CIA Intelligence Bulletins 1951-1957

Published on CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov) (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom)
Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
[1]
Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
President Harry Truman received his daily intelligence digest, the Daily Summary, between 1946 and
1951. That year, the "new and improved" version called the Current Intelligence Bulletin began
production. This remained the format of the president's daily digest through Dwight Eisenhower's
two terms (with a name change to the Central Intelligence Bulletin in 1958). The Current/Central

Intellegence Bulletin grew longer than its predecessor over time with the addition of more items and
more analysis, and would eventually contain more graphics as printing technology improved.
[2]
Part 1: Current Intelligence Bulletin 28 February-30 June 1951 [3]
These reports focused on the ongoing Korean War and the steadily growing problem of Vietnam.
The Soviets continued to isolate West Berlin and threaten Yugoslavia. The dominant issue covered
during these months, however, was Iran's attempt to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, and
the British efforts to resolve the situation.
[4]
Part 2: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 July-30 December 1951 [5]
The primary focus of these reports continued to be the Korean War. Other highlights include the
signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty, which formally ended World War II, and the expanding
membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The fragile post-war order was rocked
during this period by the assassinations of King Abdullah of Jordan and Prime Minister Ali Khan of
Pakistan.

[6]
Part 3: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 January-30 June 1952 [7]
The major issue covered in these reports remained the Korean War, characterized this period by
stalemate on the battlefield and inconclusive ceasefire negotiations. Anticolonial sentiment
continued to grow in French Indochina and began to become a significant factor in British Kenya.
The United Kingdom received a new queen in February with the accession of Elizabeth II.
[8]
Part 4: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 July-31 December 1952 [9]
The dominant issue covered in these reports continued to be the Korean War, which remained a
stalemate. Anticolonial and nationalist movements, however, grew in intensity in the latter half of 1952.
Of special note was the end of the Egyptian monarchy with the overthrow of King Farouk in July, and the
violent outbreak of what became known as the Mau Mau Rebellion in British Kenya in October.

[10]
Part 5: Current Intelligence Bulletin 1 January-31 December 1953 [11]
There were signiﬁcant changes in US and Soviet leadership in 1953, with the start of the Eisenhower
administration in January and the death of Joseph Stalin in March. Coverage of the USSR dominated the
reports for the year, including Soviet bomber and submarine production and increased threats to Eastern
Europe. Korea ceased to be a main topic with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in July.
Political instability in Iran, including the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh in August,
and its prospective impact on oil exports also were heavily covered.
[12]
The dominant issue this year was the volatile situation in Indochina. The French began their withdrawal
following their decisive defeat by the Vietnamese Communists (or Viet Minh) at the battle of Dien Bien
Phu in May. That summer at the Geneva Conference, the international community partitioned Vietnam,
with the north to be governed by the Viet Minh and the south by a non-Communist regime. Another
signiﬁcant story was the debate on Western Europe's proposals to provide for its common defense, while
preventing Germany from again becoming a major military power. Also of note was the June coup in
Guatemala, in which the leftist regime of Jacobo Arbenz was replaced by a military regime under Carlos
Castillo Armas.

[14]
During this period, Argentine President Juan Peron was deposed by a military junta and the Arab-Israeli
conﬂict intensiﬁed as Syria threatened Israel with military emplacements along the Golan Heights. The
reports of 1955 were dominated, though, by the continuing Cold War. Early in the year, the People's
Republic of China (PRC) shelled Taiwan-controlled islands off the coast of PRC's Fujian Province. The
PRC rejected the establishment of a Chinese Nationalist regime in Taiwan, considering the island part of
the PRC. The situation tested US resolve to protect an anti-Communist partner in the face of a serious
threat from a Communist aggressor. In Southeast Asia, South Vietnam's new anti-Communist regime of
Ngo Dinh Diem enjoyed very little public support. In the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as successor
to Stalin, who had died in 1953.
[16]
Nikita Khrushchev's efforts to secure political control in the Soviet Union, including his denouncement of
the excesses of the Stalin era, was a theme of the reports of 1956. Khrushchev shocked delegates to the
20 Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February with a speech attacking the cult of
personality of Joseph Stalin. Khrushchev's "softer" approach was put to the test in June with some
th

localized worker uprisings in Poland, which were peaceably resolved. Much more serious was the nation-
wide Hungarian uprising in October, which led to a Soviet invasion and deposition of Hungarian leader
Imre Nagy. October also saw the culmination of the Suez Crisis, touched off in July by the nationalization
of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Nasser. In October, Israel, the United Kingdom, and France
(without US support) attacked Egypt in an unsuccessful effort to oust Nasser and reopen the canal.
[1]
Cold War tensions dominated the reporting in 1957. Political upheaval racked Indonesia, with the
struggle between moderate elements in President Sukarno's regime and Indonesia's Moscow-backed
Communist party. Sukarno declared martial law in March and survived an assassination attempt in
November, after which he left the country for a six-week sabbatical. Syria's regime also faced a growing
threat from pro-Soviet leftist elements throughout much of the year. The United States supported pro-
Western regional allies Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq in the face of growing Soviet assistance to the
increasingly leftist Syrian regime. In August and September, Turkey deployed 50,000 troops to its border
with Syria. By October the crisis subsided as diplomatic efforts convinced Turkey to begin withdrawing
its troops. The autumn saw several reports on the USSR's October launch of Sputnik—the world's first
artificial satellite—assessing that this advancement could render the United States vulnerable to a Soviet
intercontinental ballistic missile attack.
See declassified Daily Summary reports from 1946-1951 [19]
Source URL: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/collection/currentcentral-intelligence-bulletin
Links
[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/images/CIB_9_NEW.jpg
[2] https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/images/CIB_1.jpg
[3] https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/search/site?
f[0]=im_field_collection%3A2062990&f[1]=ds_created%3A[2019-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z TO 2020-01-
01T00%3A00%3A00Z]&f[2]=ds_created%3A[2019-03-01T00%3A00%3A00Z TO 2019-04-
01T00%3A00%3A00Z]&solrsort=sort_label asc

[19] https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/collection/daily-summary

CIA Intelligence Bulletins 1951-1957

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CIA Intelligence Bulletins 1951-1957