THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 19 AUGUST 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014879
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: August 19, 1975

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012700010059-2
The President's Daily Brief
August 19, 1975
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012700010059-2
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012700010059-2
Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category, 5B(
declassified milli on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
August 19, 1975
Table of Contents
Portugal: Prime Minister Goncalves' public appear-
ance last night reportedly was the first in a
series to be staged in an effort to drum up
popular support for him. (Page 1)
Israel: Right-wing critics of the government's ne-
gotiating position with Egypt are preparing
to mount demonstrations to coincide with Sec-
retary Kissinger's visit to the Middle East.
(Page 3)
Notes: Libya; Fedayeen (Page 4)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
PORTUGAL
Prime Minister Goncalves' public
appearance last night--a rare occur-
rence since the challenge to his leader-
ship began--came on the heels of sev-
eral days of emergency meetings with
his cabinet and renewed efforts by
President Costa Gomes to resolve dif-
ferences among the various factions
of the ruling Armed Forces Movement0
the labor
union rally, at which the Prime Min-
ister spoke, was the first in a series
of public demonstrations to drum up
popular support for him.
The anti-communist group led by Major Melo
Antunes is continuing its efforts to reach a com-
promise with the radical leftist group of General
Otelo de Carvalho. Carvalho reportedly is seeking
assurances that the revolution will not veer to
the right if the present regime is ousted. A
source close to Antunes has told Ambassador Carlucci
that this week will be decisive as to whether a
compromise can be arranged.
One key officer who has remained in the back-
ground during most of the present power struggle
is Admiral Rosa Coutinho. He began a two-week
visit to Latin America yesterday that will take
him first to Cuba and then to the conference of
nonaligned nations in Lima. Rosa Coutinho's ab-
sence during this critical period may permit him
to avoid taking sides in the current struggle and
to maintain substantial influence whatever the
eventual outcome.
Goncalves' Communist Party supporters have
scheduled a rally today in the northern city of
Porto. A brief general strike, called for today
by the Communist-dominated trade union confedera-
tion to protest the recent wave of anti-communist
violence, has been scaled down to apply only in
the Lisbon area.
(continued)
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Security forces yesterday fired on a mob that
attacked and destroyed a Communist Party headquar-
ters in a small town north of Porto. One person
was killed and 100 were injured.
Violence against the Communists has spread to
the island of Terceira in the Azores, where thou-
sands of farmers yesterday destroyed offices of
left-wing parties and beat up Communists in the
streets; 15 persons were injured. The Portuguese
contingent at Lajes air base--where the US main-
tains facilities--has been placed on alert.
Anti-communist sentiment in the Azores has
been a key motivating factor in the islands' drive
for independence from the mainland. Recurring
demonstrations at the present time could be ex-
ploited by separatists to trigger an independence
declaration.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ISRAEL
Right-wing critics of the Israeli
government's negotiating position with
Egypt are preparing to mount widespread
demonstrations to coincide with Secre-
tary Kissinger's visit to the Middle
East this week. There is no evidence
to suggest that such tactics will dis-
suade the government from its chosen
course of action, or that right-wing
pressures will prevent ratification
by the Knesset of an eventual agree-
ment worked out by the team composed
of Prime Minister Rabin, Defense Min-
ister Peres, and Foreign Minister Allon.
Rabin could at some point, however,
use the demonstrations to justify Tel
Aviv's refusal to make further conces-
sions.
A substantial and growing number of Israelis
are clearly uneasy about the outcome of the nego-
tiations with Egypt. They fear that Secretary
Kissinger's arrival in Tel Aviv Thursday signals
intensified US pressure on Israel to make additional
concessions to Egypt without an adequate guarantee
from Cairo against a new attack. The most recent
Israeli public opinion poll shows a sharp decline
since April in the number of Israelis who think
that Washington's Middle East policy supports Is-
rael.
Some of this uncertainty is also reflected in
the cabinet. The conservative minister of religious
affairs told reporters after last Sunday's five-hour
cabinet meeting that the debate centered on the
timing of Secretary Kissinger's trip to the Middle
East. The minister thought further "clarifications"
in Washington were needed.
Rabin defended
the Secretary's visit
on the grounds
negotiations have now reached an "advanced" stage.
that the
-
an interim agreement with Egypt would
not only provide a chance to improve Arab-Israeli
relations but would also lead to "unprecedented" US-
Israeli understanding.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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NOTES
Details concerning the recent coup attempt in
Libya
Qadhafi's control apparently was never in ser-
ious jeopardy; the army remained loyal and the major
cities were calm.
Tension
in Tripoli has relaxed considerably over the last
several days. Border posts have been reopened to
Libyan travelers, and the ban on Egyptians coming
into Libya, first imposed in late May, has now been
lifted. An indirect reference to the abortive coup
in an editorial in one of Libya's leading newspapers
warned of a possible purge. This warning was under-
scored by a series of council decrees issued over
the weekend making subversion, contact with foreign
powers, and other political crimes punishable by
life imprisonment and, in some cases, death.
Leaders of the less radical fedayeen organiza-
tions, including the Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion, may adopt more extreme policies in the event
that another Egyptian-Israeli disengagement is im-
plemented.
PLO Chairman Arafat, according to a pro-fedayeen
newspaper in Beirut, has said that his organization
"rejects the American settlement and will resist it
through the barrels of our guns." Although such
rhetoric is usually intended for internal fedayeen
consumption, it might in this case presage an in-
crease in terrorist activity designed to bolster
Arafat's diminished prestige. Syria's position on
the settlement, however, remains crucial to Arafat.
If the Egyptians are able to limit Syrian criticism
of the settlement, the Palestinians will have little
choice but to follow Damascus' lead. If Syria be-
comes disillusioned with Egypt and abets Palestinian
obstructionism, Arafat and his associates may in-
itiate a new round of terrorist activity in Israel
and abroad.
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Top Secret
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