THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 10 JUNE 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006015132
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 10, 1976

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The President's Daily Brief
June 10, 1976
To
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. I 1652
exemption category 513(11.12),(3/
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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June 10, 1976
Table of Contents
Lebanon: Syria has agreed to accept Algerian and Libyan troops
to "assist" in peace-keeping efforts in Lebanon but seems
determined not to bow to Arab pressures for a dilution of
Damascus' role in that country. (Page 1)
USSR-Syria: The Soviets are publicly and privately voicing their
dissatisfaction with Syrian actions in Lebanon but have
given no sign that they plan to exert direct pressure on Da-
mascus. (Page 3)
Mediterranean: Soviet exercises in the eastern Mediterranean 25X1
parently have ended. (Page 4)
Spain: The government is confident that it has the votes in t5X1
Cortes to pass the remainder of its reform program. (Page 5)
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USSR
Thailand:
(Page 7)
Ethiopia-Sudan: Peasant forces recruited to fight separatist
guerrillas in Eritrea Province continue to gather at the
border; Sudanese President Numayri has promised to try again
to get the Eritreans to accept Addis Ababa's peace proposals.
(Page 8)
Notes: Cuba-Angola; Angola; USSR-Philippines (Page 9)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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LEBANON: Syria has
agreed to accept Alge-
rian and Libyan troops
to "assist" in peace-
keeping efforts in Leba-
non, according to a Syr-
ian government spokes-
man. Damascus seems
determined not to bow,
however, to Arab pres-
sures for a dilution of
Syria's military role
in Lebanon.
Syrian Foreign Minister Khaddam
finally arrived in Cairo yester-
day for the Arab League meeting,
and apparently was able to qualify
further the League's resolution
on a joint Arab peace-keeping
force for Lebanon. According to
the new ground rules, "all par-
ties" involved in the dispute must
agree on the size of the force.
Damascus' statement yesterday that
it will accept Algerian and Libyan
forces suggests that the Syrians
intend to use their veto?to block
the League's earlier plan for a
broad force composed of troops
from Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the Pal-
estine Liberation Organization, in
addition to Libya, Algeria, and
Syria.
Khaddam apparently was also able
to persuade his colleagues to in-
clude in the resolution a state-
ment that the PLO must adhere to
previous agreements with the Leba-
nese government that regulate Pal-
estinian freedoms. These agree-
ments prohibit the Palestinians
from bearing arms outside the ref-
ugee camps and limit the size and
type of weapons inside the camps.
Although the Syrians almost cer-
tainly recognize that the agree-
ments cannot be fully implemented,
reference to them in the resolu-
tion is a direct slap at the PLO
and would seem to rule out Pales-
tinian participation in any peace-
keeping arrangements.
It is not clear that Syria intends
to permit even the Algerian and
--continued
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Syria's agreement to
share its role in Leba-
non at least nominally
with Algeria and Libya
appears to be carefully
calculated to minimize
Arab interference with-
out totally alienating
other Arab states.
Although Syria has tac-
itly accepted the
League's call for a
cease- fire 7>
Libyan contingents to enter Leba-
non. Syria has announced that
these troops are to arrive in Da-
mascus--implying that Syria can
thereby control their movements
and their armament.
Three Libyan C-130 transport air-
craft arrived in Damascus yester-
day morning, possibly with the Lib-
yan contingent on board. There is
no indication that Algerian troops
have begun to move.
Syria is interested in obtaining
financial assistance from Libya,
and both Algeria and Libya are use-
ful to Damascus in keeping Iraq
and Egypt at bay.
Iraq has been trying since mid-May,
through the offices of Algeria and
Libya, to persuade Syria to permit
Iraqi troops to enter Lebanon or
Syria. Iraq was pointedly omitted
from the Arab League's list of po-
tential participants for a pan-"b
force for Lebanon. 25X1
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/ The Syr-
ians have established a new large
command post just inside the Syr-
ian border opposite Al Masna, pre-
sumably to control military opera-
tions in Lebanon.
Fighting was heavy yesterday near
the southern port city of Sidon,
long a stronghold of radical Pal-
estinian and Lebanese leftist
--continued
2
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Syrian forces reportedly
are gradually establish-
ing control in the Trip-
oli area, the predomi-
nantly Christian areas
north of Zahlah, and in
the Bekaa Valley.
USSR-SYRIA: The Soviets
are voicing their dis-
satisfaction with Syrian
actions in Lebanon but
have given no sign that
they plan to exert di-
rect pressure on Damascus.
groups. Some Syrian forces may
have bypassed Sidon and moved
north to Khaldah. Syrian and Saiqa
troops have been fighting independ-
ent fedayeen and Lebanese leftists
there for control of access roads
into Beirut and the nearby inter-
national airport.
A Syrian armored brigade has been
moving slowly toward Beirut on the
main Damascus-Beirut highway. Its
advance may have been halted near
Alayh, approximately seven miles
east of the capital.
In the east, they are disarming
and in some cases arresting rem-
nants of fedayeen and Lebanese
Arab Army units that had been re-
sisting Syrian occupation.
The Syrians are withdrawing some
units of the 5,000-man Palestine
Liberation Army, which is composed
of Palestinians controlled by Da-
mascus, from areas of heavy fight-
ing. Syria hopes this move will
forestall massive desertions fr25X1
the force.
A Tass statement issued yesterday
questioned Syrian intentions in
Lebanon. It stated that although
Damascus had "time and again"
claimed to be seeking only to stop
the bloodshed, the fighting had
intensified and was jeopardizing
Palestinian interests.
--continued
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LEBANON
ISRAEL
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MEDITERRANEAN: Soviet
naval exercises in the
eastern Mediterranean
apparently have ended.
Meanwhile, France is
gradually increasing
its naval presence in
the Mediterranean to
underscore French po-
litical and economic
interests there.
Far more blunt criticism was voiced
by the senior Soviet military at-
tache in Damascus in a conversa-
tion with his US counterpart Tues-
day. The Soviet officer described
his embassy as "quite confused and
unhappy" over the commitment of
major Syrian units in Lebanon be-
cause their apparent intention was
the destruction of the Palestinian-
leftist coalition.
The attache said the entry of reg-
ular Syrian forces into Lebanon
last week was designed to embar-
rass Premier Kosygin. He complained
that Damascus had not taken Moscow
into its confidence and that no
Soviet advisers were with the Syr-
ian troops. He labeled the Syrian
actions as dangerous and said they
carried a considerable risk of
failure.
The only prescription for a reso-
lution of the crisis offered pub-
licly by the Soviet Union was in-
cluded in the Tass statement. It
called for all sides to stop fight-
ing immediately. Moscow presuma-
bly still hopes to find a way out
of the Lebanese problem that does
not disrupt its ties with either
the Palestinians or Syrians.
Many of the large Soviet surface
warships involved in the exercises
have moved into the northern Aegean
Sea, and some have returned to the
Black Sea.
The impending return to the east-
ern Mediterranean of the US amphib-
ious task force now near Spain--to
join a US carrier group now there--
undoubtedly will again trigger in-
tense Soviet surveillance.
--continued
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SPAIN: The government'
is confident that it
has the votes in the
Cortes to pass the re-
mainder of its reform'
program, even though
it suffered a setback
yesterday.
The French aircraft carrier Foch
left the Atlantic yesterday for
its new home port at Toulon in the
Mediterranean. Another French
carrier also is based at Toulon.
France is likely to add a guided
missile cruiser and two frigates
to its Mediterranean fleet later
this year.
The government withdrew from par-
liamentary consideration yesterday
a bill to revise the penal code.
The action was taken after news of
the murder of the mayor of a Basque
town so angered members of parlia-
ment that there was doubt the bill
would pass.
The momentum for reform has not
been seriously slowed. The gov-
ernment's hand was strengthened
by King Juan Carlos' pronouncements
supporting liberalization during
his US visit last week. The gov-
ernment also now has the support
of a Christian Democratic group
that previously had been critical
of the reform program.
The rightists, however, will still
put up a stiff fight against crea-
tion of a bicameral legislature,
establishment of a free trade union
organization, and enactment of a
new election law.
The left and center opposition
parties are displeased that the
new law on political parties does
not legalize the Communist Party.
They argue that the Communist Party
should be allowed to compete openly
because this would reveal its nar-
row base of support and would re-
duce the possibility of Communist
infiltration of less extreme left-
ist parties.
--continued
5
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USSR:
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The government is adamant in refus-
ing to legalize the Communists now
but has let it be known that once
a democratic system is well estab-
lished, legalization of the Commu-
nist Party could be reconsidered.
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--continued
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