LETTER OF INFORMATION

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
12
Document Creation Date: 
December 23, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 21, 2013
Sequence Number: 
7
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 26, 1967
Content Type: 
MEMO
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6.pdf458.49 KB
Body: 
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 141,0L.J rcrL-Cel 26 June 1967 ICMORANDUM FOR: Staff Personnel SUBJECT: Letter of Information GENERAL 1. Mid-East Crisis: FBIS provided the intelligence com- munity with the first word on the (*break of hostilities between Icrael and the UAE the morning of 5 June. The Mediterranean Bureau flashed a report that Israeli forces had clashed with an Egyptain armored force from an Israeli broadcast in Hebrew at 0605 GMT. The item cleared the bureau at 0620 GMT and was disseminated by the Wire Service at 0629 GMT, 20 minutes ahead of the first news agency report and 50 minutes in advance of other official sources. A State Department cable to U.S. Embassies in the Middle East at 0740 GMT said FBIS was reporting "fierce fighting" on the Israeli-UAR border. (CONFIDENTIAL) During the ensuing days of the Arab-Israeli War, FBIS pro- vided the community with a high volume of battle communiques, official statements, and propaganda claims from Arab and Israeli radios, as well as communist and other reaction. The Mediterranean Bureau instituted a round-the-clock watch on area radios with the closing of the Gulf of Aqaba and carried the principal coverage burden as the crisis developed. The London Bureau pro- vided a watch on Cairo's Voice of the Arabs in collaboration with the BBC. The East Coast Bureau provided limited but occasionally significant flash coverage of Cairo, such as the UAR announcement of its break in relations with the United States which was flashed to the Operations Center within two minutes of broadcast. (CONFIDENTIAL) The Wire Service remained generally ahead of news agencies in reporting developments, with an average of 42,700 words daily during the height of the conflict. On 6 June alone, the Wire carried 246 items totaling 59,500 words, almost all dealing with the conflict, a record number of items for one day. The total wordage that date was the second highest in MIS history, ex- ceeded only by the wordage of 23 November 1963 following the assassination of President Kennedy. During the 22 May-16 June period, the Daily Report carried 700 pages (an estimated 370,000 words) of materials from Arab and Israeli transmitters. Fifty- eight pages of this material alone was registered on 12 June. (CONFIDENTIAL) G Excluded from l automatic down- S-E-C-R-E-T grading and declassification Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 SUBJECT: LetterS of Information, 26 June 1967 A review of the development of Soviet propaganda behavior in the Middle East crisis from its inception was provided in the Propaganda Analysis Division's Survey of 8 Julie, together with a roundup of reaction from other communist countries. (CONFIDENTIAL) On 5 June the State Department made an urgent request for the full FBIS Wire Service for the U.S. Delegation at the United Nations. The teleprinter equipment was installed in New York and the circuit procured and made operational within eight hours. U.N. Mission personnel-later informed the Wire that the file went "directly to Ambassador Goldberg." (CONFIDENTIAL) Numerous special services were provided by FBIS Headquarters in connection with the conflict. The State Department requested FBIS materials for a world reaction report prepared for President' Johnson by noon of 6 June. USIA requested special alerts in regard to disturbances against American installations in the Middle East. MIS personnel helped compile material for a Special report on the attack against the U.S.S. Liberty in response to a high level request. A Staff Arabic linguist from the East Coast Bureau and two Staff linguists from Asia Division were given special assignments, the latter on de- tached duty with another U.S. Government agency. A USSR Division linguist was sent to the White House on 9 June to assist in the preparation of the Cyrillic record of the "hot line" messages received from the Soviet Government. The special Presidential task force headed by Mr. McGeorge Bundy requested materials on a regular basis. (SECRET) With the closure of U.S. missions in many Arab countries, there was an increased demand for FBIS publications, discards, and radio and press exploitation. FBIS is making an additional effort to insure receipt of Arab World newspapers and periodicals for exploitation by Asia Division. Attempts are also being made to receive Arab papers in Cyprus, where priority material would be wirefiled to Headquarters. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2. lagerian Situation: The African Bureau reinstituted a close watch on the Enugu radio of Eastern Nigeria following announcement of the area's secession and the creation of a "Republic of Biafra." The Severing of all telecommunicatien and Phone services between the East and the remainder of Nigeria on 31 May emphasized the significance of the reporting from broadcasts. S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 vow Aft Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 The African Bureau's local landline and VHF radio circuit to Lagos were restored 18 May after being out since 11 April. The last half of May saw a definite improvement in the Kaduna-Lagos circuit, with bureau material being received ex- peditiously in Headquarters. In addition to extensive Wire Service dissemination, the Daily Report carried some 86,000 words of Nigerian materials during the 29 May-16 June period. The situation in Kaduna itself remained calm. Neverthe- less, in accordance with State Department policy, dependents of Staff personnel will not be permitted to travel to Kaduna for the foreseeable future. This immediately affected the families of Bureau Chief-designate and Bureau Engineer (SECRET) SERVICES AND REQUIREMENTS 3. Reaction to President's Address: A special reaction report on President Johnson's address tO the National Foreign Policy Conference for Educators was published 22 June in response to a high level request. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) ' 4. Lateral Services: The London and West Coast Bureaus began filing to selected U.S. Embassies in Latin America material from Moscow Spanish and Portuguese programs, including Moscow's Radio Peace and Progress transmissions. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) Significant CPR-source material on the Philippines, in- cluding all processed material from Peking Tagalog programs, are being filed to the U.S. Embassy in Manila by the West Coast and Okinawa Bureaus. The latter is also airmailing Peking Tagalog program summaries to the EMbasay at its request. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) The Bangkok Bureau now provides copies of its file to the American Ambassador. the Embassy political section, USIS and VOA, J-2 MACTHAI, in Bangkok. Program summaries of the communist clandestine Voice of the People of Thailand are also provided to the SEATO Secretariat. Program summaries of the Laotian clandestine Pathet Lao radio are being wirefiled to the American Embassy in Vientiane. Material related to Cambodia is being filed to the American Embassy in Tokyo at its request. (CONFIDENTIAL) S-E-C-R-E-T 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 doN Alano. Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 The London and Mediterranean Bureaus on 24 May began filing high-precedence Middle East and European materials to the 3 AFSSO, South Ruislip Air Station, England, at the request of the Station's intelligence unit. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) At the request of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, various fleet addresses have been added for West Coast Bureau routing of materials monitored from the CPR on the Chinese "serious warnings." (CONFEENTIAL) 5. Press and Document Exploitation: Asia Division pro- cessed a lengthy Arabic document, 'Movements of Communist Bloc Nationals to and from Lebanon." Division personnel also processed two captured Viet Cong theoretical documents for in- corporation in an OCI paper. A-dairy of a North Vietnamese soldier, also summarized by AD/South and East Asia Branch, is expected to be used in propaganda against North Vietnam. Assistance was also provided in processing backlogged Mandarin recordings received from the Tokyo Bureau. (SECRET) USSR Division is now preparing selected translations. from recently received Voyenny Zarubezhnik publications, to be published as a Foreign Press Digest issuance. The title of the unclassi- fied series, "Electric Power, Power Machinery, and Electrical Equipment" has been changed to "Electric Power, FUels, and Related Equipment" to.proyide-a vehicle for Material in the "fuels" category. The Physical Sciences Branch/USSR translated a 177-page document for an Organization component on radar and fire-control systems. (SECRET) ? USSR Division also made a comparison of material from five available Ukrainian newspapers with abstract cards produced from Ukrainian broadcasts for a sample period, 15-31 January 1967. . It was discovered that only 17 abstracts could be found as identical items in the press." On the other hand, the press contained some 160 items of comparable significance not available from the radio. (CONFIDENTIAL) The EAD/Balkan Branch provided the FBI with information on. a former U.S. alien resident deported to Bulgaria and currently editor of a Bulgarian publication. In support of an Organization component, EAD/Western Europe/Africa Branch provided several 50x1 soxi 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 'Nine Ist Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 8-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 translations from French publications dealing with rockets ex- hibited at the Le Bourget Air Show. On 6 June the Latin America Branch received the first comprehensive report on newspapers in Cuba provided by an issue of Gramma dated 25 May, which was processed for use in an NIS on Cuba. The branch also supplied Army Intelligence with Granma reportage on the defection of U.S. Army Maj. Richard Pearce. (SECRET) 6. Use of IBIS Material: Cable responses from U.S. Embassies in Latin America to a State Department initiative urging greater use of IBIS materials in countering communist bloc activities in the area have concurred that these materials should be exploited. The Embassy in Caracas welcomed the proposal and expressed confidence that "we will be able to make good use" ofIBIS materials. The Embassy in Montevideo stated that this material "will prove particularly useful" now that the bloc countries "have embarked on a two-faced policy of pushing hard" for normal cultural and commercial relations with Latin American countries while simultaneously supporting Cuba's extremist policies for armed revolt. The Embassy in Uruguay added that it had made good use of IBIS material on the 1966 Havana Tricontinental Conference "to feed the fires of the Uruguayan Government's reaction" to the subversive statements and speeches made at the Cuban meeting. The Embassy in Lima reported that an IBIS report on a Pravda article on revolution in Latin America was passed to a Peruvian Fbreign Ministry offi- cial who expressed "considerable interest" in it and asked that similar material be passed to him informally for distribution to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry and intelligence community. (SECRET) An FBIS report on a Rome press conference by a member of former Greek Premier Papandreas Party resulted in a State Department cable providing instructions for the American Embassy in Rome. An interview granted to the Kyodo News Agency by DRV Foreign Minister Trinh was filed by the Tokyo Bureau to the American Ambassador in Vientiane at the State Department's request, as well as the Hanoi version of the interview as monitored by the Okinawa Bureau. The Embassy later expressed "fascination" with the differences in the two versions dealing with Hanoi's position on negotiations. (SECRET) - 5 - S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 %MO Ea% Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT:: Tatter of Information, 26 June 1967 The Saigon Bureau reported that Hanoi's sensitivity to a U.S. campaign to expose an alleged Viet Cong hero, as indicated in Hanoi broadcasts, has prompted U.S. officials in Saigon to augment this campaign. In addition, an Embassy report documenting a new Viet Cong campaign against pacification efforts was based largely on Liberation Radio material monitored by the Saigon Bureau. (CONFIDENTIAL) 7. Propaganda Analysis Services: The Propaganda Analysis' Division issued the fourth in its monthly series of Special Memorandums for the State Department on Hanoi claims of civilian casualties from U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam. A new project, also in the form of a Special Memorandum, will cam- pile in tabular form the North Vietnam news agency's claims regarding allied battle losses in the five provinces of the First Corps in South Vietnam, in response to interest expressed by DIA and the Military Assistance Command Vietnam. Other PAD services recently included the researching of Soviet leader speeches for the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research for references to President Johnson and specific reactions to presidential statements on Vietnam. Available Hanoi propaganda on the Middle East crisis was assembled for a State Department requester. (CONFIDENTIAL) A summary of a Radio Peace and Progress commentary supplied by FAD and a copy of an 11 May Survey article on Moscow and Peking propaganda on India were sent to the American Embassy in New Delhi by the State Department in response to an inquiry about Soviet calls for a leftist united front in India. (SECRET) 8. MOS Services: The Monitoring Operations Section has provided information for NIS issuances on Mauritania and Tanzania, support for an Army Security Agency study involving USSR inter- national broadcasting, and broadcast information for a new Army computer project at FOrt Bragg. The 21st edition of Broadcast Stations of the World, listing all AN, FM, and TV stations in four volumes, will be sent to the printers in early July. DIA requested tear sheets from the proofing run. (SECRET) 9. Commendations: An Organization official, in a memorandum to the Director, FBIS) expressed appreciation for the series of Special Memorandums on the mock war crimes trial of U.S. leaders) &Scribing the series as an example of "timely, comprehensive, and tailored intelligence support." The memorandum added: - 6 - S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T 1 SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 "The Office of Undersecretary of State Katzenbach joins us in commending PSIS for the special effort made in this instance and for the quality and usefulness of the Special Memorandums." (SECRET) PUBLICATIONS .10. Daily Report Supplements: An 16 May Fidel Castro speech to a farmers cOngress was published as a 30-page Latin America Daily Report supplement on 25 May. Dour supplements to the Communist China Daily Report totaling 296 pages were issued covering material from CPR national and regional transmissions on the Communist China cultural revolution. Two supplements to the Daily Report for USSR-East Europe were published 29 May. and 15 June on, entitled, respectively, "Materials from Eighth PZPR Central Committee" and "GDR People's Chamber Approves Long- Range Plan to 1970." The latter was pretyped on mats by the German Bureau. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) U. New Covers: On 29 May the "Foreign Press. Information Report" title was discarded in favor of "Foreign Preps Digest." The issuance carries the FBIS identification and includes press exploitation materials from the three area divisions. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) 12. Typing Assistance: . Arrangements were made to employ the typing capacity of the contractual facility to prepare Daily Report and Supplement mats. Thus far five supplements have been processed in this manner. In addition, Daily Report mats have been processed from lightly edited copy. This resource will continue to be exploited on a relatively regular basis for the typing of non-perishable Daily Report copy and especially supplement material, in support of the regular typing section. (CONFIDENTIAL) 13. New Type Face: A new typewriter with a special type-face closely resembling Daily Report cover printing has been acquired for cover sub-titles, inside cover notes, and other special uses. The new type-face is expected to enhance the appearance of publications. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) - 7 - S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 Ork grk Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 14. Special Publication: In-response to an Organization requirement, FBIS has arranged to publish in two volumes a collection of Red Guard posters with translations or summaries of their content. Dissemination to the academic world will be made possible via the contractual facility. (SECRET) FIELD OPERATIONS 15. Chinese Coverage: Evaluation of the second North China regional station survey showed that several hours of pro- gramming daily from northern and western China can be better heard in Hokkaido during the summer months than in Okinawa. One Chinese monitor was transferred on PCS from Okinawa to' Hokkaido at the end of May. A fourth Chinese monitor has been employed by the Tokyo Bureau. (CONFIDENTIAL) 16. Southeast Asia Coverage: The Okinawa Bureau's Burmese monitor was transferred to the Bangkok Bureau in mid-June to augment the Southeast Asia coverage of the Bangkok operation. The Saigon Bureau, which now concentrates solely on Vietnamese area coverage, brought an additional Vietnamese monitor on duty, with two others being cleared for part-time contract work. (CONFIDENTIAL) 17. Broadcasting Developments: Radio Moscow added an additional 30-minute daily program in Arabic on 10 June, in- creasing its total output in that language to 42 hours weekly.' BBC is covering. Two communist clandestine services, "Oggi in Italia" and the Turkish-language "Our Radio," have also in- creased their broadcast schedules. (UNCLASSWE)) 18. London Communications: The London Bureau common-user channel was reterminated from Pirmasens, Germany, to the Third Air FOrce Comcenter, South Ruislip, England, effective 15 June,. using the routina indicator RUDLDUD. The former indicator, RUFDBK, has been canceled and should no longer be used. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) 19. Hong !Ong Communications: A full-duplex cable circuit ? in the SEACOM system has been leased between the American Con- sulate General in Hong Kong and the Philippines by the Office of Communications. The circuit is for the exclusive movement of FBIS traffic to and from Hong Kong. The common-user entry point - 8 - S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 es% Ink Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 is Clark Field, with the routing indicator RUMJHK assigned. Employment of a second FBIS local teletypist at Hong Kong has been approved. (SECRET). 20. Okinawa-Washington Patch: An electronic regenerative repeater was supplied to the Tokyo Bureau to enable the Okinawa.: Tokyo circuit to be patched directly to the Tokyo-Washington cable circuit. The patch was made operational 13 June and has initially proved highly effective. The patch makes Okinawa Bureau communications instantaneous with Headquarters, and eliminates the necessity for the Tokyo Bureau to relay manually most of the Okinawa file. (CONFIDENTIAL) 21. Field Reports: Coverage Change Reports and Traffic Reports submitted by the field bureaus should be wirefiled separately and contain only coverage changes and traffic figures respectively. Extraneous information, such as informational notes, should not be appended to these reports unless they only serve to explain entries in the reports. Other information should be forwarded separately as administrative messages. Such hanaling will expedite distribution to concerned staff officers in Headquarters. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONIY) ENGINEERING 22. Field Bureau Construction: The Caribbean Bureau con- struction project is now estimated to be 71.1 percent completed, with official completion date 3 August 1967, based on approved extensions. However, based on the slow progress the contractor is making, the unofficial Completion date for the building con- tract, is now estimated to be October 1967. The bureau is ex- peeted to be fully activated operationally by February 1968. The FBIS microwave system connecting the Caribbean Bureau with the Navy microwave system to Ft. Allen is being tested prior to final acceptance, which is expected by early July. Installa- tion of a microwave circuit between FBIS, Monte del Estado,. and Mayaguez is expected to be completed in the latter part of July. (FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY) MISCELLANEOUS 23. Briefings and Visits: - 9 - S-E-C -R-E-T 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 en-% IN Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-E-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 The Chief, Engineering Staff, FBIS, visited the Caribbean Bureau 5-8 June to review the overall construction program and the activation date for the new installation. (FOR OFFICIAL, ' USE ONLY) The new Bangkok Bureau had a spate of visitors during May, including the MACTHAI J-2 and J-6, a team of VOA Far East correspond- ents and USIS officials. The Chief, Okinawa Bureau) briefed Col. H. G. Gordon, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, USARYIS, on 4 May. The Chief, German Bureau, visited the U.S. Mission. in Berlin on 20 May in connection with East German newspaper procurement. Three officers of the 513th Intelligence Corps . Group observed German Bureau television monitoring of Moscow and East Berlin May Day military parades at the Camp Xing. television monitoring facility. (CONFIDENTIAL) 24. Intelligence Star: Intelligence Star by Mr. Richard Helms in a ceremony 7 June for his servicel 50X1 was awarded the 50X1 (CONFIDENTIAL) ADMINISTRATION 25. Savings Bonds. Any changes in bond inscription for overseas and Headquarters personnel must be submitted on Treasury Department Form 2254 or Standard Flom 1192, United States Bonds Authorization for Purchase and Request for Change, or Standard Form 1192-A for the new Freedom Shares. Overseas personnel must have a Stateside address in the bond inscription block. All bonds should indicate the date the purchaser wishes the deduction to take effect. (UNCLASSIFIED) 26. Regulatory Issuances. The following regulatory issuances were diEseminated. (CONFIDENTIAL) - 10 - S-E-C-R-E-T i Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 50X1 50X1 ee) Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 S-E-C-R-B-T SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 PERSONNEL (CONFD/ETTIAL) 27. New Employees Assignment Secretary, L&R Office Typist, Publications Division Teletype Operator, Wire Services Staff Chief, Registry Section Chief, African Bureau 28. Reassignments From To Chief, African Bureau Chief, Austrian 50X1 Bureau 50X1 50X1 Acting Chief Engineer East Coast Bureau Assistant Chief Engineer West Coast Bureau. Editor Editor East Coast Bureau Wire Services Staff S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 r, Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 26 June 1967 ? ami.21gmments From To Editor Editor 50X1 .Gerpan Bureau Wire Services Staff ,Editor Editor East Coast Bureau Okinawa Bureau 29. Resignations from 30. Retirements 31. TDY in Headquarters .."ef Editor, Publications Division Transcriptionist, Publications Division 'From ' Area Officer, USSR Division - Orientation en route from African to Austrian Bureau - Orientation en route from West Coast to Tokyo Bureau 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 - Consultation and return to Caribbean Bureau 50X1 cting Director Foreign Broadcast Information Service - 12 - S-E-C-R-E-T Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/21 : CIA-RDP83-00586R000300260007-6 50X1