CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A013200090001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 20, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 7, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Central Intelligence Bulletin
Secret
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No. 0057/69
7 March 1969
Central Intelligence Bulletin
CONTENTS
Vietnam: Situation report. (Page 1)
Berlin: Communist military activity in connection
with the west German elections in Berlin seems in
its final stages. (Page 2)
France: Government--sponsored labor-management
talks collapsed yesterday. (Page 3)
Israel: Mrs. Meir will probably present her cabinet
for Knesset approval next week. (Page 4)
Lebanon: Fedayeen activities are presenting an in-
creasingly serious problem. (Page 5)
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Central America: Response to new Nicaraguan import
taxes has been restrained. (Page 7)
Surinam: A caretaker government has been appointed.
(Page 8)
Thailand: The government won a test of strength in
the newly elected lower house. (Page 9)
q atorial Guinea: The President apparently has
warte a -coup attempt. (Page 10)
Syria: Power struggle (Page 11)
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Vietnam: Fighting in South Vietnam continued
at the relatively low levels of the past few days.
The action is currently concentrated in the
western highlands. Communist gunners kept up ar-
tillery fire against a number of Special Force's
camps. A serious battle could be shaping up around
Polei Kleng, where part of a US infantry company
was lost on 4 March. Battalion-sized enemy units
in this area are still putting up stiff resistance
to allied sweeps. The Communists have also been
active in the countryside in II Corps. Delayed re-
porting reveals that several hamlets in Darlac and
Kontum provinces have been overrun in the past week.
In the northern provinces, captured documents
indicate the North Vietnamese 246th Regiment has
slipped across the Demilitarized zone and now is
operating in north-central Quang Tri Province. The
246th was pulled back into North Vietnam last sum-
mer, but the new documents show that it took part
in the heavy attacks on US Marine bases on 25 Feb-
ruary.
No rockets fell on Saigon on 6-7 March, but.
shelling of allied bases occurred throughout III
Corps, and the Communists are still continuing the
battle around Trang Bang, about 25 miles northwest
of Saigon.
The assassination attempt on Prime Minister
Huong--the fourth attempt on the life of a high-
level Saigon official since the beginning of the
year--leaves little doubt that the Communists have
embarked on a campaign of political assassination.
Although assassination of low-level functionaries
has long been a fundamental Communist tactic, the
enemy has never before gone after such big stakes.
Now, however, political assassination supports the
current Communist strategy of precipitating an in-
ternal crisis to bring down the Saigon government.
(Map) I
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Berlin: Communist military activity around
Berlin in connection with the West German presi-
dential election is apparently in its final stages.
Soviet military movements were used again
yesterday to justify closures of the Helmstedt
autobahn for two three-hour periods. Further
closures are possible from time to time until all
Bonn's electors have left Berlin.
Warsaw Pact Commander Yakubovsky and Soviet
Deputy Foreign Minister Semenov, who had come to
Berlin on 28 February to assure on-the-scene man-
agement of harassment tactics, apparently left
the city yesterday. Moscow's control remained in
evidence, however, as Soviet officers stayed at
the checkpoints during autobahn delays. There
has been no systematic application of tighter con-
trols over manufactures shipped from Berlin to
West Germany since the Communists charged last
week that Bonn is using Berlin for illegal mili-
tary purposes.
7 Mar 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin 2
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France: Government-sponsored talks between
labor and management collapsed yesterday, raising
fears of a new economic crisis which could lead
to a franc devaluation.
Labor leaders walked out of the talks after
three days when the government and the Patronat
(National Association of French Manufacturers) re-
fused to turn the talks into actual negotiations
on wage increases. The government insisted that
the discussions, promised in the accords signed
during the student-labor crisis of last May, be
confined to a review of wages and prices over the
last year.
The government is fearful that bowing to union
demands for wage increases amounting to 10 to 12
percent would lead to an immediate devaluation of
the franc. Earlier, uncertainty over the outcome
of the talks, particularly fear of an inflationary
settlement, sent selling prices for gold to a new
high in London and Paris. Despite the existence
of extensive exchange controls, money has been
finding its way out of France, with one report
stating that as much as 75 percent of the demand
for gold in London comes from France.
Union leaders, who are acutely aware that the
rank-and-file thought them much too cautious during
the crisis last year, have called a 24-hour general
strike for next Tuesday. The leaders have announced
that they will meet with the workers to determine
the "form, extent and duration" of strikes. Wild-
cat strikes are already under way in several sectors.
The strike call has increased fears that the
franc will be devalued. According to the Paris
press, however, De Gaulle again came out against
devaluation at the weekly cabinet I I
g last
Wednesday.
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Israel: Mrs. Golda Meir will probably be
presenting her cabinet for approval by the Knesset
next week.
The 450-member Labor Party central committee
will almost certainly vote its approval today.
Formal consultations with the coalition parties
are going smoothly, and all indications are that
she will be approved by the Knesset. No major
changes in the present cabinet, are expected.
Mrs. Meir is a long-time dedicated worker in
the Zionist cause, with vast experience in and out
of government. A tough and able negotiator, she
will be vigorous and outspoken in defense of Israel.
Mrs. Meir rules out an imposed settlement in the
Middle East and insists that direct negotiation
with the Arabs is the only viable path to peace.
In a recent interview, she rejected the appellation
of "hawk" or "dove," but said she was not among
those who claim that not one inch of the occupied
Arab territories should be given up.
Mrs. Meir, who will be 71 in May, has been
incapacitated by a circulatory ailment for extended
periods over the past three years.
She has indicated she does not plan to run for
another term in the Knesset.
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Lebanon: Fedayeen activities in Lebanon are
presenting an increasingly serious problem for the
government.
Yasir Arafat? the head of the major Palestin-
ian commando group Fatah, is now threatening a
tough reaction to any government moves to restrain
the uerrillasp
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Arafat had assured Lebanese officials he would be
as cooperative as possible in limiting fedayeen
activities in Lebanon.
Arafat, who is also the newly elected chairman
of the PLO, recently instructed the PLO representa-
tive in Beirut to threaten the Lebanese Government
with demonstrations if it does not release a re-
cently arrested Fatah official. Arafat also stated
that the closure of three fedayeen bases in southern
Lebanon would be out of the question even if Beirut
should seek it. The three bases, which are less
than ten miles from the Israeli border, appear to
represent an expansion of fedayeen activity.
The Lebanese Government probably will not push
Fatah too far on a withdrawal because of the domes-
tic political repercussions that would follow, but
Beirut may be reluctant to release the imprisoned
official despite Arafat's threats since this would
constitute a public surrender.
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Central America: Official response to the
Nicaraguan decision to impose a tax on certain im-
ports from other Central American Common Market
countries thus far has been restrained.
The present crisis nevertheless is being de-
scribed by Central American leaders as the gravest
in the organization's eight-year history. The
four other members have decided to collect a bond
or deposit on Nicaraguan exports equivalent to the
amount of customs duty levied by Nicaragua, but
they also committed themselves to work to alleviate
Nicaragua's economic problems. In addition, Hon-
duras and El Salvador pledged to take further ac-.
tion on outstanding agreements on regional integra-
tion.
These commitments satisfy in part Nicaraguan
President Somoza's demand for more rapid progress
toward regional integration and consideration for
Nicaraguan economic problems. Somoza is reportedly
unwilling, however, to compromise or settle for
mere promises of action, and his intransigence
could strain the organization be o he point of
repair.
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Surinam: An apolitical retired civil servant,
Arthur May, has been, appointed to head a caretaker
government following the resignation of long-time
Minister-President Pengel.
Recent labor disorders hurt Pengel's prestige
and there has been much dissatisfaction with his
arbitrary and corrupt rule. As a result, his ef-
forts to be reinstated failed. The new government
leaders, although not particularly strong, are
honest and dedicated to rooting out corruption.
May himself is a good administrator and at least
initially is expected to have public support as he
tries to put Surinam's chaotic financial house in
order and prepare for elections, which may be called
for late September.
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Thailand: The government has won its first
test of strength in the newly elected :Lower house.
With the support of independent members, the
government party elected its candidate as speaker
of the House of Representatives on 5 March, thus
demonstrating that it can muster a working majority.
An independent House member was elected deputy
speaker, apparently as a payoff for independent
support to the government.
These results are the clearest sign to date
that independents, some of whom apparently had been
sounding out the possibility of working with the
opposition Democrats, will side with the government
on important issues. Independent leaders previ-
ously had declared their support for Thanom to
continue as prime minister. At the same time,
however, it is becoming increasingly clear that
many of them intend to exploit their pivotal posi-
tion between the government and the Democrats.
Control of the House leadership will ease the
way for the Thanom government to succeed itself.
The elections for speaker are further evidence,
however, of the increased power of Deputy Prime
Minister Praphat, to whom several independent mem-
bers owe their seats. Praphat probably will have
a large voice in determining the makeup of the new
cabinet, although he carefully has indicated that
he will continue to support Prime Minister Thanom.
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Equatorial Guinea: President Macias apparently
has thwarted an attempted coup against his govern-
ment.
In a cable to the UN Secretary General on
5 March, Macias reiterated his earlier request for
a 150-man UN peacekeeping force, and stated that
he was in full control after a coup attempt that
morning. The coup group was led by Atanasio Ndongo,
foreign minister of the small West African country,
and Saturnino Ibongo, its UN representative. Both
men were moderates and former political opponents
who had joined the more militant and nationalistic
Macias in a coalition government when the former
Spanish colony became independent last. October.
Recent reports indicate that Ndongo has been killed
and that Ibongo is under arrest.
The two officials had returned to Equatorial
Guinea this week from a visit to Spain, during
which they had conferred with Spanish officials
about the current crisis in relations between the
two countries. Their advocacy of negotiation with
Spain may have led them to attempt to seize power
from the emotional and erratic president, whose
virulent anti-Spanish diatribes provoked the dete-
rioration in relations and dangerously inflamed
local tensions. It may also have prompted Macias
to oust them.
The current turmoil could lead to further up-
heaval and the eventual fall of the already shaky
government. Ndongo had enjoyed considerable pop-
ular support and, according to one report, the
loyalty of the country's only security force. The
removal of one of the few moderate voices in the
government could also endanger further negotiations
with Spain, whose continued assistance is vital to
Guinea's economic well-being.
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Syria: The power struggle in Damascus has
remained nonviolent, and Minister of Defense Hafiz
Asad seems to be running the show for the time
being. Ineffectual Prime Minister Atasi publicly
received a visiting Egyptian dignitary yesterday
in the company of Asad and other cabinet ministers,
an indication that he is not outwardly opposing
Asad's leadership.
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SPECIAL NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATES
The United States Intelligence Board, on
6 March 1969, approved the following special na-
tional intelligence estimates:
SNIE 97-69 Peru and the US: The Im-
plications of the IPC Con-
troversy
SNIE 13-69 Communist China and Asia
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