Beria --A Story We Cannot Ignore

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00764R000500080012-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 1998
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: October 9, 1953
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2001/07/27 : CIA-RDP83-00764R000500080012-7
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PAGE b?4 FRIDAY MORNING, OCT. 9, 1953
RED SECRETS INVOLVED CPYRGHT
Beria-A Story We Cannot Ignore
WHEREVER HE MAY BE, dead or alive, ton comparable to that which the alleged
Lavrenti Beria holds information so im- Berla claims he will give.
portant it could affect the future security It is clear it is the obligation of respon-
of the world. sible government officials and agencies to
Pgrhaps he did die with these facts. He determine the truth or falsity of the claim
may be in prison. But there also is a pos- Beria wants to give this government all
sibility he lives with his secrets-hiding in this vital information.
a remote area of Spain. Fabio Gallo, the international political
Walter Winchell, in a telecast, properly figure who claims he is the intermediary
evaluated the conjecture over Beria when for Beria, has given regular reports on his
he said that whether it was true or false, it purported progress to the United States'
is too big to reject without investigation. investigative agencies for many weeks.
The Western world has been dum- The investigation culminated in reports
founded at information the Soviets.have to the State Depart'fnent by government
the' know-how to produce the hydrogen agencies during the week of Sept. 13. Yes-
bomb. Consternation is intensified because terday, more than two weeks later, no
of lack of knowledge as to how far the Reds progress had been announced by the
have gone in production of bombs and United States government although the
whether or not they have the long range Spanish Ministry of Police had been con-
bombers to deliver the bombs on the- ducting an intensive search.
United States and other Western countries. To sum up, Beria,- or an alleged ' Beria,
Facing this problem, every agency of claims he will give vital atomic and other
the government, and particularly the State information to this country in return for
Department, should leave no stone un- asylum. He has asked for assurance of
turned in an all-out effort to obtain this this asylum through secret channels to
atomic and military information. United. States officials and through pub-
It's possible Beria could answer these lished stories in The San Diego Union and
questions, newspapers throughout the world. Such
Certainly, the United States ought not assurance has not been given.
overlook even a vague possibility that a The whole matter well may be a giant
possible source for this information may lie hoax or a nefarious Communist plot some=
at the end of the trail to the alleged Beria. how to damage the position of the United
Unconfirmed reports hold he wants to States in world politics. Nevertheless,
make a deal for asylum in the United that one long chance to bag Beria and all
States in return for up-to-the-minute in- he knows cannot be rejected.
formation on Soviet atomic, military and The State Department's clear responsi-
espionage information. bility to the people of the United States is
Never has the American State Depart- to culminate this matter properly, exposing
ment, its Central Intelligence Agency, or it as a hoax or delivering the goods-the
any other government agency been offered rizttar being a diplomatic coup almost be-
oven a remote chance to obtain informa- yond imagination.
The Big Fish-Or a Fish Story?
Approved For Release 2001/07/27 : CIA-RDP83-00764R000500080012-7