THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 27 OCTOBER 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006466882
• 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 27, 1976

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The President's Daily Brief
October 27, 1976
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
October 27, 1976
Table of Contents
Lebanon: The Arab summit that ended in Cairo last night affirmed
support for the Lebanese cease-fire arranged at the six-party
meeting in Riyadh last week. (Page 1)
Yugoslavia: Press commentary suggests that Yugoslav leaders were
startled that their country has become a campaign issue.
(Page 2)
Notes: USSR; Poland; Japan (Pages 4 and 5)
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MEDITERRANEAN
DAMASCUS
Gola
Heigh
620505 10-76
MILES 20
0 KILOMETERS 20
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LEBANON: The Arab sum-
mit that ended in Cairo
last night affirmed sup-
port for the Lebanese
cease-fire arranged at
the six-party meeting
in Riyadh last week.
Fighting in the south
diminished yesterday
with all sides holding
their positions.
.
Arab League Secretary General Riyad
later announced that the conserva-
tive Arab oil states--Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates,
and Qatar--would underwrite most
of the financial costs of the
peace-keeping force and that Leba-
nese President Sarkis would have
the final say on the force's com-
position.
The willingness of most of the
other Arab states to go along with
these arrangements represents an-
other victory for Syria over the
Palestine Liberation Organization,
as it will allow the Syrians to
dominate the Arab force. The PLO
had joined with the radical Arab
states in attempting to limit Syr-
ia's participation, which could
include providing as many as 25,000
of the planned 30,000-man force.
To placate the Palestinians, the
conference did reaffirm past dec-
larations that the Palestine Lib-
eration Organization is the "sole
legitimate representative of the
Palestinian people," promise to
support the Palestinian struggle
"with all means," and condemn Is-
raeli "acts of aggression" in
southern Lebanon.
Christian forces continued to shell
the Muslim town of Bint Jubayl but
claimed to have established effec-
tive control of the area between
Rumaysh and the Arqub.
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--continued
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YUGOSLAVIA: We have
not seen any official
Yugoslav reaction to
last week's Presiden-
tial debate, although
press commentary sug-
gests that Yugoslav
leaders were startled
that their country has
become a campaign issue.
* * *
In the fullest response to date,
the Zagreb Vjesnik said on Sunday
that an alleged Soviet threat to
Yugoslavia has become "an unnec-
essary but nevertheless central
issue" in the US election. The
front-page commentary quoted state-
ments by US journalists that Gov-
ernor Carter's remarks on Yugosla-
via were his "biggest error" in
the debate, and caustically scored
the Governor for his seeming in-
clination toward "one-sided lim-
itations in foreign policy."
Vjesnik was somewhat restrained on
your response, noting simply that
you "took the opportunity to pre-
serve a statesmanlike reserve" and
that you mentioned only the Korean
War--and not Yugoslavia--in your
rejoinder.
Belgrade's Politika--which is rel-
atively more staid than Vjesnik--
asked rhetorically why a hypotheti-
cal invasion by the USSR, which
has not previously "been on the
public agenda," should be raised
at this late date.
Sarajevo's main daily said that
"everyone should be told to mind
his own business and leave Yugo-
slavia to build its own future...
Yugoslavia does not need preach-
ers." Vjesnik similarly denounced
the "American penchant for fantas-
tic assumptions" and "disaster
scenarios."
--continued
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The incident probably will not al-
ter the perceptions of top Yugo-
slav leaders of the likelihood of
US military support in a confronta-
tion with Moscow. In the short-
run, the most important effect may
be to perplex the Yugoslav mili-
tary, which has been pushing for
purchases of US arms as a means
of "balancing" its sources of for-
eign equipment.
* * *
--continued
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The Soviet Central Com-
mittee yesterday elected
a new member to the
Secretariat and approved
the five-year economic
plan and next year's
budget.
The Polish leadership
is worried about a pos-
sible outbreak of vio-
lence at Warsaw Univer-
sity.
NOTES
The plenum did not remove Defense
Minister Ustinov from the Secre-
tariat, possibly indicating that
he will continue to oversee the
defense industry for the party.
His continued membership in the
Secretariat violates the USSR's
practice of not allowing members
of the leadership to hold full-
time party and government posts
simultaneously. N.A. Tikhonov,
who was promoted to first deputy
premier in early September, was
not awarded the Politburo status
that usually goes with the post.
The failure to make these changes
may reflect some disagreement
among the leaders as well as their
long-evident reluctance to make
shifts in the senior leadership.
The plenum's outcome does not pre-
clude the Supreme Soviet from an-
nouncing some changes on the gov-
ernment side.
* * *
The US embassy notes that over the
past several months there has been
a proliferation of dissident mani-
festos and increasingly open pro-
tests against regime policies.
Although students have demanded
that the party and government send
representatives to hear their griev-
ances, to date only several well-
known journalists have met with
them.
--continued
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Japan
at the
fishing negotiations
in Tokyo next month.
The regime so far has shied away
from repressive measures against
the students, and the internal se-
curity organs have kept a low pro-
file at the university in order
not to increase tensions. In the
past, both the working class and
the intellectual elite have caused
problems, but rarely at the same
time. Now these groups are con-
currently voicing serious com-
plaints against the regime.
* * *
The primary item on the agenda
will be the 200-mile US fishing
zone, which will become effective
in March. Tokyo has publicly ar-
gued that a unilaterally imposed
200-mile limit is illegal under
international law, but it almost
certainly will acquiesce in US
authority within the region.
The Japanese fishing industry is
particularly vulnerable to pres-
sures from coastal countries be-
cause it harvests 45 percent of
its catch within 200 miles of for-
eign shores. Thirteen percent of
Japan's catch comes from within
'\ 200 miles of US shores.
N
,
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