FOREIGN RADIO REACTIONS TO THE STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500730133-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2003
• Sequence Number: 133
• Publication Date: November 11, 1998
• Content Type: REPORT

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!I,'
CLASSIFICATION RpSTBICTSD REST P,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR r'A I0 BROADCASTS
COU(~TRY
SUBJECT
FOREIGN RADIO RFIACTIO1 TO THE
STATE OF THE UI1IC.I`r MESSAGE
HOW
PUBLISHED Radio Broadcasts
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
THII DOCUNINT CONTAIN/ 1MIONNATION AV/ACTING TNt NATIONAL Dt/SNNI
OF 'MR UNITID NTATIN ?ITMIM Till NIAMIMN Of 2PIONANI ?..I IO
V. N. F:, 11 AND 11, Al 11.... D. ITR TNANINIDIION ON TIN MlrtuTION
01 IT{ CONTAIT! IN ANT ^ANMtM TO AN YNAYTIIORIIiO PINION is IRO
1i UA''I C. UI.71 . , Air. J +Tofw
NO. OF PAGES 3
no. 1, 4-51
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
January 1950)
INTROWCTIONs To date, there has been ref atlvely little monitored foreign radio ocmmient
on the President's State of the Union message. The Soviet radio he not yet been heard from
on the subject, although on Wednesday it devot lid one broadcast to the problem of the budget
and the forthcoming message. The P,zsguo radio ,i Ill the only East European Satellite to have
oaamented no for, charges the President with al (king for a continuation of America 'a aggressive
policy. A Soviet-controlled Austrian broadcaetl'taunts Truman with'having "admitted that the
etre ously denied economic revorsel in the U.S. actually did occur during the past year."
The BBC reports that the British press approveellmany of the Preeiaont's points. A Madrid
radii commentator finds that in thelfield of foreign policy the President's message was "not
I
of gjeat interest" and said "really Tory little. "
MCRCCr1'8 PRE-MESSAGE COMB E : Broadcasting a (note on international affaire from NEW TIDES, "
Moscow on Wednesday tells North American listeners that "the U.S. Government, which promised
to shower prosperity and happiness n all its eiatellitee and the colonial countries thrown
in, is, it appears, itself unable to make ends meet." Contending that the budget was one of
the 1?ig problems facing the white House in preparation of the Pros dent's message to Congress,
the Soviet radio propagandizes thatl'R'evenuee are insufficient t- cover the colossal
expenditures c-t armaments and war preparationson the cold war, Rind on the aggressive foreign
policy." Moscow's advice to the budget framer is "to out the insensate astronomical sums
allocated for war preparations...."
PRAGUE ANA SOTIET-CONTROIALED AUSTRIA: In addition to attacking the message for requesting
demogratio countries, the Prague radio predict'' that the Presilion*,~'s request for an extension
of civil rights and aa',,o itlon of the Taft Bartley Act will remain merely a "scrap of paper."
N.tirplgiting the Preeia.ont's 'admission" of an Amea lean "economic reverse" during the past
year a Soviet-controlled Anetrian acaamentatorclaime that "the orisis movement" is therefore
no more "Invention." He expresses bt about' "whether it has actuallyIboon possible to
avoid' any major effects of the crisis" and appga ontly finds it significant that "1n his
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predictions of the future, Trumrn confined himself to forecasting U.S. production in the
year 2000--something very vague and uncontrollable." This is contrasted withl the immediate
eeon=io plans of countries with a "planned socialist eeonoW.
1!H 31RID: Labeling the meesage "an opening electoral campaign speech, " the Madrid radio
expreeeae d.leappointment over the generalized charar,,?,er of the Preeident'e revarks on foreign
policy. The oommentator states that "the world hopes for greater precieeneeel.... " He also
feels that an far am the President In concerned, "foreign policy is... subordinated to
America's internal policy" where TTrumn's Fair Deal, in mar w of its "eomi-socializing aepeote,
goes beyond the Roceaveltian New Deal." In this context, the present Congressional session
is said to "promise a determined struggle between the hastiness of the Democrats and the
energetic~oppoeition of the Republicans." A comparable struggle 1s also predicted in the
field of foreign policy where the "unity... between the Republicans and Democrats is being
split. "
(No. 2, 5-6 January 1950)
TA'FRODUCTION: Since yesterday's report in this aeries on
foreign radio'reactions
to the President's message there has been an increase in monitored comment
and Esetern Europe. The total quantity, however, in still not voluminous.
from both Western
West Europeaul
opinion i-', preponderantly favorable; Soviet Satellite opinion, uniformly negative. As yet,
orrt from Radio Moscow; and lacking its lead, the available Satellite
broadcasts' have been confined primarily to relatively mild statements about he alleged
American economic decline, present and future, and about American imperialism. There has',
one brief reference, from the Czechoslovak radio, to the President's remarks about
Communism:
SATELLITE COMMENT: Beeoticne have been received from the Czechoslovak andRuaanian radios
and from the Soviet-oontrolled radioe in Berlin and Leipzig. Allegations of Ian American
economic decline range from: (1) the charge that Truman himself denied the (Western propa'I
gandiste' claims of American prosperity and that his :message reflected the fact of an
American crisis (Bucharest and Soviet-controlled Leipzig); (2) through the contention that
Truman "completely disregarded the unavoidable disintegration of American capitalism"
(Bratislava) ; (3) to the thesis. that he couldn't help being wrong about his assessment of,
developments during the next 50 years since he is "the spokesman of the declining bourgeois
class and of world imperialism which is breaking up visibly before our eyes ",I (Prague). The
Rweenian radio at Bucharest, attempting to d:moument the President's alleged', admission of a
"strong ?a'onomtic decline during 1949, "rose such phrases as "increasing number of bankruptcies
and unemployed, falling of working people's standard of living, concentration of capital and
profits, budgetary deficit,... hundreds of thousands of families freezing in huts or without
arm aco odatlon whatsoever, and millions of children without necessary sohools.... (Of
interest in this connection Is the fact that Radio Moscow, although not yet';oc enting on the
President's message, is currently broadcasting talks entitled "The Beginning of the Collapse
of World Capitalism" and 'The alooWProspeote for the Capitalist Economy. ")
The Satellite comment includes standard attacks on the President's alleged affirmation of the
expansionist and imperialist policy of the American Government. These attacks, however, are
relatively mild as compared to previous denunciations. Although attention is given to
A erican armaments 'mnd other evidences of alleged militarism, the word "war" appears only
onoo--that is in the phrase, the "warlike policy of the American Goverment", (Bucharest).
Only the Czechoslovak radio refers to Truman's anti-CemmnLnisms "Naturally Truman rdid not
fail.., to include inditemterrt against the democratic forces and a warning against the danger
of Commnuiiem. " And a 3ov^i et-ocntrolled Leipzig commentator euggoote that the Republicans,
and not Truman himself, are primarily responsible for the President's anti-Soviet policy:
"A long time ago, the Republicans agreed to support Trm an'e foreign policy. However,
they' laid down a particularly severe ooridition--namely, that Truman should adopt the
foreign policy of the Republicans which is mainly anti-Savi"et~.?~"'
RB3TRICTJ D LFESTLLL, PIT Ea
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On the bother hand, the Sov-iat-oozesrolled Berlin radio, citing'Attalcks on the Prsei .e
led b
incl
e
a
me au
..~ ?~.,~.,....
a
??,
a-,
y Jvoe h !'trtin and Sezwl or Tart
.
Not at word has been said about the Preeident'e references to atomic energy.
WEST EtffOPFAN COM4PNTt ThelkTorable West European comuont oonterc primarily around
r,r,#
:ereeia-ntla continuing support of the Marshall Plan and hie remarks about America's p ~ytione
and
to
aseuranoes about the gooa eoonc=c situation of the United States.l
Occasional references ?re roads to the approaching elections as the', context foe" hie
but they are explanatory rather than critical.
A few broadoaate note, generally without o muent, the PA'esidenn's amiseion of reforeaa
to China. I I fm
Sri
P
RMTRICTED
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