CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A000800300001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 3, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 23, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/03: CIA-RDP79T00975A000800300001-2
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23 August 1952
Copy No. 5 7
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO. 3O
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NO CRAMS IN CLASS. X
DECLASSITIED
, CLASS CHANOED TO: IS S C
NEXT REVIEWOATE;
Office of Current Inte1ligeolle6 KR "4 50X1
DATE*4414,9 REVIEWert
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
TOP SECRET
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/03: CIA-RDP79T00975A000800300001-2
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SUMMARY
SOUTH ASIA
1. French company formed to drill for oil in Afghanistan (page 3).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
2. MOssadeq refuses to use force against Tudeh demonstrators
(Daze 31.
q. Fresiaent mom expects Lebanese uovernment to fall soon
(page 4).
WESTERN EUROPE
6. East Germans seen attempting to control Protestant Church
(page 6).
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/03: CIA-RDP79T00975A000800300001-2
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SOUTH ASIA
1. French company formed to drill for oil in Afghanistan:
A new French company has been formed to
drill for oil in Afghanistan just south of the
Soviet frontier. The Societe Nationale des
Petroles du Languedoc Mediterraneen, which
is r portedly about to sign a contract with the Afghan Government, has
the controlling interest.
The American Embassy in Paris has been
reliably informed that the Societe Nationale is 67 percent owned by
the French Government and that the new company was established to
hide the government's control of operations in Afghanistan;
Comment: The USSR is extremely sensitive
to foreign activity in Afghanistan, especially near the Soviet border,
and has already lodged a protest with Kabul over foreign partic1pation
in Afghan oil drilling operations.
Soviet discovery that the French firm is
government-controlled would afford the USSR a new opportunity for
vigorous protests, which could affect adversely all non-Soviet foreign
activities in Afghanistan.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
2. Mossadeq refuses to use force against Tudeh demonstrators:
Minister of Court Ala has told Ambassador
Henderson that he had tried to persuade
Mossadeq to give the police more powers
to suppress Tudeh demonstrators. Mossadeq
refused and insisted that the Tudeh could not be controlled by force,
but only by economic and social reforms. He suggested that it would
be easier to maintain order if the national anthem were not played and
if the Shah's picture were not publicly displayed because the Tudeh
used them as excuses for demonstrations.
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Comment: Mossadeq's attitude is consistent
with his declared belief in the right of free speech. His attempt to
avoid conflict, however, will probably be considered a victory by the
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Tudeh.
4. President Khouri expects Lebanese Government to fall soon:
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President Khouri of Lebanon has told Ameri-
can Minister Minor that he expects Premier
Solh's government to fall during the special
session of parliament called for 28 August.
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The President envisages a new government
headed by Sahib Salaam, composed of capable men not in the present
cabinet, but excluding members of the parliamentary opposition.
Comment: Salaam is a successful Moslem
businessman who is reported to have political ambitions.
The special session of parliament will be
asked to grant the government extraordinary authority to enact re-
forms by decree. The government-sponsored program, which does
not include either tax or land reforms, is an attempt to pacify in-
creasing opposition to the Khouri regime. President Khouri has
previously indicated that he is willing to sacrifice Premier Solh in ?
his efforts to maintain his position.
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WESTERN EUROPE
6. East Germans seen attempting to control Protestant Church:
The East German Government reportedly
proposes to substitute a single Protestant
Evangelical seminary for the present six
theological faculties in various universities.
American officials in Berlin see this as a move to confront the
Protestant Church with obstacles similar to those now faced by the
Catholics. The government would then be able to reduce the number
of students, isolate them socially, and more effectively control their
curricula and activities.
Comment: These moves contrast notably
with the attitude of the East Germans earlier this year, when attempts
were made to exploit the church in East and West Germany as a means
of organizing West German opinion against the European Defense
Community.
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/03: CIA-RDP79T00975A000800300001-2