THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 OCTOBER 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014939
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: October 28, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
October 28, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
October 28, 1975
Table of Contents
Lebanon: The fighting entered a new stage over the
weekend, as Christian and Muslim extremists
for the first time battled for control of neu-
tral areas in central Beirut. (Page 1)
Spain: Most Spanish officials, convinced that Gen-
eral Franco will not recover, are focusing on
the post-Franco period. (Page 3)
Spanish Sahara: Both Spain and Morocco are express-
ing optimism that their countries can reach
agreement over the territory following the visit
of Moroccan Foreign Minister Laraki to Madrid
last week. (Page 4)
Notes: USSR; China (Page 6)
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LEBANON
The fighting entered a new stage over
the weekend, as Christian and Muslim ex-
tremists for the first time battled for
control of neutral areas in central Beirut.
Until the weekend, the two sides had been stay-
ing generally within their respective enclaves,
shelling nearby areas controlled by their opponents
but venturing out only for hit-and-run bombing at-
tacks in the commercial areas of the city. The ex-
pansion of the area of hostilities has reduced
further the limited area over which the Lebanese
government has effective control. The cease-fire
announced by Prime Minister Karami after an emer-
gency cabinet meeting Sunday afternoon was immedi-
ately and widely disregarded.
So
far, the army has been used only to secure the
road from the city center to the international air-
port, to control selected government buildings and
installations in Beirut, and in a very limited way
to replace internal security service units on the
periphery of the city.
The spread of fighting apparently represents
only the continuing deterioration of the general
security situation rather than the introduction of
any additional groups into the hostilities. The
major fedayeen groups, including Fatah and Saiqa,
have not yet become
directly involved in the fighting. Fatah head-
quarters in Beirut continues to admonish all Fatah
units to respect the cease-fire.
It is possible, if the security situation con-
tinues to deteriorate, that Christian army officers
will be moved by a sense of their own frustration
or President Franjiyah's ineptness to seize control
of the government, with or without Franjiyah's
(continued)
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acquiescence. In the past, such thoughts would have
been discarded by awareness among high-ranking offi-
cers that any such move would lead to civil war and
to widespread divisions within the army. Given the
current trend, however, these officers could soon
conclude that Lebanon is already in civil war, and
that there is more to lose by waiting than by acting.
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SPAIN
Most Spanish officials, convinced
that General Franco will not recover,
are focusing on the post-Franco period.
The first clues as to the intentions of
Prince Juan Carlos in pressing for re-
form should appear in the speech he is
expected to make after the transfer-of-
power ceremonies.
Juan Carlos has a good chance of winning com-
manding support if he develops a policy that clearly
departs from the tenets of Franco's rule without
appearing to be an abrupt rupture with that era.
He will have to suggest gradual progress toward
establishing a freer political system but indicate
clearly that this evolution will be tightly con-
trolled.
There will be some trouble, regardless of how.
skillfully Juan Carlos manages the transition period.
The far-left Antifascist and Patriotic Revolu-
tionary Front may intensify its terrorist campaign
when Juan Carlos assumes power. Fifteen alleged
members of this group were arrested over the week-
end.
Violence from the extreme right may also in-
crease. On Sunday, a right-wing group publicly
ordered 17 prominent Catalans associated with left-
ist political organizations to leave the country
within 24 hours after Franco's death or face death
themselves.
The military and, to a greater extent, the
police are maintaining a low-level alert.
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SPANISH SAHARA
Both Spain and Morocco are express-
ing optimism that their countries can
reach agreement on the Spanish Sahara
following the visit of Moroccan Foreign
Minister Laraki to Madrid late last week.
A high-ranking Spanish official claims that the
dispute within the Spanish government between Prime
Minister Arias, who favored ceding the Sahara to
Morocco in return for guarantees regarding Spanish
interests in the territory, and Foreign Minister
Cortina, who wanted to grant self-determination to
the area, has been settled in favor of Arias. The
Spaniards are being very tight-lipped, however,
about their terms for settlement.
The Spanish information minister has announced
that a bill has been submitted to the Cortes that
would empower the government to take any action
deemed necessary to decolonize the Sahara. The
minister also stated that Spain stands by its pol-
icy, communicated to the UN Secretary General last
May, to decolonize under UN auspices while continu-
ing discussions with interested parties. Should
the UN be unwilling to give its blessing to Spain's
action, Madrid reserves the right to take unilat-
eral steps.
Morocco seems pleased with the latest round of
talks with Spain. In a statement on October 25,
Foreign Minister Laraki said the two governments
discussed ways of settling the dispute peacefully,
in accordance with the UN Security Council resolu-
tion of October 22, and that Spain and Morocco were
"on the road to agreement."
Laraki made a quick trip to Mauritania on
Sunday, and his Mauritanian counterpart reportedly
arrived in Morocco yesterday for talks with King
Hassan. Both countries claim the Spanish Sahara and
apparently have an agreement to partition the ter-
ritory.
(continued)
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UN Secretary General Waldheim, who was author-
ized by the Security Council to undertake immediate
consultations with the parties involved, spoke with
King Hassan on Sunday and went on to Mauritania the
same day. He was in Algiers yesterday and arrived
in Madrid last night.
Algeria, for its part, questions how bilateral
negotiations between Rabat and Madrid can be recon-
ciled with last week's Security Council resolution
calling for discussions among all interested parties--
a formulation that would allow Algeria to participate
in any talks. Algeria is increasing its press at-
tacks against Morocco and is giving heavy play to
adverse world press reaction to Morocco's planned
march. The press has emphasized that Morocco's
claim to Spanish Sahara was questioned in the recent
advisory opinion of the International Court of
Justice.
Algiers is probably giving arms to the Poli-
sario Front, a pro-independence Saharan party that
Algeria has been supporting for some time. The
government may also soon allow Moroccan dissidents
living in Algeria to resume activities. At the UN,
Algerian Foreign Minister Bouteflika can be expected
to argue that the opinion of the International Court
of Justice clearly supports self-determination for
the Spanish Sahara. He is also likely to call for
consultation with the people of Spanish Sahara, as
recommended in a recent UN fact-finding report.
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NOTES
Soviets
China/
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Top Secret
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