CIA publishes intriguing report: After Tito's death only the Army will remain, Croats are dismantling SFRY

The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) declassified its maps in mid-December, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the intelligence cartographic center. It began operating in October 1941, while the CIA did not yet exist, but it was important because of the war that was already raging in Europe, which had also struck the American shores, Patria reports.

The maps are made in line with key world crises, so a precise map of Cuba from 1962, at the time of the outbreak of the missile crisis, can be seen. The former Yugoslavia became increasingly interesting in the 1970s, and a particularly intriguing CIA report from November 20 of that year speaks of the strengthening of decentralization and predicts that because of this, "stability in the post-Tito period is unclear."

"The aspirations of Croats for an independent Croatia are the main source of tension in the Yugoslav political system," it states.

Croats are nationalists, with the exception of Dalmatians who are closer to a unified state. A particularly indicative sentence highlights: "After Tito's death only the Army will remain," speaking of the increasingly strong role of the republics.

Slovenia was also seen as a republic inclined to ties with the West, but too small for discord.

Croatia, however, can do so, and the key argument is the economic contribution of Croatia to the then federation, which is disproportionate to its influence. Even then, Yugoslavia was claimed to be definable as a Greater Serbia.

Maps of the SFRY appear from 1981, after Tito's death, because the CIA was already aware in 1970 that Yugoslavia would fall apart, Jutarnji writes.