CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A014000060001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 28, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 25, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Central Intelligence Bulletin
.. Secret
5 Q,
-'25 June 1969
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No. 0151/69
25 June 1969
Central Intelligence Bulletin
CONTENTS
South Vietnam: Situation report. (Page 1)
Laos: Communist forces have attacked government po-
sitions near the Plaine des Jarres. (Page 3)
Thailand: Fighting remains at low levels, with Com-
munist insurgents making some headway in widely sep-
arated areas. (Page 5)
Arab States - Israel: The situation along the
cease-fire line has deteriorated. (Page 7)
USSR-US: The Soviets did not harass two US ships
that operated in the Black Sea from 18 to 22 June.
(Page 9)
UN-Disarmament: Prospects seem to be diminishing
for enl argement of the Eighteen Nation Disarmament
Committee before July. (Page 10)
Uruguay: The President imposed a limited state of
siege yesterday. (Page 11)
Chile: Discovery of two terrorist bases could have
serious political implications. (Page 12)
Pakistan: Political merger (Page 13)
El Salvador - Honduras: Troubled relations (Page 13)
Haiti: Duvalier appearance (Page 13)
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Kontum Province
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C South Vietnam: Communist forces are maintain-
ing pressure against the allied Special Forces camp
at Ben Het in the western highlands, but elsewhere
in South Vietnam enemy activity is at a low level.
Elements of the North Vietnamese 28th and 66th
infantry regiments and the 40th Artillery Regiment
have been harassing allied positions in the Ben Het
area with shellings and limited ground probes almost
daily since early May. Some of the heaviest action
in this sector in recent weeks occurred on 23-24
June and included the first direct ground assault
against the camp since the enemy campaign began.
Although US air and artillery resources are
readily available for combat support, Ben Het and
its neighboring combat base at Dak To are defended
largely by South Vietnamese regular and paramilitary
troops. Prisoners captured during recent engage-
ments in this area claim that their unit's mission
was to encircle and attack South Vietnamese Army
units exclusively. The Communists may thus be seek-
ing to force a major test of strength with the South
Vietnamese military in a region in which they enjoy
the advantages of terrain and easy access to cross-
border sanctuary.
Moreover, there is evidence that the enemy in-
tends to maintain pressure for a considerable pe-
riod against these South Vietnamese bases in western
Kontum, which it may consider vulnerable, perhaps
with an eye toward an eventual thrust against the
provincial capital of Kontum city. Such a course
of action is suggested by reports that the Commu-
nists have, over the past few months, engaged in
the highly unusual practice of pressing large num-
bers of infiltrated replacement personnel directly
into battle rather than gradually absorbing them
into existing units in base areas distant from the
combat zone. 1(Map) ,
25 Jun 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Communists Launch Ground Attacks Near the Plaine des Jarres
L PRFi6ANCi
THAftAND ,
PLAfNE
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Laos: Communist forces have launched a series
of ground attacks against government positions near
the Plaine des Jarres.
The action was highlighted by a sharp attack on
24 June against the neutralist headquarters at Muong
Soui. At least two battalions of Communist troops
supported by tanks overran a number of the base's
outlying defense positions and inflicted light cas-
ualties on government defenders. The airstrip, how-
ever, remains in government hands and at last report
the fighting had eased.
In apparently related moves, the Communists
drove government troops from Phou Soung, a recently
won position north of the Plaine, and hit government
guerrilla outposts on the southern rim. These actions
are almost certainly in response to General Vang Pao's
recent effort to re-establish a government presence
on the Plaine.
The attack against Muong Soui, however, is the
first major action against that position in five
years. It may have been intended as a commensurate
response to the government's capture of the once
inviolate Communist base of Xieng Khouangville. The
attack may also have been launched for political
reasons. In recent weeks the Communists have made
a concerted effort to portray Communist "patriotic
neutralist" elements as the "true representatives"
of the neutralist faction. Such pretensions presum-
ably would be furthered by the capture of the neu-
tralist headquarters at Muong Soui.
(Map)
25 Jun 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Thailand: Insurgents Improve Positions in Widely Separated Areas
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Thailand: Communist insurgents continue to
make headway in the north while they try to improve
their assets in the northeast.
In the north and north--central provinces, the
Communists are consolidating their control over
tribal areas. Village propaganda meetings and sight-
ings of larger insurgent bands attest to the insur-
gents' growing strength in Nan and Chiang Rai prov-
inces. Village reports also indicate the guerrillas
are strengthening their organization in Tak.
The guerrillas continue to harass government
security forces, but incidents have become less fre-
quent because several army units have been pulled
out of the area for security duty in adjacent lowlands.
In the northeast, the guerrillas are apparently
carrying out plans drawn up last December to pare
down and strengthen their organization. An increased
number of sightings of insurgents in Udon Thani and
Kalasin provinces indicate the guerrillas may bees-
tablishing footholds in neighboring areas that are
relatively free of government security forces. They
are reported to have established new political and
military training facilities in Kalasin. Bangkok
has been particularly concerned over the spread of
insurgent activity in southern Ubon Province, an
area that is especially vulnerable because of the
proximity of Laos-based Communist forces.
The guerrillas also continue to avoid armed en-
counters with superior security forces, although
periodic Thai Army operations have resulted in some
small unit clashes. I(Map)
25 Jun 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Hatany / 1
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Tempo of Incidents Quickens Along Cease-Fire Lines
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Arab States - Israel: The situation along the
cease-fire lines has deteriorated recently as the
tempo of incidents and reprisals has quickened.
Artillery duels across the Suez Canal are oc-
curring daily again after a comparative lull during
May. Egyptian commando raids across the canal have
also been resumed. The fighting along the canal may
be designed to placate more militant elements in
Egypt who are growing more restive as the stale-
mate continues.
The number of incidents along the Israeli-Jor-
danian cease-fire lines has increased greatly fol-
lowing a "cooling-off" period in early June. An or-
der by King Husayn prohibiting Jordanian Army units
from initiating fire was apparently responsible for
the lull. The death of an American tourist on 17
June as the result of shelling by an Iraqi unit
stationed in Jordan signaled the beginning of a pe-
riod of increasing tension in the Jordan Valley.
Israel has recently toughened its already tough
retaliatory policy. The Israelis, frustrated over
the unlikelihood of a peace settlement satisfactory
to them and determined to hold fast, have been par-
ticularly irked at the new aggressiveness of the
regular Jordanian forces. Last week the Israelis
mounted heavy air attacks exclusively against Jor-
danian Army positions, and on 23 June they blew up
a water conduit in the East Ghor Canal, a major ir-
rigation facility.
The Israelis have been somewhat more relaxed
about the Egyptian shellings along the Suez Canal
because they are well dug in. The resumption of
Egyptian cross-canal commando operations, however,
has already prompted a counter Israeli commando at-
tack on a radar station south of the canal, and
other similar attacks are likely.
(continued)
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Yesterday's Arab fedayeen attack on the Israeli
oil pipeline just outside Haifa is certain to raise
Israeli ire further, and bring new Israeli attacks
against fedayeen bases in Jordan or Lebanon. The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP),
in an announcement from Amman, has claimed credit
for the pipeline attack. The section struck was
between the Haifa refinery and the port of Haifa.
Israeli officials expect this line for refined prod-
ucts to be repaired within two or three days.
(map)
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USSR-US: The Soviets did not attempt to harass
two US destroyers which operated in the Black Sea
from 18-22 June.
Although the US ships were subjected to air and
surface surveillance, there have been no Soviet prop-
aganda broadsides and no protests to Turkey. In the
past, Moscow has threatened to hold Ankara responsi-
ble if US destroyers were allowed to enter the Black
Sea with "armament exceeding the limitations" of the
Montreux Convention of 1936. The Soviets have con-
tended that the destroyers' antisubmarine rockets
violate the convention.
Soviet reaction to these biannual visits has
grown steadily calmer since 1967, when there were
diplomatic protests and attempted rammings. In 1968
there was only slight harassment, and the notes to
Ankara were pro forma, playing on Turkish domestic
pressures against the US presence there.
The low-key Soviet reaction to the most recent
visit is consistent with Moscow's apparent predispo-
sition to avoid serious contention with the US at
this time.
Central Intelligence Bulletin
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UN-Disarmament: Prospects seem to be diminish-
ing for further enlargement of the Eighteen Nation
Disarmament Committee (ENDC) before it reconvenes in
July.
The USSR, at the close of the ENDC's last ses-
sion, offered to admit Japan and Mongolia, two of
the eight nations proposed by the US as a balanced
enlargement package. US negotiators consented to
the "partial enlargement" after obtaining Soviet
agreement to discuss further enlargement during the
ENDC's summer recess. Japan and Mongolia have been
invited by the US and USSR, cochairmen of the com-
mittee, to join its next session on 3 July, despite
some old members' preferences that the plan first
be approved by the UN General Assembly.
IJloscow, however, has ignored several US efforts
to reopen enlargement discussions during the recess.
Foreign Minister Gromyko has expressed fears that
the ENDC is becoming a "small UN" where serious dis-
armament agreements are difficult to negotiate.
The Soviets, who insist on their version of a strict
East-West balance in the disarmament forum, show no
signs of accepting the remaining six US-backed can-
didates as a package. Even if the Soviets should
reopen the question now, no agreement seems likely
by the opening date of the new session.
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Urugua : President Pacheco imposed a limited
state of siege yesterday morning to combat a mount-
ing labor and political crisis. An arrest list with
some 400 names, almost exclusively students and
workers, has been made up.
Terrorist incidents have been increasing for
the last few weeks and numerous strikes are in prog-
ress. In addition, Pacheco faces a challenge from
powerful forces within his own party and among the
opposition who hope to discredit him and force aban-
donment of his unpopular economic austerity programs.
One opposition leader has threatened to start impeach-
ment procedures over what Pacheco's opponents describe
as an unconstitutional closing of a leftist newspaper.
The state of siege decree, which among other
things prohibits meetings and propaganda "disruptive
of public order," must be presented for congressional
approval within 24 hours of its imposition, and Con-
gress, in its present mood, may decide to limit its
scope or to lift it immediately. Such a direct chal-
lenge to the President would provoke a new political
crisis. Pacheco suffered a major defeat earlier this
month when Congress voted to censure one of his key
ministers. Another defeat, so soon after the first,
would seriously damage his standing and could lead
him to consider ways to maintain the state of siege
unconstitutionally.
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Chile: The discovery of two terrorist bases
could have serious political implications.
Police raids last week turned up a "guerrilla
training school" in the Santiago area and an arms
cache farther south. Bombs, weapons, and maps of
military bases and other strategic locations were
found at both sites. The discoveries are receiving
broad press coverage and have been cause for increas-
ing concern among the armed forces over the security
of their bases.
Police I claim to have evidence linking
the "guerril a school" to the Socialist Party, and
the second find to the Movement of the Revolutionary
Left, which is suspected of being the paramilitary
arm of the Socialists. The Communist Party, which
in Chile is less radical than the Socialists, has
been critical in the past of Socialist tendencies
to resort to violence, and any proof of ties between
the terrorists and the Socialists could damage the
Communist-Socialist political front.
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NOTES
Pakistan: Four right-of-center political par-
ties have merged, forming the Pakistan Democratic
Party. Although the parties are small, their merger
is a first step toward reducing the overabundance of
political parties in Pakistan--one of President
Yahya Khan's prerequisites for eventual scheduling
of national elections. There are rumors, however,
that additional new parties may be formed.
El Salvador - Honduras: Relations between the
two countries have been troubled since 15 June as a
result of excesses committed by over-enthusiastic
Salvadoran soccer fans. Reports of harassment of
the Honduran team and mistreatment of Honduran tour-
ists by Salvadorans led to anti-Salvadoran demon-
strations in Honduras. Hundreds of itinerant Sal-
vadoran workers have now fled Honduras. In spite
of government efforts on both sides to quiet the
situation, feeling remains high in both countries.
A scheduled playoff game between Honduras and El
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Salvador on 27 June in
Mexico is likely to cause fur-
ther disturbances
which
could affect economic rela-
tions and impede
Common
Market cooperation.
I
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Haiti: President Duvalier's first public ac-
tivity since his illness in early May indicates that
he is still in firm control of Haiti. Over the week-
end the President reviewed troops headquartered in
Port-au-Prince and later took an automobile tour of
the capital city on the fifth anniversary of his in-
auguration as "President-for-life." His appearance,
which confirms reports that he has resumed his offi-
cial duties, should squelch speculation that his
control had weakened.
Central Intelligence Bulletin 13
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