Documents / FOIA release
This is a compilation of Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) briefing notes to the Director of INR, mostly dated June 12, 1968, with some from June 6, 1968. The notes cover world events, including student riots in Paris, East German passport and visa rules for West Germans, a UN resolution on South West Africa, a change of Komsomol leadership, Sino-Nepalese relations, and the Colombian presidential resignation crisis. Unrest in Senegal and Somalia is also covered. None of the notes discuss UFOs.
“Cooper”9 pages
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE INR BRIEFING NOTE TO: The Director, INR DATE: 8 June 68 TIME: 10:30 hours COMMENTS CONTAINED IN INR BRIEFING NOTES ARE INITIAL AND TENTATIVE. SOURCE(S) CLASS./CONTROL(S) FBIS 40, 040, 8 Jun The Slovak trade union organ, Praca, today criticized the timing of the Warsaw Pact maneuvers on Czechoslovak territory and the fact that various official visits are kept secret and announced belatedly. The author of the article "sympathizes" with efforts of the Czechoslovak armed forces to prove to Warsaw Pact command that recent changes in Cz. army did not effect combat readiness and feels exercise should have been transferred to territory of another state. INR COMMENTS: This is the most outspoken criticism we have seen in Czechoslovak presson the maneuvers. Praca has been in the forefront of some of the criticism directed against the past "deformations" in CSSR and has carried various "sensational" articles (e.g., revelations of Soviet involvement in Slansky trials). There is no doubt but that some segments of the population are concerned and apprehensive over the timing and location of the forthcoming Pact maneuvers. Various Czechoslovak papers have carried stories on maneuvers, reflecting this apprehension, and Ministry of Defense has been on the defensive to explain that maneuvers are "normal", that Soviet and Polish troops will not remain permanently, and that NITimes stories on Soviet tanks in CSSR are patently false. Some Czechoslovaks see presence of troops on their soil at this time as a blatant attempt by Soviets to thwart the "democratization process" and as a warning to Czechoslovaks not to go too far. FBIS 44, 8 Jun-040. A Czechoslovak Party and Govt delegation, headed by Czechoslovak Party First Secretary Dubcek, will visit Hungary "in the next few days" to sign a new treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. INR COMMENTS: We have known for a month or so that Dubcek was to make this trip. Perhaps the most interesting facet of the trip will be whether Dubcek signs in the name of the Party: there has been speculation that he would not sign, in order to give more authority and prestige to government apparatus. This would, if carried out, be a departure from normal practice, since the Party First Secretaries, as well as Premiers, have mutual defense treaties.
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 132 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.