CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A013700040001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 10, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Central Intelligence Bulletin
JCS review(s) completed.
Secret
DOS review(s) completed. 48
10 May 1969
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No. 0112/69
10 May 1969
Central Intelligence Bulletin
CONTENTS
South Vietnam: Situation. report. (Page 1)
USSR: The death rate among Soviet generals has
been high in recent weeks, but not dramatically so.
(Page 3)
USSR: A central committee plenum may convene soon.
(Page 4)
Czechoslovakia: Husak has come close to conceding
that the Soviet invasion was necessary. (Page 5)
West Germany: Pressure for revaluation of the
deutschemark continues to build. (Page 7)
Peru: The government is seeking legal means to
gain control of another US business. (Page 8)
Indonesia: Djakarta has indefinitely banned all
newsmen from West Irian for irresponsible reporting.
(Page 9)
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I South Vietnam: Sharp ground fights were re-
ported in the central highlands and in an area
northeast of Saigon on 8-9 May.
In Pleiku Province in the highlands a Communist
force shelled and stormed US field positions before
dawn yesterday. Three US soldiers were killed and
33 wounded, while the Communists lost 52 dead before
being driven off.
Northeast of Saigon in War Zone "D" two South
Vietnamese battalions suffered heavy casualties--
14 killed and 111 wounded--in a battle on 8 May.
The South Vietnamese troops reportedly were hard
hit by Communist mortar fire. Enemy losses were
12 killed. Military activity elsewhere in the
country was generally light; US Marines report
substantial enemy casualties resulting from a sweep
operation on an island southeast of Da Nang, and
the enemy shelled a US base south of Hue, wounding
22 Americans.
Signs of enemy battle preparations have been
cropping up in one section of the country after
another in recent days. The two regions where
enemy units are most active are the central high-
lands and northwestern III Corps, but evidence of
enemy attack planning has also been noted to the
north in I Corps and in the Mekong Delta. While
the reports do not point to an imminent offensive
against South Vietnam's major cities? they do in-
dicate shelling attacks and ground probes over a
wide front in the near :future as the Comm
try to carry out their May campaign plan.
(continued)
10 May 69
Central Intelligence Bulletin
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USSR: The rate of death among Soviet generals
in recent weeks has been high but not dramatically
so.
During the past two weeks the deaths of nine
such military leaders have been announced in Mos-
cow. An additional 37 had been recorded in the
Soviet press in the preceding 17 weeks of 1969,
but were not noted by the Western press. This
total is somewhat ahead of the 37 deaths announced
in the comparable period last year. The increase
may be primarily the result of last winter's severe
Asian flu epidemic.
Five of the nine generals were in their mid-
sixties or early seventies and four of the nine
were in retirement. Seven seem to have died from
natural causes--as have most of the other officers
whose deaths have been announced this year and last
year too, for that matter.
The exceptions involve General Popov--believed
to have been posted to the Defense Ministry's Chief
Inspectorate--and Lt. General Kadomtsev--who com-
manded air defense aviation--both of whom perished
"tragically." Such a phrase usually denotes a vio-
lent death caused, say, by an air crash or some
other service-related mishap. It is possible, there-
fore, that at least two of the recent decedents died
in a single accident. Because of the dissimilar-
ities in the ages, status, and professional posi-
tion of the other generals who have died recently,
there is little reason to suppose that their deaths
were linked.
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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USSR: A plenum of the party's central committee
may convene soon, possibly next Monday.
The last central committee plenum was held in
December, and there have been reports for more than
a month that another session was pending.
12 May is the date. The postponement trom
12 to 14 May of President Podgorny's departure for
a visit to North Korea lends weight to that surmise.
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plenum will discuss the forthcoming international
conference of Communist parties and ways to improve
the application of science and technology to the
economy. Consideration of the international con-
ference documents by the central committee prior
to the "final" preparatory meeting on
23
May
would
be in line with the directive issued
atory session last March.
by
the
prepar-
In a recent discussion of the international
conference, Mos-
cow believes 73 parties will be represented at the
June meeting. 16 parties--includ-
ing those of Albania, u a, Japan, North Korea, and
North Vietnam--are not expected to attend, although
there are other signs that Hanoi and Havana, at least,
may still be considering the matter. China and Yu-
goslavia were not mentioned, but they too will be
absent.
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Czechoslovakia: Party leader Husak has come
dangerously close to conceding that the Soviet in-
vasion last August was necessary.
In a Moscow Pravda article last Thursday, Hu-
sak charged that nonparty "antisocialist forces"--
with the assistance of some liberal Communists--
had generated a political. crisis to overthrow the
Czechoslovak party leadership. This attack by Hu-
sak on the liberals, and by implication the Dub-
cek regime, for failing to recognize or to curb the
threat is the strongest by any top leader since the
intervention.
Husak's article probably was intended exclus-
ively for Soviet readers. It was not reprinted in
the Czechoslovak party daily, Rude Pravo, which car-
ried a much more subdued piece by Husak--thus under-
scoring the weakness and unpopularity of his retro-
gressive position.
Husak apparently is considering a shake-up to
bring more of his supporters into top posts in the
party and government. Infighting over the shifts
presumably has forced postponement of a central com-
mittee meeting that had been tentatively set for
next week to discuss a number of matters. Conserv-
ative Czech party boss Strougal is reported to be
insisting that the next plenum deal exclusively
with personnel changes.
The Husak leadership continues to tighten its
control over the mass media and over party members.
Journalists are under pressure to retract their
earlier denunciations of prominent conservatives
as "traitors" and "collaborators." Party secretary
Lenart, who was former hard-line party boss Novotny's
last premier, publicly stated in Moscow on 7 May
that there will be more rights for those who "favor"
the party line than for those who do not.
(continued)
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Perhaps in recognition of Husak's success in
virtually silencing the mass media, the Soviets have
stopped publication of the occupation forces' news-
paper Zpravy, which has carried anti-Dubcek, pro-
conservative diatribes since shortly after the in-
vasion. The termination of Zpravy may gain Husak
some support from those people who will believe that
it is he who has extracted this long-demanded con-
cession from Moscow.
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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C West Germany: Pressure for revaluation of the
deutschemark continues to build, despite the German
Government announcement that a unilateral revalua-
tion has been rejected,1
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t-
tention of the international financial community
now is focused on the meeting this weekend of major
central bankers at Basel--a meeting at which the
authorities will attempt t agree on steps to meet
the present monetary crisis.
Lure of the Basel talks would greatly in-
crease the probability that West Gegma_Uy will have
to revalue within a matter of wee
10. May 69
Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Peru: The military government is seeking le-
gal means to gain control of another US business.
The government has proposed to International
Telephone and. Telegraph (ITT) that the American
company reduce its holdings in the Peru Telephone
Company from 67 to 49 percent. The government would
pay for the shares in local currency and the company
would then be required to reinvest the money in Peru,
according to the proposal. The current contract be-
tween the company and the government stipulates that
the government must either buy out ITT by 12 August
or permit the company to retain its shares until
1971.
Earlier discussions aimed at the "Peruvianiza-
tion" of the telephone company hinted at the possi-
bility of expropriation if an a reement is not worked
out.
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin 8
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Indonesia: Djakarta has reacted to exaggerated
press and radio accounts of unrest in West Irian by
banning all newsmen from the area indefinitely.
Indonesia invoked the ban on 8 May because of
its concern that the publicity given recent rebel-
lious incidents in West Irian could upset the or-
derly completion of the act of self-determination,
which will take four more months.
An overblown Australian report of unrest in
West Irian in late April inspired further foreign
and domestic news coverage and press questioning
of Indonesian officials in Djakarta. According to
the actual facts in the case, central highland
tribesmen, piqued over the replacement of their
local chief with an Indonesian, dug up three small
dirt airstrips and forced Indonesian Government
employees to evacuate the area. The government
sent in paratroopers, who restored the airstrips.
Other minor incidents have been reported in
Biak--an island off West Irian--where the most ad-
vanced elements of the population are centered and
where sentiment for independence may be relatively
strong. A third area that has received publicity,
particularly in the Australian press, is the bor-
der between West Irian and Australian New Guinea,
where some potentially serious incidents have oc-
curred. In late April, Indonesian police chased
fleeing West Irian refugees across the border into
New Guinea and tried to break up a refugee camp on
the border. These troops also fired on Australian
forces.
Since West Irian's two major rebel leaders
surrendered early this year, there has been virtu-
ally no organized anti-Indonesian activity. Con-
tinuing sporadic and isolated incidents--stemming
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from both local grievances and independence groups--
can be anticipated, however, even after the final
decision, which is expected to favor union with In-
donesia.
Indonesia is concerned that publicity on any
further incidents in the area would have a negative
effect on world opinion and would reflect adversely
on Djakarta's conduct of the act of self--determina-
tion.
10 May 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin 10
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