
• Publication Date: October 21, 1955

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21 October 1955
Copy No. 100
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO 43'.
NO CHANGE IN CLASS,
LI DECLASSIFIED
CLASS, CHANGED TO: IS S C
NEXT REVIEW DATE:,. 20 /0
AUTH: HR TWO.)
DATE REVIEWER:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
TOP SECRET
3.5(c)
3.3(h)(2)
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CONTENTS
1. KHRUSHCHEV EXPECTS GENEVA PROGRESS ONLY
ON DISARMAMENT AND EAST-WEST CONTACTS (page 3).
2. REPORTS OF EGYPTIAN MILITARY PACT WITH SYRIA
(page 4).
3. SUN LI-JEN ACQUITTED IN COMMUNIST CONSPIRACY
CHARGES (page 5).
4. BAO DM'S RECENT MOVES (page 6).
5. GREEK PRIME MINISTER MAY CALL ELECTIONS IN
JANUARY OR FEBRUARY (page 7).
6. AFGHAN PRIME MINISTER REITERATES INTENTION
TO ACCEPT SOVIET AID (page 8).
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1. KHRUSHCHEV EXPECTS GENEVA PROGRESS ONLY
ON DISARMAMENT AND EAST-WEST CONTACTS
Party first secretary Khrushchev told
Italian Socialist leader Nermi on 15
October that he thought progress was
possible at the Geneva foreign min-
isters' conference on disarmament and East-West con-
tacts, according to the Italian embassy in Moscow. He
thought progress was impossible on European security be-
cause the Western powers link this question with German
unification. Khrushchev added his view that the Germans
themselves would soon settle the unification question and
that at that time the East German regime will "affirm it-
self."
Khrushchev also said that President
Eisenhower's illness is having an effect on the American
attitude toward Geneva, but that US "provocations" will
not sway the USSR from its policy of relaxing tensions.
Comment Although Soviet statements have indicated
that no progress could be expected at
Geneva on German unification, this is the first denial that
progress is possible on European security. The USSR will
probably present a series of security proposals at Geneva,
however, in an attempt to counter Western insistence on a
security plan which would include a unified Germany.
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2. REPORTS OF EGYPTIAN MILITARY PACT WITH
SYRIA
Comment on:
Press reports from Damascus and
Cairo that a new military pact be-
tween Egypt and Syria is scheduled
for early signature suggest that
Egypt is using the prestige gained from its arms deal
with the Soviet bloc to strengthen its influence over the
other Arab states. The pact reportedly provides for a
unified command, a joint military fund, and immediate
mutual assistance in case of an Israeli attack. It thus
revives a project which Cairo pushed last sprtng as an
alternative to the abortive Egyptian-Syrian-Saudi
Arabian pact.
Aside from providing a framework
within which Syria could obtain Soviet bloc arms, the
new pact's only immediate significance would be in con-
solidating Egyptian influence in Syria and in committing
that country to stay out of the "northern tier."
Other reports indicate that Egypt is
pressing Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to join, or
at least "support," the new pact.
Strongly hostile reactions to the
agreement and any extension of it can be expected from
IsraPi and Iraq. Baghdad will use its diplomatic and
subversive resources to render the agreement ineffectual,
since a network of Arab defense pacts centering on Cairo
would isolate Iraq from the other Arab states and defeat
Prime Minister Nun i Said's pro-Western foreign policy.
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3. SUN LI-JEN ACQUITTED IN COMMUNIST CONSPIRACY
CHARGES
The Chinese Nationalist decision to
clear General Sun Li-jen of charges
of involvement in a Communist plot
was apparently determined by fear of an adverse Ameri-
can reaction. The relatively mild judgment against the
pro-American officer follows a series of Nationalist probes
of official opinion in Washington.
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, in
accepting the board of inquiry's decision, has ordered that
Sun be exempted from further disciplinary action but that
he be kept under observation so that "any sign of his re-
form may not pass unnoticed."
Even though Sun has escaped execution,
his career appears to be finished. His downfall has set
back liberal elements .and almost certainly strengthened
the hand of the gene4alissimo's son, Chiang Ching-kuo,
who is a leader of reactionaryNationalists. The trend
toward greater authoritarianism on Formosa will probably
be accelerated.
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4. BAO DM'S RECENT MOVES
Bai Dai's actions in connection with
the forthcoming referendum in Viet-
nam suggest that he may visualize a
future role for himself in collabora-
tion with the Viet Minh. He has called
for a reduction in tensions between
North and South Vietnam and for co-
operation between the two countries.
Although the Viet Minh may find him
useful sometime in the future, Bao Dal's moves will have
no immediate effect on Diem's position. They may, how-
ever, further complicate French-Vietnamese relations.
Bao Dai probably will shortly establish a government-in-
exile from among the numerous former Vietnamese offi-
cials in France. One of Diem's envoys in Paris has stated
that if the French permit this, the Vietnamese government
will regard it as a "hostile act." A French official has
stated the French government would neither encourage
nor prevent such a move.
French officials in Saigon fear that
after Diem's anticipated vindication in the referendum, he
may take the occasion to assert his government is no
longer bound by previous agreements, particularly those
relating to the presence of the French military. They
also fear the referendum may give rise to anti-French
demonstrations.
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5. GREEK PRIME MINISTER MAY CALL ELECTIONS IN
JANUARY OR FEBRUARY
Greek prime minister Karamanlis is
so pleased by the evidence of popular
support from all over Greece that he
is strongly inclined to call a national
election in January or early February
Karamanlis says he
would have scheduled elections within the next two months
if he had known popular support was so strong.
If Karamanlis could achieve some
success in foreign affairs, he might put off elections un-
til March or April. In view of present difficulties in
that field, however, he favors holding elections before
he is subject to attack for foreign policy failures.
Comment The available evidence supports Kara-
manlis' estimate of his present popu-
larity. A threatened revolt by the Rally old guard against
his appointment failed to materialize, and even Sophocles
Venizelos, Liberal Democratic Union leader, has been
making friendly gestures.
Karamanlis apparently has no illusions
that he can satisfy Greek popular demands concerning Cyprus
in the near future, and he may fear further complication of
relations with Turkey if Ankara fails to provide prompt and
satisfactory compensation for Greek property destroyed and
damaged in the Istanbul and Izmir riots last month.
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6. AFGHAN PRIME MINISTER REITERATES INTENTION
TO ACCEPT SOVIET AID
Afghan prime minister Daud, in
defending his foreign policy before
an extraordinary joint session of
the Afghan parliament on 17 October
reportedly said that he had tried without success to get
American aid for Afghanistan on terms that he could ac-
cept.
Comment
Still smarting from the failure of his
strong policy on Pakistan, Daud may be in a more than
usually susceptible mood when he meets the Soviet lead-
ers. It is not likely, however, that other members of
the royal family would approve of any major change in
Afghanistan's policy of neutrality, nor is it probable that
the powerful grand assembly of the tribes, which is re-
portedly to be convened soon, would accept a change.
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