THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 14 MAY 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006015108
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 14, 1976

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A013400010001-7
The President's Daily Brief
May 14, 1976
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. I 1652
exemption category SB( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
e 110
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May 14, 1976 25X1
Table of Contents
Thailand:
(Page 1)
Lebanon: The refusal of Christian forces in the mountains to ac-
cept a cease-fire may cause a complete collapse of the truce
in Beirut. (Page 2)
Notes: Syria; USSR; Israel; France (Pages 4 and 5)
At Annex we discuss France's defense policy as it has evolved
under President Giscard d'Estaing.
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MEDITERRANEAN
SEA
DAMASCUS
IA
559758 5-76
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LEBANON: The refusal
of Christian forces in
central Lebanon to ac-
cept a cease-fire may
cause a complete col-
lapse of the truce in
Beirut. Fighting in
the capital has esca-
lated every day this
week as leftist and Pal-
estinian forces have
retaliated against a
Christian drive on left-
ist-held territory in
the central mountains.
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Fighting in Tripoli between Syrian
forces and Iraqi-sponsored Leba-
nese and Palestinian units resumed
yesterday after a cease-fire ar-
ranged on Wednesday suddenly col-
lapsed. The Syrians now seem in-
tent on eliminating Iraqi agents
and other local troublemakers and
are pressing their attack on a num-
ber of leftist strongholds in the
area.
The US embassy has learned that
Syrian-controlled forces are also
moving against Iraqi-backed mili-
tiamen in Sidon and Tyre. The
--continued
2
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trouble in these two southern cit-
ies has raised some concern in Is-
rael that renewed tensions could
cause incidents close to the Is-
raeli border.
The rapidly deteriorating security
situation has prompted Sarkis to
cut short the traditional round of
congratulatory visits and to con-
centrate instead on engineering a
new truce. His efforts to work
out a reconciliation with leftist
leader Kamal Jumblatt apparently
are making some headway. Jumblatt
issued another statement yesterday
in which he emphasized his admira-
tion for Sarkis personally and ex-
plained that he had not backed Sar-
kis in the presidential campaign
only because of Syria's endorse-
ment of his candidacy.
We have no new information on Sar-
kis' contacts with Christian lead-
ers, who at this juncture hold the
key to salvaging the truce. A new
round of rumors in Beirut that
President Franjiyah intends to de-
lay his resignation suggests that
Sarkis may have a difficult time
gaining concessions from the Chris-
tian leaders on any new cease-fire
proposals.
3
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The Syrians appear to
be ready to approve an-
other six-month exten-
sion of the mandate for
the UN observer force
on the Golan Heights.
NOTES
The senior Syrian liaison officer
to the UN force reportedly has
told the UN commander informally
that Syria will renew the mandate.
The Syrians also have given pri-
vate assurances to Iran, which has
a contingent in the force, that
Damascus has decided to approve 25X1
another extension.
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Five or six Soviet die-
sel submarines are ap-
parently moving toward
the Mediterranean.
They probably will relieve some of
the submarines now on patrol there,
most of which have been away from
home waters for about a year. This
large-scale relief may mark a re-
turn to the six-month rotation cy-
cle used by the Soviets until 1973,
when they began making more exten-
sive use of port facilities in
Alexandria.
With the loss of access to Alex-
andria, the Soviets may now be com-
pelled to rotate their submarines
more frequently between the North-
ern Fleet and the Mediterranean,
with a consequent reduction in pa-
trol time for individual submarines.
--continued
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The Israelis are brac-
ing for another round
of Arab demonstrations
and terrorist incidents
today and tomorrow.
French
Prime Minister Rabin's adviser for
Arab affairs told our embassy yes-
terday that Israeli security forces
have been placed on alert to deal
with possible trouble. He said
they would not, however, be posted
in Israeli Arab villages in order
to avoid a repetition of the events
on March 30, when the security
forces in the villages quickly be-
came the targets of Arab viol er25)(1
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FRANCE
Ten years after France's withdrawal from NATO,
French defense policy still adheres to the Gaullist
doctrine of national independence in defense matters.
President Giscard d'Estaing has put his own imprint on
the doctrine, however, by improving Paris' working re-
lationship with NATO, by expanding the ability of French
forces to respond to crises outside as well as within
Central Europe, and by joining with his European part-
ners in an effort to enable Europe to assume greater
responsibility for its own defense.
Giscard recently re-emphasized that he is not seri-
ously considering rejoining the NATO Integrated Command.
He is encouraging a closer relationship with NATO and
the US, but he is anxious to see that cooperation takes
place on terms which recognize France, and Europe, to be
equal partners in the Alliance.
One of the most significant aspects of France's de-
fense policy under Giscard is the move toward a more di-
versified, more flexible military force capable of de-
fending French interests in both Europe and other crit-
ical areas of the world.
Nuclear Weapons
Under Giscard, French strategy still emphasizes the
importance of the country's nuclear deterrent force--the
third largest in the world. France's strategic doctrine
now centers, however, on the second-strike capability of
its ballistic missile submarines. Plans to expand
France's land-based intermediate-range ballistic missile
force have been canceled, and those missiles already de-
ployed have apparently been relegated to a less important
role.
Giscard has modified former president Pompidou's
policy regarding the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Previously, a presidential order to commit France's main
battle force carried with it the authority to use tacti-
cal nuclear weapons. Giscard, however, has stated that
when France's army is committed to battle it will have
nuclear weapons but that actual release authority can
only come directly from the president. Such a decision
increases Giscard's military options and decreases the
chances of an unauthorized or premature escalation into
nuclear warfare.
--continued
Al
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Conventional Forces
Giscard is stressing, to a greater extent than the
Gaullists ever did, the need to strengthen the conven-
tional forces by making them more flexible, mobile, and
efficient. The recently announced decisions to reorga-
nize the army and increase its share of the defense
budget reflect Paris' continuing effort to achieve these
goals.
Under Giscard, the French have begun to reorganize
their fleet. Recognizing the increased importance of
the Mediterranean and seeing an opportunity to show the
flag in the waters near the Middle East, the French re-
assigned one of their two aircraft carriers to the Medi-
terranean last fall/
The French continue to maintain the largest West-
ern naval force in the Indian Ocean. They view this
fleet as vital to the protection of the West's oil sup-
ply and commercial sea lanes. Although Paris may be
forced to abandon Djibouti--its only major naval base
in the Indian Ocean--when the French Territory of the
Afars and Issas becomes independent later this year, it
will probably continue to maintain a sizable naval con-
tingent in the ocean, possibly with the help of addi-
tional support ships.
Over the next five years, France also plans to mod-
ernize and strengthen further its navy by building the
first of 20 planned nuclear-powered attack submarines,
the country's first nuclear-powered helicopter carrier,
a sixth ballistic missile submarine, and a number of
nuclear-capable naval aircraft.
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