LETTER OF INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 15, 2013
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 28, 1968
• Content Type: MEMO

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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
2. Saigon Situation: Enemy activity inside Saigon during the past
month VW generally limited to terrorist incidents involving grenade
attacks, planting of explosive chhrges, and civilian assassinations.
On 29 September, a 122 mm.,rocket'landed in the district in hich the .
bureau chief resides. .0ne Vietnamese was found stabbed to death in the
rear seat of a car parked outside the walls of the bureau chief's home.
3. Cyprus Developments: The U.N. force in Cyprus will, be cut 25
percent, to about half its 1964 peak of 6,500 men. The Canadians will
no longer have a continaent in Kyrenia. The total force will amount to
some 3,400.
The Mediterranean Bureau was informed by the British High
Commission that the Foreign Office has rejected a plan to use the
Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area (SBA) as a Bureau operational fallback site.
The reason given for the decision was that it would be a violation of
existing treaties with the Government of Cyprus to use the SBA for
other than "purely military purposes." The Bureau has submitted several'
alternate suggestions to Headquarters for further fallback planning.
4. Panama Coup: After only 11 days in office, Panamanian President
Arias was ousted by a military coup late at night on 11 October. The
Panama Bureau picked up indications of the coup within minutes when
various studios announced.before.they left the air that they were under
attack and that a "civilian and military chief" had been appointed for
Chiriqui Province. The bureau, on a reduced staff because of a flu
epidemic; did a fine job of crisis coverage, in which the Caribbean
Bureau aided by temporarily taking over some of Panama's press service
coverage. It was not necessary to 'implement standby plans to send a
Bureau watch officer to Panama on TDY. '
reariblelin
5. Czedhoslovak.Developments: Czechoslovak radio and press '.
operations normalized to the extent that coverage of that country. ?
became essentially the same as. just prior to the 21 August invasion
by Warsaw Pact Forces. Bureaus participating in Czech coverage duting.
the crisis were asked to slIbmit A oritique of the handling of the crisis
by FBIS.
6. African Communications: Sporadic outages continued to plague
African Bureau communications. A?major step was taken toward improving
use of an alternate circuit when the Bureau succeeded in having a line
installed between the Kaduna P&T room and the American Consulate. This
will eliminate the carrying of tape to the Consulate during outages and:
will alloy an immediate switchover to the altroute.
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
7. Okinawa AUTODIN: Okinawa Bureau's Mode V AUTODIN circuit was
? activated 30 September. Two categories of routine material are being
? filed experimentally over this facility. Transit times of routine
messages to Headauarters has ranged between 15 minutes and 3 hours.
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8, Contractual Facilities' Production: During FY-1968, the contract
facilities paid for the translation of 66.3 million words. 50X1
These totals were below those for the previous year, when FBIS paid
for the translation of 72.6 million words. 50X1
9. Commendations: Responding to a request for evaluation of the
vastly increased amount of Polish political material being handled by
the domestic contractual facility since the student disturbances in
.Poland last March, an Organization component stated that the material
provided "needed background and a vital context for other available
information." In a letter to the Director; FBIS, another Organization
component expressed appreciation to FBIS for "its timely and extensive
media coverage of the Ninth World Youth Festival" in Bulgaria and praised
FBIS support as "an invaluable contribution."
10. London-Paris Communications: A contract was signed on 30
September between the London Bureau and GPO External Communications
covering the full-duplex circuit between Caversham and Paris serving
U.S. representatives at the Paris Peace talks. The long-term agreement
with 14-day cancellation rights brought a saving of nea lv 50 nercent
? ges originally estimated for this service.
Xerox copies of mats which had been typed and raw teletype
copy of that portion of the Truong Chinh report remaining to be typed
were pouched to the U.S. Delegation at the Paris talks on 30 entember
to provide the delegation with an advance copy of the report.
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SERVICES AND REQUIREMENTS
11. Use Of FB/S Material State Department
telegrams continued to make wide use of FBIS-monitored reportage on the
Czech situation. From 12 September through 10 October, 59 broadcast
items were cited in the Department's Czech Task Force Situation Reports.
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Ire
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
The U.S. Embassy in Vientiane noted that an FBIS-monitored
Pathet Lao News Ageney item describing "the National Political Union
Conference meeting of MAX and patriotic neutralist forces" 8-12
September contains "several items of significance in assessing the
development of NLHX posture." The cable said "all elements of the
broadcast together form the clearest public indication so far of
NERX political interpretation of the present situation in Laos." In
a subsequent cable, the Embassy reported that talks between the Ambas-
sador and Souvanna Phouma revealed that "the information (in the broad-
cast) was all quite new to Souvanna and that he hasn't yet figured out
exactly how to react to it."
A telegram from the Department to the Saigon Embassy requested
investigation of the shelling of a Cambodian border post reported by
FBIS.
Citing an FBIS-monitored Cairo MENA report of a Kuwait weekly
article which said thatthe Saudi government had sent a note to Arab
capitals rejecting peaceful solutions to the Middle East problem, a
State Department cable instructed embassies in the Middle East to
ascertain the authenticity of the article and to reiterate the U.S.
Government's opposition to extremism. In two subsequent cables, the
Department alerted Middle East posts to P318-monitored reports of
preparations for a meeting of Fedayeen leaders to discuss unified
action against Israel.
Following a denial by the Jordanian Chief of Staff that the
Fatah organization was using a rocket-launching vehicle in terrorist
attacks, the Amman Embassy informed him of an FBIS-monitored Voice of
Fatah broadcast reporting that such a vehicle had been used to shell
Beisan.
A State Department cable to the Tunis Embassy cited a report
monitored from Damascus Radio by FBIS alleging that "U.S. intelligence
had word of an assassination plot" against Bourguiba, noting that the
Department "knows of no basis for such a report."
Cables from the U.S. Embassy in Lagos summarized FBIS-monitored
Biafra Radio reports of an OjukWu message to various heads of state on
alleged genocide and the role of the observer team, and of remarks by the
Biafran Commissioner for Information on the same topic. A Kaduna Con-
sulate telegram quoted an PUS report on the unexplained behavior of
the Biafra radio on.a new frequency.
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?me Nam, Nal '
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
Referring to an alleged "Chicom promise to assist Rumania if
it is attacked," the U.S. Embassy in Moscow noted that an ?BIS report
of Chou en-Lai's remarks at a Rutanian National Day reception "struck
us as something other, and less, than a promise to assist."
Bangkok Bureau reported that a landline was activated during
the month between the MACTHAI relay center and the Embassy. The mMassy
now prints the entire Bangkok Bureau file, and makes virtually all of
the bureau's lateral distribution in the Bangkok area.
The Austrian Bureau provided the U.S. Ambassador in Vienna
with texts of sharp Moscow attacks on Austria for his use in dealings
with Austrian Government officials, and in general tried to help the
Embassy staff with texts of key bloc materials relating to Austria.
Saigon Bureau coverage of the formation of the Danang Alliance,
the Liberation Radio warning to evacuate central Saigon; and other topics
were the subject of several Embassy cables to the State Department. The
Department's "Vietnam Weekly Highlights" cable, which is sent to all
European, East Asian, and Pacific Diplomatic Posts, continued to quote,
almost verbatim, the bureau's "Communist Propaganda" contribution to
Saigon Embassy's "Mission Weekly." These contributiong have been
praised by Embassy political officers.
The Weekly Surveyor issues of 23 September and 30 September
contained analytical comment citing FBIS Daily Report items on inter-
national cooperation in astronomical and geophysical research, French
nuclear test series, and a new Soviet Institute of Experimental
Meteorology.
An Organization component published a report on the Soviet
Guideline MOD 3 Surface-to-Air Missile which was based on initial
information and a photograph of the warhead extracted by Balkan
Branch/EAD personnel from two Yugoslav publications. The warhppa
can be used against ships, according to the sources.
12. Press and Document Exploitation: The Political/Sociological
Branch of USSR Division completed the priority translation of a 76-page
Soviet manual on the organization and employment of forces and equipment
for military reconnaissance. The translation was requested by an Organi-
zation component. '
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SUBJECT: Letter of information, 28 October 1968
During the month, there was a considerable increase in the
volume of CPR provincial newspapers received through the AIRLO in
Hong Kong (some 674 issues) with a slight improvement in the time-lag
picture.. This is the main Chinese provincial press source, and
maximum .Chinese-language effort is beina mut into monitoring them
by FB/S.
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In response to a priority request, a 300-page Russian book
"World Socialist Systems and Anti-Communism," was translated and pub-
lished in just over 2. weeks by the D.C. contractual facility. The facility
Also translated and published a 950-page monograph "Officers Handbook or5oxi
Soviet Legislation." The San Francisco contractual facility received
"warm thanks" and appreciation from an organization component fnr itn
rush translation of a 74-page French scientific document.
13. Propaganda Analysis: State Department INR called PAD for an
-answer to a telephone query from Secretary Rusk in New York, at the U.N.
General Assembly, on any precedents in Soviet media for Foreign Minister
Gromyko's 3 October reference in the General Assembly to Vietnam negotia-
tions "in Paris or somewhere else." PAD advised the Department that the
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reference was unprecedented since the start of the Paris talks and did
not appear in TASS' account of Gromyko's speech.
was provided earlier to an Organization component.
PAD Special Report RS. 90 of 20 September, a 124-page compilation
of Soviet radio and press statements in 11 thematic categories relating to
aspects of the Middle East crisis since the June .1967 Arab-Israeli war has
been selected by an Organization component for courtesy distribution to
some 30 members of the academic community. The report was prepared by
PAD in response to a general interest, expressed in continuing requests
for information from State Department and Organization analysts. The
component felt that it would also be "of considerable i terest both to
Soviet and to Middle East scholars."
Wire items prepared by PAD for dissemination on the FBIS Wire
examined the CPSU slogans issued for the October Revolution anniversary
discussed a sharpened Soviet propaganda attack on Yugoslavia, and
provided background on an NCNA re ort o he situation in the CPR's
Taching oilfield.
14. Requirements Survey: Copies of the "FBIS Checklist for
Economic Reporting on the USSR and East European Satellites" have
been sent to field bureaus and Headquarters components. for evaluation
and comment. The "Checklist," prepared by the Information Requirements
Staff with the support of FBIS, is part of a continuing effort by FBIS
to develop. an up-to-date, coordinated listing of economic Collection
requirements that can be used by all FBIS components collecting
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
information on the Soviet Union and East Europe.
PUBLICATIONS
15. SlIal5E2Trip.) Two supplements to the Eastern Europe Daily
Report were published during the month: "Materials on Czechoslovak
Political Developments, Vol. VII, dated 11 October 1968, 52 pages; and
"Materials on Polish Political Developments," dated 15 October 1968,
75 pages. The text of a report by Truong Chinh given at a Hanot
Conference of cadres commemorating the anniversary of the birth of
Karl Marx entitled "Let Us Be Grateful to Karl Marx and Follow the Path
Traced by Him" was published as a 54-page Asia & Pacifie Daily Report
supplement on 2 October 1968.
OPERATIONS
16. Czech Coverage Normalization: With the concurrence of the
Chief, Austrian Bureau, BBC editor-monitor Henry Fox returned to
England from Vienna. The pre-crisis arrangement whereby the Austrian
Bureau covered daytime Prague Domestic Service newscasts which were
unmonitorable at Caversham in exchange for BBC translating 14,000 words
a week of Czech press materials vas reinstituted.
17. BBC Overnight Shift: The BBC on 23 September discontinued its
overnight English monitoring shift. As previously arranged with Head-
quarters, the 0100 GMT Moscow in English to North America broadcast
will be monitored live and all materials except flash processed on a
delayed basis.
18. Broadcast Developments: "Oggi in Italia," a broadcast of the
Italian Communist Party, returned to the air on a single Rumanian medium-
wave transmitter after having been off the air completely at the height of
the Czechoslovak crisis. Broadcasts had recently emanated from Rumanian
and Polish transmitters, although in previous years Hungarian transmitters
were also used. Present transmissions are being recorded at the Mediter-
ranean Bureau and airmailed to BBC London for processing. Radio Peking
introduced three new languages in its international service -- Czechoslovak,
Polish, and Rumanian. BBC sampled each of these efforts as well as the
output of the "Radio Station of the Polish Army in Czechoslovakia" in
Polish, Czech, and Slovak. The clandestine communist broadcaster "Radio
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???? Namor '1/461.
SECRET
SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
.of the Patriotic Neutralist Forces" introduced programs in Meo, an
Indo-Chinese hill tribe language. This station had previously
broadcast in the Lao language only. FBIS has no capability in Meo,
but is attemnting to recruit a Meo monitor for the Bangkok Bureau.
19. CPR Coverage: The Okinawa Bureau has reduced the frequency
of its complete scan of Chinese provincial transmitters to once a month,
rather than once a week. The recent relative stability of broadcast
operations of these transmitters has made. the weekly scan unnecessary.
20. Key West Storm: The Key West Bureau suspended operations for
13 hours owing to the approach of tropical storm Gladys on 16-17 October.
The main thrust nf the stnrm hvnassmd V West and there was no damage
to the bureau.
_21. Monitors: Contract Burmese-English monitor
entered on duty at Bangkok Bureau in mid-September and is making satis-
factory pregress. Bangkok Bureau's second Vietnamese-Ftench monitor, a
contract eMployee, has made such rapid progress that assumption of addi-
tional Vietnamese coverage became possible.
Saigon Bureau monitor who had been called
.back into military service, was released by the ARVN to FBIS for one
year's detached service This is the first time the ARVN has agreed
to such detached service by FBIS employees called into military service.
The American Embassy, Seoul, agreed to test five Korean
,monitor applicants for Okinawa Bureau. The two applicants tested in
am n under active consideration. Korean monitor-trainee
hired locally, reported for duty. 30 September. Final clearance
or, the sole promising Vietnamese recruit is being speeded with Head-
quarters' assistance.
Mediterranean Bureau Arabic monitor-trainees
and
began reap ar shift work on 15 and 22 September respectively.
1
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
22. .Mexican Coverage: Panama 'Bureau has assumed exclusive coverage
of Mexico. While voice material remained sketchy due to poor reception
and traditionally uniformative newscasts, the state news agency,'INFORMEX,
and A circuit carrying PRENSA LATINA correspondent's dispatches Proved
to be productive sources for coverage of the prinim ntiviont rots which
erupted in the Mexican capital in September.
23. Saigon Press Coverage: Due to the increased number of newspapers
now being published in SaigOn, the Saigon Bureau was asked to take on the
coverage of an additional four newspapers for the daily ','Saigon Press
Analysis." They are Saigon Moi, Dan Viet, Hy Vong, and Than Dan. The
Bureau now covers nine newspapers, the EMbassy does nine, and JUSPAO
covers another 10.. A further innovation was the request, that bureau
editors underline the. more significant portions of our daily contribution
to draw reader attention to them.
24. Bureau Hours of Operation: In order to answer priority queries
from Headquarters in the late' afternoon, the London PNU has arranged
for one Russian linguist and a teletypist to work until 1630 GMT under
the supervision of a staff employee. Normal operating hours for linguists
remain 0700-1530.
MISCELLANEOUS
25. Visits and Briefings: FBIS Headquarters personnel were briefed
at the White Rouse Situation Room, OCI Operations Center, and the local
Associated Prees bureau. Several.visitors from DIA were briefed on
FBIS organization and activities during the month..
Visitors to field bureaus included: Charles Eberhart, chief
of,VOA's East Asia Bureau, Homer Johnson, deputy manager of VOA's
megawatt transmitter in Thailand, and Kenneth Forrest, State Department
Regional Communications Officer, to Bangkok Bureau; two Organization
representatives to Key West Bureau; Creek Army Colonel Diamantis,
Major Niotis, and Major PoIymeogoulous to West Coast Bureau; Lt. Cdr.
R.O. Moberly, U.S. Navy Combat Task Force 72, to. Okinawa Bureau; Col.
John B. Pratt, U.S. Forces Japan, J-2 office, to Hokkaido Bureau;
Lt. Col. Vernon Jestic, Chief of the Southern Command's Indications
Center, to Panama Bureau.
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
The Key West Bureau Chief Was briefed on the operations of
the Joint Air Reconnaissance Coordination Center, Key West, by the
JARCC Operations Officer, Maj. Lloyd Warn.
The Tokyo Bureau Chief attended the Japan Intelligence Seminar
at Fuchu Air Station. The objective of the seminar was to brief Lt. Gen.
Thomas K. McGehee, the new Commander, U.S. Forces Japan, on the various
U.S. intelligence activities in Japan. The Bureau Chief in a brief -
presentation discussed the main global activities of FBIS. with some
emphasis on FBIS activities in Japan.
ADMINISTRATION
. 26. Deferred Home Leave:
provides far deferred home leave in unusual circumstances. Unusual
circumstances are interpreted as operational necessity or a unique
personal problem related to the PCS. Personal convenience is not
sufficient justification. Bureau Chiefs, therefore, are requested
to justify each request for deferred home leave. Deferred home leave
must be approved by the Chief. Onerations Group, prior to issuance of
the travel order.
27. Pen and In4 Changes to FBIS Notices, Regulations:
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SUBJECT:
28. Training:
SECRET
Letter of Informatiou,28 October
1968
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a.
Bureau - "Management of
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Coast
Chief, West
Organizations",
a Civil Service Commission
Executive Seminar at
Berkeley,
California, 7-18 October.
b.
Chief, USSR
& Eastern Europe Branch -
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Basic
Survey of the USSR, 30
September
- 11 October 1968.
29. Awards:
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Medal
of Merit in recognition
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- Intelligence
of excellent service.
-
Certificate of Distinction
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in recognition of excellent service.
Okinawa Bureau - citation for Meritorious Service in recognition
of the Bureau's superior performance and the unusual skill and
devotion to duty of Bureau personnel in covering the events of
the "Cultural Revolution" in Mainland. China in the 1966-1968
period.
$0. ReAulatc.rv Yssuances: The following regulatory issuances were
disseminated:
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146., Nwg Nair
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
31. Personnel Changes:
New Employees
Assignment
Clerk, Publications Division
.Area Officer, Asia Division
Editor, Publications Division
Clerk Typist, Publications Division
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Reassignments ' From
To
Senior Editor
Senior Editor
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Hokkaido Bureau
Publications Division
Deputy Chief
Acting Chief
Production Group
Operations Group
Radio Operator
Radio Operator
West Coast Bureau
Caribbean Bureau
Watch Officer
Watch Officer
Hokkaido Bureau
Tokyo Bureau
Chief
Chief
Mediterranean Bureau
Exec. & Planning Staff
Editor
Editor
Wire Services Staff
Okinawa Bureau
Editor
Editor
Publications Division
Wire Services Staff
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SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 October 1968
Reassignments From
TO
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Editor
Editor
Panama Bureau
Publications Division
Chief'
Deputy Chief
Okinawa Bureau
Production Group
Deputy Chief
Special Assistant
Publications Division
Production Group
Actin Chief .
DePuty Chief
Exec. & Planning Staff
Exec. & Planning Staff
Senior Editor
Senior Editor
Okinawa Bureau
Caribbean Bureau
Secretary
Admin. Assistant
Publications Division
Saigon Bureau
Editor
Editor '
Wire Services Staff
Austrian Bureau
Deputy Chief
Deputy Chief
Exec. & Planning Staff
Publications Division
Acting Chief Engineer
Chief Engineer
West Coast Bureau
West Coast Bureau
Resignations
Retirements
From
Clerk Typist, Publications Division
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From
Editor, Publications Division (Disability;
Chief Engineer, West Coast Bureau
//Acting Director
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
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