MONTHLY REPORT--GULF BUREAU--OCTOBER 1981

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00385R000200040005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 8, 2007
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: November 3, 1981
• Content Type: MEMO

? MGF 013 - 81
3 November 1981
Memorandum for Director, FBIS
Through Chief, Operations Group
Subject Monthly Report--Gulf Bureau--October 1981
The bureau welcomed on board its fi 1 two monitorial
candidates recruited this past summer. SAT
Armenian/Arabic, and lArabic/Armenian, AT
EOD'd on 4 October. Both young~ ladies have settled in
quickly and easily, and are alr-eaay producing some items-
for wirefiling.
In a similar vein, our new Russian monitor, who EOD'd
in late July, has continued his fine progress and is currently
expanding his coverage load. We recently added Tehran Russian
programming, taking this over from Nicosia bureau where it
had been handled on an ad hoc basis by the.- Chief Monitor.
We are also currently processing material from Tashkent and
Ashkhabad. Russian broadcasts, primarily economic material.
The assassination of Egyptian President As-Sadat early
in the month prompted an all-out effort by the bureau to be
of some help in maintaining speaker watches on Libyan
transmitters. While we never became fully integrated into the
watch pattern that emerged among London, Nicosia and Jordan
bureaus, the entire exercise was a valuable learning experience
for our relatively inexperienced Arabic monitors. Everyone'
now has a much clearer idea of how we are to react and conduct
our operations during such crisis periods. Everyone profited--
editors, monitors and teletypists.
A Headquarters auditor visited the bureau early in the
month. He spent two days going over our records and found
no serious problems. Two minor recommendations were made
which primarily called for action by headquarters components.
Approved For Release 2007/05/08: CIA-RDP83-00385R0002000400p5p3
Approved For Release 2007/05/08: CIA-RDP83-00385R000200040005-2
 Approved For Release 2007/05/08: CIA-RDP83-00385R000200040005-2
Installation of our microwave link with the embassy TCU
moved forward durin the month after thb:-return from R$R of
bureau engineer We are looking toward a mid-toSTAT
late November start-up.
To make room for our new monitors (four in the last 3
months) we have built additonal monitoring positions in the
chief monitor's old office, moving him into a new office built
in a corner of our rathe.r-~'large reception area adjacent to
the bureau chief's office. These new positions have enabled
us to move three monitors out of the bureau's original, very
large, monitoring booth, which at certain times of the day,
was simply too crowded to work in comfortably.
Deputy Chiefi eturned to the United StatesSTAT
at mid-month on emergency leave. He was gone for slightly
over two weeks.
The embassy was granted permission to implement a
13.8 percent cost of living pay increase as of 18 October.
Separate messages detailing the cost to us for FY-82 have
been sent to E&PS.
II. OPERATIONS
A. MONITORIAL/EDITORIAL
1. The massive watch on Libyan transmitters following
the assassination of Egyptian President As-Sadat provided the
bureau with some crisis coverage and=`:,exposed the bureau's
newer Arabic monitors to the enhanced tempo of work shifts
and the different forms of processing urgent material. While
reception of Libyan transmitters at Gulf was irregular and
frequently too poor for us to be of much help in covering-
the domestic service, we were able to take some Arabic coverage
from other bureaus, which enabled them to then use their
monitors for the Libya watch. We took over the.Arabic weeklies
published in London, enabling PMU press monitors to assist-
Nicosia and Jordan bureaus along with several Saudi papers
also normally covered by PMU. In addition, we took over
coverage of twoSan'a' domestic service casts from Jordan
bureau.
 Approved For Release 2007/05/08: CIA-RDP83-00385R000200040005-2
2. U.S. Senate acquiescence to President Reagan's
decision to sell sophisticated military equipment to Saudi
Arabia, particularly the AWACS, apparently caught the Gulf
area by surprise. One Gulf newspaper admitted that it
had been primed to castigate the United States for failing
to support the Saudi request for Arms, but was now forced to
reassess the U.S. commitment to the Arab cause. Generally,
the Gulf press welcomed the U.S. decision to go ahead with
the sale of the AWACS as an indication of new Middle East
thinking in Washington. For several days the bureau filed
lengthly editorial reports on Gulf area reaction to the
AWACS sale as well as statements and comments by area leaders
and government spokesmen.
3. Our coverage of periodic open sessions of the
Iranian Majlis carried on an FM frequency and a low powered
mediumwave frequency enabled the bureau to file several
reports during the month hours ahead of their appearance
on later scheduled newscasts. Chief among these were reports
on the nomination of Prime Minister Musavi:_for that position
as well as the composition of his cabinet when it was-_
presented to the Majlis for formal approval of the.,,government.
A. 13.8 percent cost of living increase was implemented
on 18 October. The increase was the outgrowth of the annual
wage survey conducted by the embassy this past summer.
New Teletype traineesi SAT
EOD'd during September and October respectively. Also,, with
the return of two other teleops from maternity leave we now
have a full teletype section on duty for the first time in
over six months. We are hopeful that our baby boom has
subsided.
B. Buildings and Grounds.
Three.-new monitoring positions were being completed
by month end and a new office for the chief monitor was
constructed in the reception area adjacent to the bureau chief's
office.
To the bureau on 12 and 13 October,)
auditor from headquarters.
L
fTAT
STAT
u au ie
Approved For Release 2007/05/08: CIA-RDP83-00385R000200040005-2