CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1956/07/12

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03161865
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2019
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2019
• Publication Date: July 12, 1956

Approved for Release: 2019/10/23
Fr1 /hA
CURRENT
0 INTELLIGENCE
BULLETIN
CO3;161865,,
TOP SECRET
i= ill 3. 33( h5)(c(2))
12 Jita-195V
Copy No. 105
DOCUMENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN CL,
I DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S
NEXT REVIEW DATE: too IP
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATEP4i nit_ REVIEWER:
OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
TOP SECRET
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I VI" 1
NIPt
CONTENTS
1. NASR SEEKS TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS WITH WEST
ON HIGH DA! ti (page 3).
2, SUPREME SOVIET MAY ABOLISH KARELO- FINNISH
REPUBLIC (page 4).
3. THAI BUSINESSMEN REPORTED IN SECRET TRADE
TALKS WITH PEIPING (page 5).
12 July 56
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(page 6)
THE TAIWAN STRAIT
(page 7)
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 2
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1. NASR SEEKS TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS WITH WEST
ON HIGH DAM
Egyptian president Nasr wants to resume
negotiations with the West on the Aswan
High Dam project, according to Egyptian
ambassador Hussein, who has been or-
ere o return quickly to Washington to press the matter.
Hussein says Nasr "gave the impression" that changes Egypt
had suggested in the American and British notes on the proj-
ect were not really important, and if the United States and
Britain wish to proceed, "language" should not be a great dif-
ficulty. Nasr, according to Hussein, again denied that the
USSR would be permitted to participate in a Western-financed
undertaking.
Comment Despite Hussein's report of his talk with
Nasr, there is no reason to believe that
Egypt is less sensitive to questions of "language" than it was
when negotiations on the dam project ,slowed down last win-
ter. Furthermore, a basic difficulty will remain in Nasr's
desire for a guarantee that the entire amount of money needed
to complete the project will be placed at once under Egyptian,
not Western, control.
12 July 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 3
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�sEetztr-
2. SUPREME SOVIET MAY ABOLISH KARELO-
FINNISH REPUBLIC
The current session of the USSR Supreme
Soviet will probably downgrade the Karelo-
Finnish Republic to the status of a "Karelian"
area in the Russian federation (RSFSR).
Such a move would probably be designed to
improve Soviet relations with Finland, which has consistently
objected to the existence of the Karelo- Finnish Republic in
the USSR. It would facilitate a return of a portion of the Fin-
nish territory ceded to the Soviet Union in 1940.
Inclusion of the question on the Supreme
Soviet agenda suggests that Soviet president Voroshilov may
make such an offer when he visits Finland starting 21 August.
Reports that some Finnish territory would be returned have
been circulating in Scandinavia for several weeks. Reports
of recent explosions on the Soviet side of the border with Fin-
land have indicated to some observers that the Russians are
destroying installations prior to withdrawing from the area.
12 July 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 4
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"1 ha 1.4%.01 VI-4 I
Neir
3. THAI BUSINESSMEN REPORTED IN SECRET TRADE
TALKS WITH PEIPING
Comment
It is doubtful that the businessmen's trip
to Peiping was authorized by the Thai
� government, although Thai officials have equivocated on the
issue of trade with China during the past year. Premier
Phibun and other officials have stated that the decision last
month to permit nonstrategic trade with China implied no
government intention to promote such trade. Thailand antic-
ipates no difficulty in disposing of its export commodities in
non, Communist countries.
12 July 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 5
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'Nevi NNW
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(Information as of 1700, 11 July)
The American embassy in Tel Aviv believes
that the increasing number of incidents on Israel's border with
Jordan, with the recurrence of Israeli civilian fatalities, may lead
Israel to take retaliatory action in the near future. The embassy
says Israel presumes that the Jordan government is responsible,
Ambassador Lawson suggests that Prime
Minister Ben -Gurion's warning to Jordan, which was relayed through
UN Truce Supervisor Burns, may be intended to satisfy demands of
moderate elements in the cabinet for a diplomatic demarche prior
to any military retaliation.
Ben-Gurion has expressed to Ambassador
Lawson his belief that UN secretary general Hammarskjold may
have discussed in Moscow the idea of separate implementation by
Jordan and Israel, under the UN, of parts of the Johnson water plan
�for developing the Jordan River valley. Hammarskjold had dis-
cussed this idea previously with Ben-Gurion.
Eight Soviet naval officers ate currently in
Egypt to discuss location and construction of a submarine base on
the coast west of Alexandria,
I Egypt plans to construct three
submarine bases--one at Adabiya in the Gulf of Suez, one in the
delta region between Port Said and Alexandria and a third between
Alexandria and Mersa Matruh.
12 July 56
Current Intelligence tstuietin rage u
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COMIDEA1'IAL
BIWEEKLY SUMMARY
(28 June-11 July 1956)
THE TAIWAN STRAIT
Report of the IAC Current Intelligence Group
for the Taiwan Strait Problem
1. There was no significant combat activity during the period.
2. Chou En-lai in a speech on 28 June issued a formal invi-
tation for the "Taiwan authorities" to negotiate with Peiping for
the "peaceful liberation" of Taiwan. He charged that the US was
"by no means reliable" as an ally. He repeated previous assur-
ances of amnesty, and invited Nationalists to visit the mainland
under a guarantee of freedom to return to Taiwan. In regard to
the Geneva talks, he restated the Communist demand that any re-
nunciation of force must not prejudice Communist China's "right"
to "liberate" Taiwan by "war or by peaceful means."
3. On 2 July a Peiping radio broadcast cited with approval a
statement by the Nationalist government's Control Yuan criticiz-
ing US aid policy. This broadcast marks the first extension to
Taiwan of Peiping's line that even strongly anti-Communist offi-
cials are restive under American "domination."
12 July 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 7
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IJL, LS I
,11�111,
TAIWAN STRAIT SITUATION
12 JULY 1956
CHINESE COMMUNIST AIRF ELD LEGEND:
DESIGNATIONS
PRIMARY AIRFIELD
CONSIDERED MOST IMPORTANT IN
AREA wiTR PREPARED RUNWAY
GENERALLY 5000 FEET OR LONGER.
SECONDARY AIRFIELD
AUXILIARY OR EMERGENCY BASES
OR FIELDS OF LESSER IMPORTANCE.
RUNWAYS GENERALLY LESS THAN
5000 FEET.
ACTIVE BASE FOR MILITARY B. CIVILIAN AIR-
CRAFT. SOME BASES USED BY PISTON TYPES
MAY BE USABLE BY JETS
�
OPERATIONAL
A
INACTIVE BASES CAPABLE OF USE BY AIRCRAFT
SERVICEABLE
UNKNOWN
CURRENT STATUS UNDETERMINED
A
USABILITY
MIG-15
MIG-17
TU-4
IL-28
TU-2,
IL-10
LA-9/11
LI-2
ETC.
* FIELDS NOT CONSIDERED CAPABLE
OF SUPPORTING SUSTAINED OPER-
ATIONS AT PRESENT.
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NAuTICAL MILES
50 100
118
1SINCHU
r*AILHUNG
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Primary roads
too 150 Under construction or projected Secondary roads
STATUTE MILES
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