CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1957/08/31

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02034225
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2019
• Document Release Date: December 20, 2019
• Publication Date: August 31, 1957

Approved for Release: 2019/12/10 CO2034225
CURRENT
INTELLIGENCE
BULLETIN
31 August 1957
Copy No. 36
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS
1. FURTHER EVALUATION OF SOVIET CLAIM
OF ICBM FIRING (page 3).
2. AMBASSADOR THOMPSON COMMENTS ON ZORIN
DISARMAMENT SPEECH (page 5).
3. MOLOTOV'S APPOINTMENT TO MONGOLIA
(page 6).
di-t- 4. IRAQI TROOP MOVEMENTS TOWARD SYRIAN
BORDER REPORTED :(page 7).
5. PRESSURE INCREASING UN NUCLEAR
TEST RESOLUTION (page 8).
6. LONDON CONCERNED OVER SANDYS' STATEMENT ON
USE OF ATOMIC WEAPONS IN THE FAR EAST
(page 9).
31 Aug 57
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1. FURTHER EVALUATION OF SOVIET CLAIM
OF ICBM FIRING
Comment on:
Recently acquired information indi-
cates that a Soviet intercontinental
ballistic missile could have been
launched a few days prior to the
TASS announcement of 26 August.
However, the full scope of activi-
ties which would be expected to oc-
cur during such a launching has not
been apparent in available evidence.
Unusual activity was
noted during August involving the Tyura
Tam area of the Turkestan Military District and the Klyuchi
area of the Kamchatka Peninsula--believed to be the range-
head and terminus, respectively, of a Soviet missile test
range about 3, 500 nautical miles long.
21 August,
An actual launching may have occurred on
31 Aug 57
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Considered of equal validity in ex-
plaining the TASS announcement is the interpretation that
the USSR, having accumulated considerable technical con-
fidence from ballistic missile tests over distances up to
950 nautical miles, could have made an anticipatory an-
nouncement for its propaganda value.
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2.� AMBASSADOR THOMPSON COMMENTS ON ZORIN
DISARMAMENT SPEECH
Ambassador Thompson in Moscow believes
that Soviet delegate Zorin's speech on 27
August in London was a final statement of
the Soviet position for the record prior to
winding up work in the UN Disarmament Subcommittee. He
notes that Zorin made it clear the USSR considers the subcom-
mittee too restricted and wants the next step to be an airing of
the entire problem in the UN General Assembly, where India
and other neutral states could participate. He expects the USSR
to suspend serious discussion of disarmament and adopt propa-
ganda positions, while seeking to mobilize public support in or-
der to soften up the West.
Thompson believes the speech was also timed
to get the maximum effect from the announcement of a successful
ICBM test, in order to convey the impression that the USSR is
leading from strength on disarmament.
Comment The British and French delegates to the Lon-
don talks have also expressed the view that
Zorin's speech indicated that the Russians are preparing their
stand for the General Assembly session and that no Soviet dis-
armament concessions can be expected at least until then.
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3. MOLOTOV'S APPOINTMENT TO MONGOLIA
Comment on:
Molotov's appointment as ambassador to
the Mongolian People's Republic appears
to be a shrewd move on Ithrushchev's part,
--removing the intransigent "Old Bolshevik"
from the Soviet internal scene and at the
same time allaying domestic fears and foreign expectations
that a Stalin-type purge is forthcoming.
This appointment is another indication of
the diverse treatment accorded the,various members of the
"antiparty group"; MolotoV's great seniority in the party--51
years of service--and his prestige and age may have given
him some advantage over the others. However, the announce-
ment that the former Soviet ambassador, Vasily Pisarev, will
remain in Ulan Bator as minister and counselor suggests that
Molotov's appointment is more honorific than substantial.
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4. IRAQI TROOP MOVEMENTS TOWARD SYRIAN
BORDER REPORTED
Several usually reliable sources in
Baghdad have informed the American
army attache that within the next few
days Iraq plans to move several major
units toward the Syrian border. In the
north, an infantry brigade is reportedly being moved from
Mosul to the Balad Sinjar area on the Syrian border. The
First Division reportedly will be moved from the Baghdad
area to the vicinity of Ramadi, an assembly point on the
road to H-3 pumping station which is a forward base for
a move into either Syria or Jordan.
Comment The bulk of Syria's army is concentrated
south and west of Damascus toward the Is-
raeli border. There are no significant forces facing Iraq in
eastern Syria, and little effort has been made to deploy troops
or prepare defenses east of Damascus along the desert road
from Iraq.
31 Aug 57
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5. PRESSURE INCREASING FOR UN NUCLEAR
TEST RESOLUTION
Comment on:
Failure of the UN Disarmament Subcom-
mittee to agree on suspension of nuclear
tests and world-wide public concern over
radioactive fallout--particularly strong in
Norway and Japan�will increase pressure
for a UN General Assembly resolution this
fall calling for an immediate suspension of
tests. Some Western-oriented countries
will probably renew their own efforts, and
many members may find it difficult, if not impossible, to op-
pose a Soviet-sponsored resolution calling for test suspension
without adequate safeguards or controls.
The Norwegian NATO representative stated
on 28 August that Prime Minister Gerhardsen had already public-
ly committed himself to follow up the earlier Norwegian UN pro-
posal to register and limit nuclear tests if the subcommittee made
no progress. The opposition Liberal party is reported by the Ameri-
can embassy as likely to try during the October election campaign
to capitalize on the strong Norwegian public support for such state-
ments as the Schweitzer appeal on the dangers of fallout.
Earlier this month the Japanese government,
which has also proposed registration, was reported preparing a
new proposal to the UN on suspension of nuclear testing.
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6. LONDON CONCERNED OVER SANDYS' STATEMENT ON
USE OF ATOMIC WEAPONS IN THE FAR EAST
Comment on:
London fears that the statement by Defense
Minister Sandys during his recent Australian
visit that British SEATO forces will eventu-
ally have a nuclear capability'may complicate
ratification of the UK-Malayan defense agree-
ment."
While Sandys subsequently said he had not im-
plied that Malaya would be an atomic base, of-
ficials in the Commonwealth Relations Office, the Colonial Office,
the Foreign Office, and the vice chiefs of staff are reported ap-
prehensive that the statement may stimulate opposition demands in
Malaya for British assurances that atomic weapons will never be
used in the area, and even lead to demands for Malayan neutrality.
It is also feared that when Sandys visits Singapore, there may be
public insistence on prior consultation before locating atomic weap-
ons there.
Although the issue probably will not prevent
ratification of the defense agreement when it is debated in October
in Malaya's Legislative Council, Prime Minister Rahman has al-
ready felt obliged to state that nuclear weapons would not be al-
lowed in Malaya. The Sandys statement is also likely to prove use-
ful to Soviet propaganda in Asia during the UN General Assembly
disarmament discussions.
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