CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1955/03/08

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03003281
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: September 20, 2019
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2019
• Publication Date: March 8, 1955

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8 March .1955
Copy No.
88
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO 4
NO CHANGE IN CLASS al
11 DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S' C
NE?(T REVIEW DATE. n.0 IQ
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATE: IS NI% 0 REVIEWEFI:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
SOVIET UNION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pravda denounces Malenkov's view on dangers of atomic war (page ).
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Moslem dissident group reported active in East Indonesia (page 4).
SOUTH ASIA
Nehru reportedly hopes to vtiean Ho Chi Minh from Communist
China (page 5).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
EASTERN EUROPE
6. Turkish suspicions of Yugoslav intentions increase (page 6).
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SOVIET UNION
2, Pravda denounces Malerxkov's view on dangers of atomic war:
The denunciation by Pravda on 5 March
of assertions that a third world war would
mean the "destruction of world civilization"
is viewed by the American embassy in
Moscow as a thinly veiled attack on Malenkov, the only top Soviet
leader ever to have voiced this line, Pravda states that this con-
cept "plays into the hands of the imperialists," and reiterates the
standard Soviet thesis that a third world war will spell the doom s
only of capitalism.
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In addition to reflecting on Malenkov,
the statement, in the opinion of the embassy, may have been moti-
vated by Soviet fear of betraying weakness and a feeling that too
great an emphasis on the horrors of atomic warfare could backfire
on other aspects of Soviet propaganda.
The embassy believes that Malenkov is
being steadily isolated and unquestionably provides a "built-in
scapegoat" for any failures in current policies. It sees this
article as another step in the steady erosion of his position.
Comment: Although Malenkov himself
referred to the "destruction of world civilization" only once--in
March 1954--and the following month returned to the standard
formulation, his statement was first explicitly repudiated in
Molotov's Supreme Soviet speech on 8 February 1955. This em-
phasis on destruction of capitalism also coincides with a Soviet
propaganda campaign designed to convince West Europeans that
their countries may become an atomic battlefield if they support
West German rearmament and NATO Council decisions on nuclear
weapons.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
3. Moslem dissident group reported active in East Indonesia:
Comment: The Indonesian government on
5 January declared a state of emergency in the South Moluccas, an
area of chronic dissidence since April 1950. These are the first
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reports of Darul Islam activity in the South Moluccas, although
there was earlier evidence of efforts by that group to infiltrate the
area. The Darul Islam, whose headquarters and major strength
are in West Java, is active in five of Indonesia's ten provinces.
Certain anti-Communist army command-
ers are believed reluctant to attack Darul Islam forces, regard-
ing them as potential allies against the leftist government.
SOUTH ASIA
4. Nehru reportedly hopes to wean Ho Chi Minh from Communist
China:
5.
Prime Minister Nehru is trying to wean
Ho Chi Minh from Communist China and
to direct him toward a closer relationship
with the French, according to Indian vice
president Radtakrishnan. Radha,krishnan said that Ho was consider-
ing the matter and had asked about India's association with the Com-
monwealth.
Comment: While Nehru may be engaged
in such an attempt as part of his current effort to prevent further
expansion of Chinese influence in Southeast Asia, he is unlikely
to be successful in weaning Ho away from Communist China.
Nehru seems to have been impressed by
Ho, whom he saw while en route to Peiping last October, and has
been _ speaking highly of him to Egyptian prime
_
minister Nasr. Nehru is also rumored to be considering inviting
Ho to visit India.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
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.EASTERN EUROPE
6. Turkish suspicions of Yugoslav intentions increase:
rurkish prime minister Menderes told
A.mbassador Warren on 4 March that
luring the meeting of the Balkan pact
ioreign ministers, the Yugoslav for-
eign minister had resisted all efforts to proceed with military
planning. Menderes is convinced that Tito, following his visits
to India and Burma and his conversation with Egyptian prime min-
ister Nasr, prefers to develop the apparent advantage of a de-
tached position.
Comment: Yugoslavia's diminishing
enthusiasm for the broader military aspects of the Balkan alliance
has been apparent for several months, although Belgrade has been
working with the Greeks on local defense problems. In view of
Yugoslavia's need for military assurances, particularly on its
southern flank, limited co-operation in the Balkan pact is antici-
pated.
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