CONVERSATIONS WITH MR. JOHN BROSS, CHIEF, EE DIVISION ON 23 MAY 1956

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP57-00011A001000140124-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2011
• Sequence Number: 124
• Publication Date: May 23, 1956
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/29: CIA-RDP57-0001 lA001000140124-4
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MatANDUM ?CEI RECORD
SUBJECT : Conversations with Mr. John Bross,, Chief, EE Division,
on 23 May 1956
1. land I arranged an appointment with Mr. John Bross this
morning to bring him up to date insofar as we could on the progress of events
which have lead to the apparent decision to split Detachment A operations
t - 1
MvauaAAy. All
view of ? ract that Bissell was meeting with Tracy Barnes in Frankfurt
todaya presumably'diecussingthe matter of locating at least a portion of
Detachment A activities in West Germany, and I felt that it was 25X1
not unlikely that even prior to Mr. Bissell's return later this week Tracy.
Barnes might shoot a cable off to John Bross plunging him into the middle of
support operations, about which he would know nothing.
2. Dick and I reviewed the developments leading up to (1) our, deploy
ment to and (2) the cover story which we are presently using. 25X1
Mr. Bross pointed out that his last contact with Mr.. Bissell on the matter
of--Project business had come in late, February and since that time he had not
been conversant with developments.
3. We told Mr. Bross that it was our expectation that we would not
require direct communications or administrative support from Frankfur -?to
any greater- degree than we were already receiving from the 25X1
almost overnight for the transmission of pouch material-- . 25X1
directly to Frankfurt for relay to our detachment people wherever they might
be located.', Mr. Bross expressed himself as being willing to help in any way
that he could either in the administrative, operational or communications
support field and indicated to us also that he greatly appreciated our attempt
to bring him at least~as far along the garden path as we ourselves could go
at this moment.
4. His own reaction, which I believe had been expressed to Mr. Bissell
in Februarys regarding advisability of briefing Chancellor Adenauer and/or
General Gehlen on the fact that Project AQUATONE was operating against the
USSR from German soil wsls that he did not still feel it was necessary to read
either of these in or any other high placed individual in the German Govern-
ment. He said he felt that to brief Adenauer, who may well be on the verge
of retirements might,setja precedent for the briefing of his successor, who
might not be so c1aritibly`inclined toward our activities. He also noted that
since the ill-fated bal1boii 'episode in January, he felt that the Chancellor
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/29: CIA-RDP57-0001 lA001000140124-4