THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 NOVEMBER 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014948
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: November 7, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
November 7, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of C.O. 11652
exemption category 5B(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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November 7, 1975
Table of Contents
Spanish Sahara: The dispute is building toward a
violent showdown. (Page 1)
Lebanon: Efforts by warring factions to rearm them-
selves threaten both the cease-fire and the
uneasy reconciliation between Prime Minister
Karami and Interior Minister Shamun. (Page 2)
Bangladesh: Major General Zia seized power early
this morning. (Page 3)
USSR: The message being conveyed by the Soviet
press on personnel shifts in Washington is
that the changes are likely to be favorable
for the USSR. (Page 4)
Portugal: Prime Minister Azevedo's government may
face new challenges in the next few days as
extremist elements recognize that their oppor-
tunities for attaining power are slipping
away. (Page 5)
China:
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Notes: USSR - Anniversary Speech; USSR-Angola; UN;
USSR-Somalia (Pages 9 and 10)
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SPANISH SAHARA
Morocco's threat last night to break
the agreement with Spain limiting its mass
march into Spanish Sahara, coupled with
a stern warning from Algeria that the Mo-
roccans must be forced to withdraw soon,
sets the stage for a violent showdown.
Morocco last night "unofficially" informed the
Spanish that the agreement to stop the march a few
miles inside Spanish Sahara had "lost its value" be-
cause Madrid had publicized it. Unless Spain agrees
to a new round of negotiations on the fate of the
territory, the Moroccans say the march will continue
today. The Moroccans indicated that if Spanish
forces fire on the marchers, Rabat will find it dif-
ficult to avoid intervening with its own forces.
The Moroccan ultimatum preceded the adoption
last night of a UN Security Council resolution call-
ing for the withdrawal of the marchers, but there is
no sign that Rabat has been deterred by the resolu-
tion.
Algeria last night issued what Ambassador
Parker interprets to be an ultimatum threatening
intervention in the disputed territory. President
Boumediene summoned the ambassadors of all permanent
Security Council members and told them that some
concrete action must be taken to stop the Moroccan
march. With the US ambassador, he was somewhat more
direct, noting that he believes the US has enough
influence with King Hassan to force him to stop the
march simply by telling him to do so.
Satellite photographs taken in late October
confirm an Algerian buildup of military equipment
at two border cities.
Algerian forces are in position to move against
Morocco, and Ambassador Parker says he has no doubt
they will do so if Hassan does not recall his people.
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LEBANON
Beirut was relatively quiet yester-
day, but efforts by warring factions to
rearm themselves threaten both the cease-
fire and the uneasy reconciliation between
Prime Minister Karami and Interior Minis-
ter Shamun.
A showdown between Karami on the one hand
and Shamun and President Franjiyah on the other
is developing over attempts by Christian forces to
unload a shipment of arms that arrived Tuesday at
Juniyah, 12 miles north of Beirut. Karami com-
plained to Ambassador Godley yesterday that his
order to army units to halt unloading of the ship'
cargo was not being followed.
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BANGLADESH
Major General Zia ur-Rahman seized
power in Bangladesh early this morning.
Major General Musharraf, who had taken
over earlier this week, may have been
killed.
The 39-year-old Zia is evidently highly popu-
lar among army troops; he played a leading role in
Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, and it
was he who first broadcast the country's declara-
tion of independence. The US embassy reports that
Zia's take-over seems to have aroused more enthusi-
asm among civilians as well as among the troops
than did either Musharraf's power play earlier this
week or the coup last August.
India, which was caught off guard by Mushar-
raf's move, seems to have been surprised again.
The continuing instability in Dacca increases the
chance that India will try directly to influence
events in Bangladesh. Indian officials have indi-
cated in recent months that continued turmoil in
Bangladesh or a massive influx of refugees into
India, such as happened in 1971, could result in
Indian military intervention.
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USSR
Soviet press coverage of this week's
personnel shifts in Washington has been
essentially factuaZ, but the message be-
ing conveyed to the Soviet audience is
that the changes are likely to be favor-
able for the USSR.
In covering your press conference, Moscow has
concentrated on continuity in policy toward the So-
viet Union and the mutually advantageous nature of
the US-Soviet relationship. The Soviets have also
been careful to include your statement that Secre-
tary Kissinger will continue to play the dominant
role in US foreign policy.
Izvestia's Washington correspondent reported
your remarks on pursuing strategic arms limitation
talks with the USSR but omitted the statement that
the US is not negotiating under pressure of time.
Borrowing heavily from US media interpreta-
tions to explain the changes, Izvestia described
Secretary Schlesinger's "removal" as unexpected
but noted "well-known differences with the secre-
tary of state, particularly on the detente question
and the SALT talks." It also cited clashes between
the defense secretary and congressional advocates
of reduced military spending.
The departure of Director Colby was attributed
solely to efforts to "repair the badly tattered
public image of the intelligence community."
Vice President Rockefeller's "self-elimina-
tion" from the 1976 race was viewed as improving
your room for maneuver in response to pressure
from the political right.
The Soviets have generally limited public com-
ment on the nominees to brief career sketches.
The Soviet military daily Red Star, however, car-
ried US press assessments of Donald Rumsfeld as a
member of the "moderate wing" of the Republican
Party.
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PORTUGAL
Prime Minister Azevedo's government
may face new challenges in the next few
days as extremists recognize that their
opportunities for attaining power are
slipping away.
Although many problems remain, Azevedo has had
considerable success in asserting the government's
authority and demonstrating his own popular support.
He has also reduced Communist influence in the media
and the military, and he is determined to purge Com-
munists and their allies from key positions in the
government.
Azevedo's success has put the Communists on
the defensive. Communist Party leader Cunhal had
a long private session with President Costa Gomes
on Tuesday. Costa Gomes has been relatively re-
sponsive to Communist pleas in the past, and it is
likely that Cunhal appealed to the President for
support.
The Communists are also resorting to street
action in attempts to recoup some of their losses.
--Communist transport workers occupied the of-
fice of the labor minister on Wednesday to pro-
test the "purge" of leftists from the ministry's
staff.
--Leftist telephone workers occupied Lisbon's
main post office yesterday, demanding the dis-
missal of five administrators with alleged
right-wing connections.
--Communist and Socialist workers battled
Wednesday night for control of one of Lisbon's
main newspapers.
--Leftist mobs protesting the government's
drive to reduce Communist influence in the
media yesterday attempted to seize the in-
formation ministry.
(continued)
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In addition to testing the regime's will, these
disturbances may have a more devious purpose. They
may be intended to provoke a coup attempt by those
people within the government that have become in-
creasingly impatient with the lack of discipline in
Portuguese society. The Communists are betting
that such an attempt would not be successful and
that their own fortunes would rise in the after-
math.
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CHINA
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NOTES
Soviet Politburo member Pelshe, who delivered
the traditional speech yesterday on the anniversary
of the Bolshevik Revolution, made only cursory ref-
erences to relations with the US.
Pelshe's party responsibilities are primarily
on the domestic side, but even so his treatment of
relations with the US was brief for this key aspect
of Soviet foreign policy. He said nothing about
the contribution of summitry to the relationship
or about General Secretary Brezhnev's next trip to
the US. He did endorse the strategic arms limita-
tions talks, but lumped them with the force reduc-
tion talks in another part of his speech.
Soviet
Angola
(continued)
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UN General Assembly debate on the resolution
condemning Zionism as a form of racism--passed by
a subsidiary committee last month--threatens to
strain traditional UN voting alignments and further
erode support of the organization by some of the
developed countries.
The Arab countries themselves are divided in
their support of the original resolution.
In
any event, amendments to the resolution probably
would not substantially change alignment for or
against it. Many countries may opt for abstention
as the safest course. The only hope at present for
defusing the issue lies in motions to defer the vote
until the end of the session or to postpone the en-
tire debate until next year. Although not promising,
this tactic has some chance for success.
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Top Secret
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