CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1956/02/26

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03179147
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2019
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2019
• Publication Date: February 26, 1956

Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
TOP SECRET
26 February 1956
ory
Copy No
103 4
ri
/ 3.3(h)(2)
.9/
4
4/
CURRENT
/ .� NO CHANGE IN CLASS g
DOCUMENT NO. - 3.5(c)
4J
/J INTELLIGENCE er.
e CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS., S C
Ei DECLASSIFIED
4/
NEXT REVIEW DATE' #4410 4J
BULLETIN RUTH: HR 70-2 - 4J
/rf
4/ OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
DATE: lq /Sh S. REVIEWER
44#
4J
'0
ff
4J
til
ff
4f
4J
r/J
,f
4
ef/
4/
�
4/
4
7/
4/
4/
4/
4/
4/
41
4/
4,
4.,
, /
4/
4/
/
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Aft
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
VI b.J1-4%.+11.1�a 1
%OS
CONTENTS
. THE NEW SOVIET CENTRAL COMMITTEE
(page 3)0
\20 KING SAUD REFUSES EGYPTIAN OFFER OF SOVIET
BLOC ARMS (page 4).
N3. PEIPING RECALLING AMBASSADORS FROM SEVERAL
ASIAN POSTS (page 5).
4. EXPELLED FREE DEMOCRATS MAY FORM NATIONALIST
OPPOSITION IN WEST GERMANY (page 6).
. FRENCH EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN INFLUENCE IN NORTH
VIETNAM (page 7).
''\6. INDONESIAN VICE PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL RESIGN
(page 8).
'7. COMMUNISTS LAUNCH STRIKES IN ITALY AS PREFACE
TO ELECTION CAMPAIGN (page 9).
26 Feb 56
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(page 10)
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 2
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
.11
vIii
1 THE NEW SOVIET CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Comment son:
The election on 24 February of the new
central committee of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union by the 20th
Party Congress confirms, as has the
rest of the proceedings of the congress,
the political relationships which have crystallized in the
Soviet Union over the past year.
Khrushchev's predominant position with-
in the "collective dictatorship" was established beyond
doubt by the election of a large number of his friends and
proteges to the new 255-man central committee (133 full
members and 122 candidates). A liberal sprinkling of
probable supporters of the other top leaders (Mikoyan,
Bulganin, and Kaganovich) attests, however, to the con-
tinuation of collective rule.
The stability of the post-Stalin regime
in the USSR, despite Beria's execution, Malenkov's de-
motion, and Molotov's humiliation, is clearly revealed in
the percentage of persons (60 percent) re-elected to the
central committee. The percentage re-elected is larger
than at any time since the 17th Party Congress in 1934,
the last congress before the great pprges.
All major groups in the country, in-
cluding military leaders, are represented on the new
central committee in about the same proportion as in 1952,
affirming that none of these groups has significantly in-
creased its relative political influence over the last three-
and-a-half years.
26 Feb 56 Current Intelligence Bulletin
Page 3
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
I WA pa A.4%...1%.1-4
2. KING SAUD REFUSES EGYPTIAN OFFER OF SOVIET
BLOC ARMS
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 4
TOP-SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
WiVFiiJifVIiAL
3. PEIPING RECALLING AMBASSADORS FROM SEVERAL
ASIAN POSTS
The Chinese Communist ambassador
to Burma, accompanied by his wife,
left Rangoon on 23 February in a char-
tered plane bound for outhwest China.
Also aboard were Peiping's ambassadors to India and
Pakistan.
Comment
All three of these Chinese ambassadors
have been in their posts for� several
years and may be overdue for reassignment. Another
factor is suggested, however, by the simultaneous recall
of Peiping's ambassador in Afghanistan, who has not been
long in his post.
It seems likely that the Chinese Com-
munists are reorganizing their diplomatic effort in the
area in order to co-ordinate it more effectively with re-
cent Soviet moves. Some of Peiping's envoys will probably
be replaced by men of greater prestige and ability.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 5
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
fost LaMoia.1.4
4. EXPELLED FREE DEMOCRATS MAY FORM NATIONALIST
OPPOSITION IN WEST GERMANY
American officials in Bonn expect that
the Free Democratic Party (FDP) ele-
ments expelled from the Bonn coalition
will adopt an all-out nationalist line of
opposition to Adenauer, advocating a
reunification program with overtones
of neutralism. These officials believe
that the opportunistic, nationalist
Westphalian wing of the party will now consolidate its
hold over the anti-Adenauer wing of the FDP under party
Chairman Thomas Dehler and that Dehler will have to go
along with such a program in the 1957 election campaign.
According to the leader of the pro-
Adenauer Free Democratic faction� the chancellor has
promised to retain the four FDP ministers in his cabinet
and has assured preferred treatment fnr those FDP
Bundestag members who remain loyal to the coalition.
Well-informed Bundestag members in both
the pro- and anti-Adenauer factions of the FDP claim that
the North-Rhine Westphalia Free Democratic organization
has hitherto been supported with generous financial contri-
butions from a number of leading industrialists. These in-
dustrialists may continue to support the Westphalian FDP,
even in opposition to Adenauer, in an attempt to insure them-
selves domestically in the event that the Christian Democrats
are ousted from the government in favor of a Free Demo-
cratic-Socialist coalition, and internationally in the event So-
viet world power and influence should exceed that of the United
States.
Comment A large share of the power of the West-
phalian wing of the Free Democratic party
derives from the fact that this is the group through which
most of the federal party's financial support is channeled.
An FDP leader loyal to Adenauer has expressed the belief,
however, that some substantial financial contributors would
shift their support to the newly formed pro-Adenauer Bundestag
faction of the FDP.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin
--SECRET'
Page 6
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
5. FRENCH EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN INFLUENCE IN
NORTH VIETNAM
Jean Sainteny, French delegate general
to North Vietnam, will return to Hanoi
although "not in the immediate future,"
according to a spokesman for French
foreign minister Pineau. He said that French acceptance
of Viet Minh representation in Paris was still under con-
sideration.
Comment When Sainteny returned to Paris in mid-
1955, he indicated he saw no purpose in
returning to Hanoi unless a Viet Minh mission was officially
accepted in France.
A member of the French Foreign Min-
istry told an American official on 20 February that France
feels it important to try to re-establish French influence
in North Vietnam. The American embassy in Saigon be-
lieves that the reported arrival in Hanoi of new French eco-
nomic and cultural attaches, and the reported new French-
Viet Minh contract permitting operation of the Pasteur
Institute in North Vietnam through 1956, indicate French
interest in continuing this "coexistence experiment."
Any renewed French effort to develop
official relations with Hanoi will inflame anti-French
sentiment among South Vietnamese and cause them to in-
tensify efforts to eliminate all vestiges of Paris' influence
in the south.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 7
wiEeftrApr
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
vat
6. INDONESIAN VICE PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL RESIGN
Indonesia's Vice President Hatta told
Ambassador Cumming on 24 February
that he has definitely decided to resign.
He said he intended to work for the
betterment of the Indonesian people and to combat Commu-
nism through the medium of the co-operative movement
which is rapidly spreading among the villages of Indonesia.
The ambassador comments that Hatta's
long range plan may be to develop the co-operative move-
ment into an anti-Communist political party which would
attract both Moslems and nationalists,
Comment The rift between the moderate Hatta
and President Sukarno has been ap-
parent for several months, Hatta's resignation, which is
likely to be announced shortly after the seating of the new
parliament early next month, will remove what is perhaps
the only important restraining influence on Sukarno, who
is inclined to favor a nationalist government supported by
the Communists.
Although Hatta is presently overshadowed
by Sukarno and is handicapped by his Sumatran origin in
view of Javanese dominance of Indonesian politics, he is
widely respected and has the confidence of the army.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 8
Approved for for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
L.C.wiriur..IN
7. COMMUNISTS LAUNCH STRIKES IN ITALY AS PREFACE
TO ELECTION CAMPAIGN
The Communist-controlled Italian
General Confederation of Labor (CGIL),
apparently as part of the Communist-
Nenni Socialist preparation for nation-
wide communal elections this spring, has undertaken a
campaign of strikes throughout Italy designed to exploit
demonstrations and popular unrest attributable to the
suffering and unemployment caused by bad weather.
The local demonstrations, primarily
in rural areas, had already required police intervention
in a number of localities. Recently, agricultural and
industrial workers, in obviously concerted strike action,
have moved in on the spontaneous disorders in order to
"demonstrate the solidarity of the workers and to prove
the inefficiency of the government's measures to improve
the standard of living."
The embassy believes, however, that
the Communists and their Nenni Socialist allies will try
to prevent the agitation from getting out of hand or from
seriously embarrassing the Segni government.
Comment In view of the forthcoming local elec-
tions, it would be to the Communists'
advantage to make a show of strength at this time, and,
in particular, to champion local complaints against the
Christian Democratic-dominated government. Should
the extreme left make strong gains in these elections, the
government might find it necessary to call new general
elections later in the year.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 9
-rnilf11)
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
-TOP-SECREP ve,
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(Information as 01 1700, 26 February)
Israel on 26 February claimed that
Syria had again fired on Israeli fishing boats on Lake
Tiberias. An Israeli spokesman also said that Egyptian
outposts in the Gaza strip had fired on Israeli patrols
seven times in the last two days. No casualties were re-
ported. (Press)
Syria notified Egypt on 24 February
that Israel had made a number of reconnaisances opposite
the Syrian front during the past few days. The Syrians
said Israeli naval vessels and fishing boats "on numerous
occasions" had approached the Syrian side of Lake Tiberias
to within 100 yards. The Syrians believed that the object
was to reconnoiter the "new positions," adding that Israeli
aircraft are still carrying out reconnaisances over the
Syrian sectors,
told the American
military attach�n Damascus on 25 February they believe
it quite probable that there is a certain amount of provocation
involved in the Israeli fishing boats coming so close to the
eastern shore of Lake Tiberias. The attach�ommented that
the recent Syrian firing on Israeli fishing boats�four times
in the last six days�though small incidents, indicate a
pattern which if followed might eventually result in Israeli
retaliation.
Syria on 20 and 22 February restated
its position on Banat Yacov to UN Truce Supervisor General
Burns, asserting that Burns could not on his own authority
agree to resumption of work in the demilitarized zone at
Banat Yacov, The American embassy says that Syria ap-
pears to be afraid Burns will succumb to pressure to re-
verse the 1953 decision ordering susnension of work
The American military attach�n
Damascus reports that all Syrian officers known by him
are sure Egypt will be with them immediately in an all-out
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 10
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
AN TOP SECRET
effort in the event of hostilities and that much of their con-
tripneP or overconfidence stems from this.
me israeii toreign ministry nas intormea
the American embassy in Tel Aviv that Egypt on 22 February
released a Greek flag vessel, the Komtsa which had been de-
tained since 8 February. The vessel, loaded with building
materials, was enroute from Haifa to the Israeli port of Eilat
in the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel had imposed censorship on re-
ports of the detention. The embassy comments that the censor-
ship indicates Israel wants at the moment to avoid an interna-
tional political debate over the Egyptian blockade measures at
the Suez canal and at Aqaba.
in-
formed Aqaba forces that the Greek ship was bound for Eilat
and "you may delay her a while before allowing her to pro-
ceed." Despite Egypt's harassing tactics its apparent willing-
ness to permit shipping to Eilat at this time suggests that it
too is interested in avoiding a major test with Israel.
Egypt continues to build up its strength
and maintain an alert in the Gulf of Aqaba. The Egyptian
works department in Sharm al-Shaikh was ordered on 23
February to complete construction for the 4th Coastal
Battery on an urgent basis.
3Srz.
vho has been
in Cairo for the past 3 months says that the MIG-15's in
Egypt are old models with an "early" engine.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 11
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147
twora%..11.E.
Noire '400
The Israeli ambassador to the USSR,
Yosef Avidar, who returned to Israel in early February
and who was expected to be away from Moscow for six
weeks, may not return to the USSR, according to the Is-
raeli charg�n Moscow. The American military attach�
notes that Avidar is one of Israel's able generals.
Avidar arrived in Moscow in April 1955.
26 Feb 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 12
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/10/23 C03179147