CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A001700500001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 12, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

I AMA
12 August
I
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO.._~- NO CHANGE IN CLASS ''C
t_; DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO. TS S C
NEXT REVIEW DATE. ~!-~ -
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATE: 1Y REVIEWER:
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Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
? SOUTHEAST ASIA
2. General Ely sees short tenure for Diem government (page 3).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
3. Good-will tour of Onassis tanker seen as pressure on ARAMCO (page 4).
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CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
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SOUTHEAST ASIA
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2. General Ely sees short tenure for. Diem government:
French commissioner general Ely told
Ambassador Heath in Saigon on 10 August
he did not believe the Diem government
would last long because of the premier's
rigidity and incapacity, although he, Ely, recognized the popular
appeal of Diem's integrity.
12 Aug 54
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
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Heath is uncertain of Diem's ability to
develop a strong government but believes he should be given every
chance since his potential is much greater than that of any of those
planning to remove him.
Comment: While General Ely has apparently
remained aloof from, intrigues designed to bring down Diem, other
French officials in Saigon and Paris have been active in them. The
failure of the French to give Diem their support greatly complicates
his task of developing a strong government.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
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3. Good-will tour of Onassis tanker seen as pressure on ARAMCO:
25X1 A I The forthcoming good-will tour of the
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Mediterranean by the 47,000-ton Onassis
tanker King Saud I--the largest in the
world--is probably calculated to stir up so much publicity in the
Arab world that ARAMCO will be compelled to load the vessel when
it reaches Saudi Arabia early in September,
the tanker will probably
leave Europe in mid-August and will call at important ports, particu-
larly Beirut, Alexandria and Suez. At each port, ceremonies will be
held, government officials will be invited aboard, and the press will be
alerted to give the maximum publicity.
Comment: The tanker's arrival may mark
the showdown in the struggle between ARAMCO and the Saudi govern-
ment over the Onassis tanker agreement,
Onassi s' reported negotiations with the Bonn
government for the purchase of the Howaldtswerke shipyard in
Hamburg--the yard where the King Saud I was built and one of the
largest in .Europe--suggests that he is even more determined than he
has previously indicated to carry out his agreement with Saudi Arabia.
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12 Aug 54 CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN Page 4
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