CURRENT INTELLIGENCE DIGEST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01146A000800310001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 7, 2002
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 28, 1952
• Content Type: SUMMARY

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SECRET
SECURITY INFOR~~TION
28 March 1952
US OFFICIALS ONLY
OCI Noo 5147
Copy N'oe~ 5 ~
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE DIGEST
Office of Current. Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This summary of significant reports has been prepared primarily
for the internal use of the Office of Current Intelligence It does
not represent a complete coverage of all current reports in CIA
or in the Office of Current Intelligence, Comments represent the
immediate views of the Office of Current Intelligenceo
State Dept. review c~~bel
RE~~1~~! T~ A~G4~~~ ~ N~~~~D~ G~~~~~
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SECURITY INF'ORNIATIC~T`~
For Release 2002/05/20 :CIA-RDP79T01146A~OA80~000~ 0
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THIS MATERIAL CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN TAE MEANING OF THE
ESPIONAGE LAWSs TITLE 18a USC9 SECSo 793 AND 794, THE
TRANSMISSION OR REVELATION OF WHICH IN ANY MANNER TO AN
UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAWo
EASTERN EUROPE
le Bulgarian aviation club sponsors paramilitary youth
t ainingo ccor ng o a o is newspaper, a avia ion
c u o the Voluntary Orgaanization for Defense Cooperation
in Sofia offers both theoretical and practical instruction
in aviation,- Under the auspices of the club, young people
are trained as pilots, parachutists aircraft technicians,
and aircraf t radio operators o
commenfa Until early last year, a ''National Union for
Aeria par was sponsored by the Bulgarian "People's Union
for Sport and Technicso'? This parent organization was merged
with the "Union of Fighters against Fascism" in March, 1951,
to form the "Voluntary Organization for Defense Cooperation,"
DOSOo
In addition to the aviation instruction mentioned above,
DOSO now sponsors courses ?f training in such fields as
arms familiarization9 marksmanship, glider_piloting, auto-
mobile driving and antiaircraft and chemical defenseo The
organization is under the leadership of Major General Stoyko
Stoev, who is on active duty with the Bulgarian Army>
20 Czechoslovakia, takes new steps to force women into aobse
The Czec overnmen annouxace on arc t at oo ra ions
may be withdrawn from women without children who refuse-work
assigned by the local governments Women with children in
areas where community nurseries are available may be subject
to ration reductions "if they refuse to help in work deemed
necessary for society, such as agricultural brigadeso" The
US Embassy in Prague says this announcement is the frankest
effort made yet to force women to take ~obso (C Prague 695,
26 Mar 52}
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Commento The last upward revision of production targets
was anno~ug~ced at the beginning of 1952 and each such revisioa
presumably increases manpower requirementso The requirements
of the five year plan originally called for the employment
of 76,800 more women, chiefly in industry, social services,
transportation, and construction during the period 1949-1953?
Nearly 12,900 women were employed in transportation alone
during 19510
3, Polish Government reported gaining control'of grain
supplyo e m asst' n arsaw el eves a e o ish
o~ment has secured control of a substantial portion of
the national grain supplyo According to published informa-
tion available to the Embassy, during the five month period
ending 31 December 1951 more grain was delivered by the
farmers under the compulsory program than had been delivered
during the entire preceding twelve monthso 4f the 269
counties included in the compulsory delivery program9 232
delivered 90 percent or more of their quotase During the
same period in 1950, only 48 counties completed 90 percent
of their contracted deliveries, (R Warsaw Des #326, 25 Feb 52)
Commento By achieving an effective control of the. grain
supplye Polish Government also gains better control of
the individual independent farmer who is forced to become
economically more dependent open the governments Evidence
from other sources however indicates that an undetermined,
but probably small,number of farmers continue to defy the
governmentes delivery orderso
4a Yugoslav Foreign Minister warns of approachin trouble
in Ba anso oreign 25X1C
~n s er arde in early March that he
has received info n a ings would again flare up
in his area," that the situation is far more dangerous than
the United States believedn
Kardel~ added that despite the adoption of a mare
doctrinaire party policy, there is not the slightest in-
tention on-the part of the Yugoslavs to alter their present.
friendly policy toward the Westo He remarked-that if proper
circumstances presented themselves, Yugoslavia would seriously
consider oinin the Western defense systemo 25X1A
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Commento Marshal Tito in a rec~e~sionlhassdecreasedre-
marke a the danger of Soviet agg
during the past yearn However, on the basis of recent Comin-
form attention to the theme of popular resistance against..
Titoy Yugoslav leaders may bersivecactivityawithinnYugoslaviao
of border pressures and subve
Reports from the American Embassy in Belgrade state that
Yugoslav leaders fear a stiffening of United States policy
toward Yugoslavian Fences the Prospect of a reduction in
Western aid may be responsible ntentionsltowardsrYugoslaviao
tern at this time over Soviet i
5o Thirty ercent of Yu oslav combat officers repoeted ero-
Comin ormo sera Krea.cicy
~~` Commissar of the Yugos av rmy ,
has advised his superiors that thirty percent of the officers
in combat units are pro-Comixaformo The General reportedly
recommended that increased attention be given to political
and ideolo ical orientation-lectures for officerso CS
Commento Ten or twelve army colonels were arrested in
Macedonist Nov mbar for alle edl holdin anti-western
viewso Moreover9
February that all Yugoslav army officers known to ave om n-
form sympathies to any degree a-ere being arrested and tried
in complete secrecy
Althaugh the incidence of pro-Soviet sentiment oesti-
opportunism in the army may be higher than generally
matedy inf ormedleeiseloyalstoVthe Titoeregimet the Yugoslav
army on the who
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Further reports of French ne otia s with Communists
on In oc inao etnamese s ates
t~iat`~ean~ainteny, rumored French representative for negoti-
ations with Ho Chi Minh, is "definitely in Tonkin" under an
assumed named In addition, a current rumor has it that a six-
man Fre
h
nc
mission has gone tc~ Peipinga
Commento Rumors have been current for several months
that a n eny, who acted as French negotiator during the 1946
French-Viet Minh talks, has returned to Indochina with a
view to contacting Ho in an official capacityo It has been
suggested Sainteny may be identical with a certain "Lieutenant
Colonel Faucastre," whose reported mission is to-force the
rumors, .but believes they should not be entirelYydiscountedo
There is no other evidence of a French mission to Peiping,
Burmese Government blames Communists for atrocitiesa The
Burmese avernmen as re ease a e a e accoun , nc tiding
photographs, of the 1949 execution by Burmese Communists of
23 respected government authorities in the Sagaing area of
upper Burma, The American Embassy in Rangoon comments that
this release indicates that the government is stepping up its
propaganda effort against the Communists simultaneously with
increasing its military operations, (C Rangoon 933, 26 Mar 52)
Comment? The anti-Communist operations in the Mandalay
area appear to be the most intensive undertaken by the Burmese
army since the capture of Prome, the Communist "capital" on
the Irrawaddy River, in 19500
SOUTH ASIA
Afghan-Pakistani tension may incre~.seo The Pakistani
Foreign ecre ary as repor e a , Afghans unsuccessfully
attacked a Pakistani border post near Chaman, opposite southern
Afghanistan, on 24 March,
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The American Embassy in Karachi notes that a year ago
similar skirmishes led to fairly large-scale Afghan and
Fakistani troop movements and created a tense situation which
lasted far several monthso The Embassy adds that the Pakis-
tani Government is now in a highly emotional state over the
apparent, "failure" of the Graham mission on Kashmir, and that
it may take ?'extreme action" against Afghanistana This could
include .fomenting a tribal insurrection against the Afghan
Governmento (S Karachi 10?1, 25 Mar 52)
Commenta No other reports on .the above incident have
been rece~d<
Simultaneous Afghan and Indian pressures have previously
been exerted. on Pakistan during periods of crisis in United
Nations consideration of the Kashmir question, To date, none
of these has had serious resultso
It .is unlikely that the Pakistani Government would
become seriously embroiled with the Afghans at a time when it
is deeply concerned over Kashmir and when it is making efforts
to assume a position of leadership in the ..Islamic worlds
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9, Western European countries state dollar payments to Orbit
weaken astmWest trade contro sm evera western uropean
represen a ves on t e oor nating Committee on East-West
Trade in Paris have told the American representative that the
failure to control the. flow of dollars to the Soviet Orbit is
one of the most significant loaphol?s in the system of strategic
exports control, The Italian delegate recently inquired, for
instance., how the United States had liquidated its 87-millivn-
dollar trade deficit Last year with the Soviet blocs (S Paris
5891, 26 Mar 52)
Commento- As American pressure has increased on western
European countries to reduce .the flow of strategic items to
the Orbit, western European representatives in general have
become increasingly critical of the way the United States is
enforcing its own controls (see OCI Daily Digest, 11 Mar 52),
The Orbit can in any case always procure dollars in Switzerland,
10, East Germany may be planning military conscriptiono
Accor ng to a re a e repor , t e ast rman ocia ist Unity
Party Central Committee has ordered that its propaganda line
be changed to eliminate everything directed against conscription
laws, On 15 March all anti-conscription posters were ordered
removed, The disappearance of these posters from the Soviet
Sector of Berlin has been confirmedo
American officials in Berlin comment that one obvious
purpose of this action is to make East German propaganda con-
sistent with the Soviet peace treaty proposals, They suggest
that the actiom could also be in preparation for the introduction
of conscription laws in-East Germany, after the Allied-West
German contractual agreements have been ratified, This would
be in preparation-for the expansion of the East German para-
military forces, (S Berlin unnumbered, 20 Mar 52)
Commento Reports of plans for the expansion of the East
German paramilitary police to form 24 understrength Soviet-type
divisions suggest that 44,000 to 68,000 additional men would
have to be recruited, The difficulty of obtaining volunteers
far paramilitary service increases the possibility of conscrip-
tion, The present manpower shortage may delay such an expansion
until after the creation of an effective West German defense
force, '
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11. West Germany reveals laps for troop build-upd Wes t
German de~ega~es at tie uropean a ense ommunity discussions
in Paris state that their government expects to have 180,000
men under arms within one year after the EDC Treaty .comes.
into farce, Three months later, the government will have
enough recruits to fill out its 400,000-man defense contingent.
The delegates declare that the costs of this force in the
first year will amount to 2,8 billion dollars.
The West German Government will seek parliamentary ap-
proval of its defense proposals when it submits the Defense
Community treaty for ratification. (S Paris 5893, 26 Mar 52)
Commento Allied observers have felt that the German
delega ion would be inclined to overestimate both the speed
with which German units could be formed and the costs of these
units.
Germany has agreed to provide Allied logistical support to
the amount of 1.6 billion dollars. This sum, added to the
estimated cost of the German farce, exceeds the country's
2.7-billion-dollar defense. contribution by 1.7 billion,
12. American Embassy in Paris suggests counterpropaganda for
Commun s c arges: a mer can Em assy in ar s points
out t at t e occasion for excellent counterpropaganda on the
Communist bacteriological warfare charge is presented by the
open letter just addressed to Albert Einstein by the fellow-
traveling French scientist Jacques Hadamard. The Embassy
believes that in view of Einstein's leftist tendencies and
pacifist sentiments an appropriate reply from him could have
considerable effect in Europe.
The Embassy would have Einstein express concern that a
man of Hadamard's scientific competence would contribute to
war hysteria without awaiting the conclusive results of an
objective and impartial Red Cross investigation. (C Paris
58769 26 Mar 52)
Commento The non-Communist press in France and other
western~uropean countries has generally discounted the BW
charges despite the vigorous campaign waged by Communist organs,
Scepticism toward Soviet propaganda might be somewhat weakened
by such devices as the Hadamard letter.
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130 Catholic parties in Italy charge Vatican with "inertia"'~
against Communism: T e atican's esitations" in matters of
ore gn po icy are subjecting Catholic political parties in
Ita1 to neutralist influences and defeatism
Both lay and ecclesiastical officials are said to be
alarmed over the Pope?s "passive attitude" and "decreasing
initiative"' against Communism in view of the coming elections
in southern Italy, The Catholic political parties' lack of.
positions and activities of
dynamism is causing a noticeable electoral shift toward 25X1A
rightist and undemocratic parties a. The Catholic Action Group,
led by Luigi Gedda, ?n the establishment of a new
right?wing partya
Commento In the past the Vatican has taken an ambiguous
stand on~ie European. defense forces as presently constituted,
although it has clearly favored resistance to Communism,
Criticism of the Vatican comes not only from fascist
elements favoring a firmer Vatican policy toward Communist and
other dissident groups, but also from anticlerical groups
opposed to the Italian Government's alleged subordination to
the Vaticann
14, Spanish opposition leaders discuss policy regarding TJS
aid to rancoo panes ocia sts st strong y resent current
rner can policy toward Spain, charging that it will benefit
,only the Communistso The Basque Nationalists, while firmly
anti?Franco, are hopeful that American influence will liberalize
the regime sufficientl to ave the way .for the Caudillo's
eliminationo
at a mee ng n mi -
February to discuss how American aid to Franco will affect the
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The report of the meeting reveals that the 25X1
are pessimistic over the prospects of Franco's being
overthrown by the non-Communist oppositions They are considering,
without much optimism, the possibility of organizing a nation-
wide general strike h h would be anti-re ime but still not
be anti-Americano 25X1A
Commente It is highly unlikely that a general strike
could a organized at this time because of the organizational
weakness of the opposition9 the eased economic situation of
the worker, and the regime`s internal security controls.
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15o Italy delays shipment of strategic grinder to Rumaniae
Italy as temporarily delaye t e s ipmen of a strategic
grinder to Rumania as a result of American assurances that
COCOM will make a prompt decision as to whether this-item
.should be shipped as an exception to the COCOM embargo< The
Italian Foreign Office feels that "there is no chance of
avoiding question of exception" since the manufacturer must
fulfill his contracto It also feels that-this shipment might
affect current negotiations for the release of an Italian
national imprisoned in Rumanian
The American representative to COCOM points out that
although the grinder was licensed by administrative error, this
item was listed for embargo in International List I and the
case should therefore be referred to COCOM for decision,
(S Rome 4053 and b745, 1$ and 20 Mar 52; S to Rome-4229,
17 Mar 52)
Commence Italy's .insistence on exporting this item to
Roman a in icates how anxious it is-for the release of its
nationalfl which the Italian Foreign Office believes is now
imminento
16, Sweden wants Euro ern Payments Union continued: The
American massy a toc o m e eves t at we en favors. the
continuation of the European Payments Union for one or two years,
The Swedes fear that the liquidation of the EPU will so weaken
OEEC, the parent organization,. that the latter will fall under
the ,jurisdiction of NATO o (C Stockholm TOMUS 9, 24 Mar 52)
Commento For psychological as well as economic reasons,
the wades desire to maintain as much "non-political" European
cooperation as possible; they-fear that. the gradual expansion
and implementation of NATO's economic facets will force their
country to withdraw into complete isolation or else alter its
present "alliance-free" foreign policya
17e -New city. council in Belize British Honduras c?ntains
three anti-colonic mem ers: e n ne~man a ize-city council,
e acted on Marc , conta ns three members of the People"s
United Partyo (R FBIS, 21 Mar 52)
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Comment> The People's United Party has been the focal
point ova growing opposition to the colonial administration
in British. Honduras, Leaders of this party, representing
emergent labor and political organizations, demand more popular
participation in the government and closer economic ties with
the United States, They have frequently tried to publicize
their grievances by annoying or defying colonial officials.
The party had a majority in the previous Belize city council,
the only fully-elected political body in the colony,. which-was
summarily dissolved by the British Governor last summer on
the ground that it was disloyal to the Crown (see OCI Daily
Digest, 13 Aug 51)a
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TOP SECRET
SECURITY INFORMATION
US OFFICIALS ONLY
TOP SECRET SUPPLEMENT
28 March 1952.
CIA Noo 49595
c?py N?e , 4 6
TO THE CURRENT INTELLIGENCE DIGEST
(including S/S Cables)
Not for dissemination outside O/CI and O/NEe
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This summary of significant reports has been prepared primarily
far the internal use of the Office of Current Intelligences It does
not represent a complete coverage of all current reports in-CIA
or in the Office of Current Intelligences Comments represent the
immediate views of the Office of Current Intelligenceo
TOP SE CR E T
SECURITY INFORMATION
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THIS MATET4IAL CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE
ESPIONAGE LAWS, TITLE 189 USC, SECSo 793 AND ?94, THE
TRANSMISSION OR REVELATION OF ~~~HICH IN ANY MANNER TO AN
UNAUTHORI~;ED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW,
25X6
WESTERN EUROPE
2. Icela~a.d will permit American troop ?~nit in Reykjavik:
The .Ice an.ic oreign x.nister as in orme the nits States
Minister tr?.at American troops can now be stationed on the out-
skirts of h~'.eykjavik, but that arrangements for their accamn~o-
dation must first be worked out in detail with the Icelandic
Governments The task of the unit would be to protect Reykja-
vik port ar,.d airfield and to counteract any internal sabotage.
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The Foreign Minister said emphatically that it would be
politically unwise for the Icelandic Government to construct
housing for any .American military dependents in Icelando -(TS
Reykjavik, Despa 3249.13 Mar 52)
Comment: Permission to station troops which arrived in
Ieelan~n rMay 1951 :in or very close to Reykjavik represents
.a considerable concession by the Icelandic Government, which
is very aware of the popular dislike of foreign troops,
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