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DECLASSIFIED
 
personnel of the missions. I thought he was a pretty first-
 
rate individual in any league. I would guess, however, that
 
he doesn't qualify as a potential successor to Tito because I think he is a man of judicial and
 
philosophical turn of mind, who is forceful and militant in his conduct of military duties,
 
but who probably would not be willing to engage in all the
 
other miscellaneous dog fights inherent in a position of poli-
 
tical leadership. I think he is a man of strong, definite ideas
 
but has neither the inclination nor the drive to try to force
 
them on other people except in an emergency, such as the present
 
one.
 
7. Velebit, Lach, and Savic
 
     There are three officiers who have been used by Tito as Partisan liaison officers with
British and American personnel. They are Colonel Velebit, who was the first liaison officer for
the MacLean mission; Colonel Lach, who is the present one; and
Major Savic, who is a kind of pinch-hitter. Velebit talks
English, French and German and is a connnunist. Lach talks French
and German and is a career soldier. Savic talks French and was
before the war a leading radiontologist, working in Paris for
Madame Curie. Savic I don't know very well. Lach is extremely
nice, very willing but not too intelligent. Velevit is very
intelligent, enjoys great prestige in top Partisan circles and
despite being the son of a rich family becmue converted to