Documents / FOIA release
This is an October 1968 contribution by the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Strategic Research to National Intelligence Estimate 11-14-68 on Soviet and East European general purpose forces. It covers Warsaw Pact war plans for Central Europe, the effects of the Czechoslovak crisis, and the doubling of Soviet forces on the Chinese border since 1965. It also assesses ground, tactical air, naval and coastal defense forces. The text does not mention UFOs or unidentified aerial phenomena.
In addition to the Mediterranean involvement, the Soviets have exhibited some interest in the Indian Ocean area. At present, without the Suez Canal or local bases, an extended operation in this area would probably draw too heavily on Soviet naval resources to be attractive. Should the base and transit problems be solved, the Soviets could deploy another, smaller Mediterranean-type squadron. C. The Soviet Buildup Against China The Soviet buildup along the Chinese border and in Mongolia has been the major development af- fecting ground forces strength and dispositions for the past several years. The buildup is apparently not in response to any immediate Chinese threat but is probably intended to meet contingencies arising from current Chinese instability as well as the possible future development of a Chinese military threat. The buildup is incomplete and at least another year of large-scale construction and a substantial increase in personnel and equipment strengths will be-required to complete the deploy- ments already under way. The increased requirements for Soviet ground forces strength in the West, which are likely to follow from the Czechoslovak crisis, may force the Soviets to re-examine, and perhaps lower, the priorities assigned to the China border buildup. - 11 -
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 115 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.