CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1954/05/26

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03002527
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: August 20, 2019
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2019
• Publication Date: May 26, 1954

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26 May 1954
Copy No. 80
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN CLASS.
LI DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S 0
NEXT REVIEW DATE: 2010
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATE: 2/f4611.... REVIEWER:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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1 Lil LILL, .1�..C. 1
SUMMARY
SOVIET UNION
Comment on Khrushchev's rising prestige (page 3).
FAR EAST
Concentration of Chinese Communist vessels suggests intensification
of offshore islands campaign (page 3).
SOUTHEAST ASIA
no heavy attack on Tonkin delta before
September (page 4).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5. Communist group in Iraq attracts non-Communist electoral
candidates (page 5).
WESTERN EUROPE
6. Ambassador Luce fears "explosion" in Italy over Trieste (page 6).
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SOVIET UNION
1-�"1:. Comment on Khrushchev's rising prestige:
Recent indications of the increasing public
prestige and apparent influence of Khrushchev
are contrary to the concept of collective
leadership adopted after Stalin's death and
reflect adversely on Malenkov's status as head
of party and state. There have been some
signs of policy differences between the two.
Railway Minister Beshchev and party presidium
member Kaganovich, in recent speeches, accorded increased prominence
to Party Secretary Khrushchev at Malenkov's expense,.
Speeches delivered on 22 May by Ukrainian
first secretary Kirichenko and two other prominent delegates to the
tercentenary celebration of the unification of the Ukraine with Russia
contained special tributes to Khrushchev, but no speaker is known to
have mentioned Malenkov. Kirichenko included Khrushchev in the same
category with Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, and others. Plaudits for
Khrushchev were included, somewhat out of context, in the speeches by
the head of the Kazakh delegation and the Uzbek representative.
Under these circumstances, Malenkov might
be expected in the near future to try to counter this trend; its continua-
tion could only suggest that Khrushchev's position and influence is
greater than Malenkov's.
FAR EAST
2. Concentration of Chinese Communist vessels suggests intensification
of offshore islands campaign:
sighted a concentration of 21 Chinese
Communist LST's at Shanghai on 8 May.
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1. V
Nair
saw a number of gunboats and 1,000 junks
15 miles north of Kinmen Island, one of the
four small islands within 20 miles of the
Tachens which were occupied by the Communists on 15-16 May.
Comment: The Peiping regime is believed
to have 30 LST's, half of which are assigned to the navy. The rest are
normally used for coastal merchant shipping.
The massing of troop-carrying vessels in
the coastal waters suggests that the Chinese Communists will intensify
their current campaign against the offshore islands. While an attack on
the Tachens is within Communist capabilities, Peiping may attempt in-
stead to take other islands to the south in an effort to cut supply lines
from Formosa and thus to isolate the Tachen garrison.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
September:
10 heavy attack on Tonkin delta before
Saigon estimates that there will be no large
attack on the Tonkin delta before September.
there is no indication of a
major supply build-up of the size necessary
for an all-out attack. Enemy units within
the delta, however, are expected to continue
their efforts to cut French supply lines in
an attempt to strangle Hanoi.
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l_JI" 3L;k_AN.E., 1
The Viet Minh, which has the initiative, may
delay a decision on an all-out assault until it has redeployed its major
units and then assessed French strength and morale.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5. Communist group in Iraq attracts non-Communist electoral candidates:
Iraq's Communist inspired National Front,
especially organized for the elections to be
held on 9 June, has been working hard to
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ttract as many candidates as possible and
as been particularly successful in winning
over
dissatisfied non-Communist candidates,
s of 21 May, the Front was backing 26 of
the 260 candidates registered so far--13 members of the National
Democratic Party, 7 members of the Istiqlal and 6 independents. Addi-
tional independents, particularly disgruntled members of Saleh Sabr's
basically pro-Western 'MAMA party, are expected to side with the Front;
and some observers report that the Front is attracting many younger peo-
ple not affiliated with any party.
Comment: The Front has no chance of win-
ning the elections, which will probably be dominated by Iraq's traditional
pro-Western ruling group. Nevertheless, the Communists' success in
organizing this Front testifies to their continuing strength and ability to
exploit and heighten the already strong ,anti-Westernism in Iraq. Even
a small Communist-controlled parliamentary clique could further arouse
the populace against Iraq's contemplated adherence to the Turkish-
Pakistani pact.
WESTERN EUROPE
6. Ambassador Luce fears "explosion" in Italy over Trieste:
Ambassador Luce reports from Rome that
"the Trieste situation can explode here
at any hour" unless the Italian government
can be convinced that the London talks, and
consequently a Trieste solution, have not "hopelessly foundered on
the rocks of Tito's intransigency."
Comment: The Italians, already discouraged
by the failure to implement the-8-15�ctober declaration on Trieste, have
recently been aroused by Yugoslav statements to the press regarding new
plans for a settlement which seem in Italian eyes to favor Yugoslav claims.
A setback on Trieste might furnish Premier Scelba's opponents the oppor-
tunity they seek to overthrow him.
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