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ORIGINATOR: CIA FROM: TO: TITLE: THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE CHECKLIST DATE: 11/23/1963 PAGES: 15 SUBJECTS: DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified RESTRICTIONS: IB; Mandatory Review Material CURRENT STATUS: Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 12/12/1997 OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS: DOC. #1

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TOP SECRET (Security Classification)

1 THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE CHECKLIST

ISSUED BY THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

23 NOVEMBER 1963 TOP SECRET

1. South Vietnam a. Vietnamese Communist ef- forts to discredit the new Saigon regime stayed in high gear this week.

b. The number of armed attacks was off from the high of the previous week but still some 50% above the year's weekly average.

c. These attacks have been, for the most part, small-scale efforts directed against the government's paramilitary forces in the villages. They have been designed more for their psychological impact than for immediate military gain.

d. A high volume of messages on Viet Cong military and political communications nets indicates a prob- able continuation of this effort.

e. The new government is re- sponding by stepping up its own military operations. It is also setting about the hard job of re- vamping the Diem government apparatus and harnessing broader popular sup- port for the war effort.

f. The generals have been dealing fairly effectively with

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

OLOMBIA 72 70 CURAÇAO Amuay COLFO DE El Cardón Coro VENEZ (Neth.) BONAIRE Maracaibo Cabimas 10 8 Cucuta 6 LAGO DE MARACAIBO San Lorenzo Barquisimeto San Fallbe Vale San Carlos. Guanare Encontrados Mérida Barinas 68 66 64 62 60 CARIBBEAN SEA GRENADA (U.K.) CARACAS: Ma Los leques San Juan de los Morros El Calvario Fernando Puerto Ayacucho COLOMBIA VENEZUELA +++ Selected railroad 50 100 200 Miles 50 100 200 Kilometers BRAZIL 72 70 TOBAGO La Asunción Carupano Barcelona Comana Port of Spain TRINIDAD Caripito Maturin Tucupite El Tigre Puerto Ordáz ປ BRAZI BRITISH GULANA 6307 30 68 66 64 62 60

i i BRI, GULANA 2 ¥2 10 8

1. Venezuela their new responsibilities. There are, however, a few signs of dissen- sion within this group and between it and civilian politicians.

g. One of the more ambitious and troublesome figures is the able but opportunistic General Ton That Dinh, the new Minister of Security. He has been travelling about the country spreading the idea that the coup was largely his doing and seems bent on developing his own independ- ent base of power. He is a man to watch.

h. The new regime has also embarked on a purge of high military officers who sided with Diem during the Buddhist crisis and failed to get on the right side soon enough. (INTERCEPTS)

a. The death toll from the terrorist outburst in Caracas last Tuesday and Wednesday now stands at about 30.

b. This is the high water mark thus far in the campaign of the Castro-supported Communist extremists to disrupt the national elections a week from tomorrow.

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

c. The Betancourt government has struck back hard. Its new uni- fied command over the security forces, set up at US urging, passed this initial test with flying colors.

d. At least 500 extremists were arrested and the round-up is still going on. Their removal will hamper the Communist drive against elections in major cities like Caracas.

e. We now expect the elections to be held on schedule, a consider- able achievement under the circum- stances. The elections will be fol- lowed, however, by a Communist ef- fort to prevent the March inaugura- tion of the victor.

f. The rub here is that none of the presidential candidates com- mands President Betancourt's con- siderable assets for dealing success- fully with the harsh realities of Venezuelan politics. The constitu- tion prevents Betancourt from suc- ceeding himself.

g. In the background, as always, looms the military, which could intervene if the president- elect shows signs of being soft on communism.

For The President Only - Top Secret

CUBA Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Sites

Mariel Artemisa HAVANA HAVANA EAST Santiago de las Vegas Remedios

SAN JULIAN (Training site); Isle of Pines

New site Unchanged site Estimated range

50 100 NAUTICAL, MILES

L Holguin Santiago de Cuba US Naval Base 34095 11 OCTOBER 1963 SECRET L

1. USSR-Cuba a. In the past week we inter- cepted Cuban military messages which show that Cuban interpreters are now posted at several surface-to-air mis- sile (SAM) sites on the island.

b. We think this means that on-site training of Cubans has begun on schedule. Field training is to last six months, after which the SAM system may be turned over to Castro.

c. In the past month some 1,500 Soviets arrived in Cuba. Most of these were probably SAM experts, sent to monitor the training.

d. Prior to their coming, we had detected no more than a few hundred Soviet military personnel entering Cuba since the October crisis last year.

e. We estimate that at least 15,000, and probably closer to 18,000, have been withdrawn in the intervening 13 months, leaving, very roughly, 4,000 to 7,000. Those re- maining are for the most part ad- visors whose main functions are to train and supervise Cubans in the use of weapons turned over to them.

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

{ Π Bremen COMMUNICATION ROUTES BETWEEN WEST WEST GERMANY AND BERLIN Kiel Stralsund Hamburg Busche Mittelland Lauenburg Hanover Canal Schwanheide Horst Ր • Neuruppin Wittenberge Prenzlau SOVIET Liebenwalde Havely Stendal Rathenow Vorstelde nebisfelde. Helmstedt Wriezen WASTEAST BER ZONE BERLIN D -0 POLAND Limit of Polish Administration Jueterbog Cottbus Elbe' Magdeburg Dessau FEDERAL Walkenried Halle Ellrich Kassel REPUBLIC Herdeshausen Wartha. Hoenebach Gerstungen OF GERMANY Probstzella uchhoen Ludwigstadt Gutenfuerst- Frankfur Toepen Haf Main UNCLASSIFIED Boundaries are not necessarily thince ! 32168 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Railroad Canal Autobahn Road Air Corridor ▲ Allied Control Points for Allied Traffic: Soviet Interzonal Border Crossing Points: West IILES/ KILOMETERS 100 East STA

1. Berlin f. All Soviet weapons intro- duced into Cuba last year have been withdrawn or turned over to the Cubans. The only significant excep- tion is the SAM system. (Includes INTERCEPTS)

a. We have had an indication that Soviet harassment of Allied ac- cess routes to West Berlin will shift this weekend to the air corridors.

b. The Soviet man at the Ber- lin air traffic control center told the Allied representatives yesterday that Soviet transports would be using the air corridors for brief flights during the next five weekends.

c. Moscow has tried on a num- ber of past occasions to assert its right to restrict Allied use of the air corridors. In early 1962, the Soviets attempted to reserve "blocks" of air space for their own use. have since demanded that Western flights stay between stipulated al- titudes, that we file flight plans in advance and provide prior notice of border-crossing times. They

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

5. } Iraq-Syria- UAR d. This sort of harassment stopped in the spring of 1962 when Soviet leaders became convinced that the US was interested in a serious discussion of a Berlin settle- ment. Moscow may hope that the threat of more of this sort of har- assment will jog the US into talks on Berlin.

a. It now appears that Presi- dent Arif's role in last Monday's coup in Baghdad may have been vir- tually that of a bystander.

b. According to our latest in- formation, Arif was wakened early that morning and given five minutes to join up. Tahir Yahya, now prime minister, was reportedly the orga- nizer.

c. Whatever Arif's role may have been, the coup was primarily an effort by the Iraqi Army to cur- tail the activities of the extreme wing of the Baath Party. The Baath is an Arab nationalist political or- ganization, active throughout the Arab world, which has been ruling Iraq and Syria.

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

d. The coup group has not thrown all Baathists out of the government; there are party members in the new cabinet.

e. Syrian Baathists have wel- comed this retention of their Iraqi brothers. Their attitude springs from the recognition that the Baath in Syria cannot stay afloat without support from Iraq. Even so, we hear talk of coup plotting in Damascus.

f. The reaction of Nasir's Egypt, which passionately desires to see the Baath go under, has been exactly the opposite. Cairo has been backing off its all-out support for the coup ever since the new cabinet was announced. (Includes INTERCEPTS)

For The President Only - Top Secret

33741 TYURATAM MONGOLIA CHINA PHILIPPINE LANDS SOVIET EXTENDED RANGE IMPACT AREAS USSR 00 ARCTIC OCEAN. BERING SEA SEA OF NOKHOTSK VLADIVOSTOK SEA OF JAPAN KOREA TSUSHIMA JAPAN APPROX. 4900 NM APPROX. 6500 NM NORTHERN IMPACT AREA Midway Istands Johnston Island CANADA HAWAIIAN ISLANDS UNITED STATES SOUTHERN IMPACT AREA 1 OCEAN : PACIFIC AUSTRALIA L L.. 160 L L TOP SECRET DINAR 1. L

NOTES A. USSR New activity involving Soviet range instru- mentation ships in the Pacific appears to be forth- coming. Three instrumentation ships left Petropav- lovsk 12 days ago and are apparently headed for the more distant Pacific impact area, 6,500 miles from Tyuratam. We are looking for extended range ICBM tests but we do not exclude a space event. There has so far been no announcement closing the area. (INTERCEPTS)

B. Congo-USSR Soviet embassy personnel have not yet left Leopoldville, but their departure is expected momentarily. They were ordered out of the country after the Congolese turned up good documentary evi- dence of their complicity in anti-government plots. One of the items taken off a Soviet diplomat the other day was a letter from an anti-Adoula leader now in Brazzaville asking for funds and arms to over- throw the Leopoldville government.

C. Britain The Labor Party scored again in the Dundee West by-election Thursday, increasing its 1959 majority of 719 to a thumping 4,955. Heartened by this, Labor is now pushing for general elections at once. Prime Minister Home is not likely to accede.

D. Ecuador The military junta which has run Ecuador since July may be about to come unstuck. We have a report that one of the less savory members of the group, air force Colonel Freiles, will try to take over full control this weekend. We are not sure of the reliability of this report, but Freiles is known to have been making motions in this direction.

For The President Only - Top Secret (Cont'd)

Ο SOVIET EARTH SATELLITE VEHICLES COSMOS SERIES 1962-1963 SECRET 1962 APPROXIMATE ΤΙΜΕ LAUNCH PERIOD APOGEE PERIGEE ORBITAL OF LAUNCH (GMT) SITE (MINUTES) (Ν.Μ.) (Ν.Μ.) INCLINATION STATUS Cosmos 1 (Sputnik 13) 12:00:00 (EST.) Decayed 16 Mar '62 Kapustin Yar 96.35 529 117 490 25 May '62 Cosmos 2 1715:18 Decayed (Sputnik 14) 6 Apr '62 Kapustin Yar 102.5 842 115 49° 19-20 Aug '63 Cosmos 3 (Sputnik 15) 0400:12 24 Apr '62 Decayed Kapustin Yar 93.8 389 124 490 17 Oct.162 Cosmos 4 (Sputnik 16) 1002:56 26 Apr '62 Recovered Tyuratam 90.6 178 161 65° 29 Apr 62 Cosmos 5 0259:49 Decayed (Sputnik 17) 28 May '62 Kapustin Yar 102.75 865 110 49° 2 May '63 Cosmos 6 (Sputnik 18) 1600:00 (EST.) 30 June '62 Decayed Kapustin Yar 90.6 194 148 49° 8 Sept '62 * Cosmos 7 (Sputnik 19) Cosmos 8 0918:30 28 July '62 0500:00 (EST.) Recovered Tyuratam 90.1 199 113 65° 1 Aug 162 (Sputnik 22) 18 Aug '62 Kapustin Yar 92.93 326 138 49° Decayed 17 Aug 163 Cosmos 9 (Sputnik 26) 0940:00 Recovered 27 Sept '62 Tyuratam 90.9 191 163 65° 1 Oct '62 Cosmos 10 (Spütnik 27) 0900:01 (EST.) Recovered 17 Oct 162 Tyuratam 90.2 205 113 65° 21 Oct 162 Cosmos 11 0655:00 (EST.) (Sputnik 28) Cosmos 12 (Sputnik 32) Decayed 20 Oct 162 Kapustin Yar 96.1 497 132 49° 6 June '63 0924:40 22-Dec '62 • Tyuratam 90.45 243 114 65°. Recovered 30 Dec '62 : 1963 Cosmos 13. (Sputnik 34) Cosmos 14: (Sputnik 36) Cosmos 15 1059:59 13. Apr 163 0830:00 Recovered 21 Mar '63 Tyuratam 89.77 182 '. 111 64°-58" 29 Mar '63 Kapustin Yar 92.1 276 143 48° 57" Decayed 29 Aug 163 0829:58 Recovered (Sputnik 37) 22 Apr '63 Tyuratam 89.77 200 93 65° (Sputnik 38)... Cosmos 16 Cosmos 17 (Sputnik 39) Cosmos 18 (Sputnik 40)... Cosmos 19 (Sputnik 43) Cosmos-20 1034:07 24 May 163 0600:00 (EST.) 6 Aug 163 Kapustin Yar 0850:00 (EST.) 28 Apr. 163 Tyuratam 90.4 218 112 65° 01" 0300:00 (EST.) 22 May '63 : Kapustin Yar 94.8 425 140 49° ! Tyuratam 89.44 163 113 65° 01" 92.2 280 146 490 27 April '63 Recovered 5 May '63 In orbit, silent since 31 May 63 Recovered 2 June '63 In orbit, transmitting (Sputnik 44) 0929:58 18 Oct '63 Tyuratam 89.55 : 168 : 111 65° Recovered 26 Oct 163 Failure 24 Oct 63 Kapustin Yar Cosmos 21 (Sputnik 46) 0623:39 11 Nov '63 Tyuratam 88.5 124 105 64° 50" Decayed 14 Nov '63 Cosmos 22 1034:25 (Sputnik 47) Tyuratam 90.3 211 Recovered 16 Nov '63 111 64°56" 22 Nov '63 - T 1

E. Thailand Prime Minister Sarit, who suffers from an incurable liver disease, is failing. Doctors attending him, including one of our own, give him no more than six months more. Sarit has attempted to arrange for an orderly succession when he does go. The chances of this are not good; Thai poli- ticians and military figures are already jostling one another for position.

F. USSR Cosmos 22, launched a week ago, was recovered yesterday. It is the eleventh unmanned satellite to be recovered. All recoverable satellites have been launched from Tyuratam, the main Soviet missile test center, and recovered after three to ten days aloft. A series of non-recoverable satellites has been fired from Kapustin Yar. (See Chart) (INTERCEPTS)

For The President Only - Top Secret