DEVELOPMENTS IN EGYPT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001100100082-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 5, 2008
• Sequence Number: 82
• Publication Date: May 14, 1971
• Content Type: IM

 ?-I/L/__I / fri - / 7.7 a/ I ( SECRET
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OCI No. 1758/71
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
14 May 1971
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
DEVELOPMENTS IN EGYPT
(As of 1500 hours)
1. There is no overt sign of resistance to
the bloodless purge that President Sadat is conduct-
ing. Aside from'some increase in police strength
on the streets of Cairo last evening, no unusual
security measures have been reported.
the US Interests Section in Cairo believe tnat
Sadat has effectively destroyed his opposition and
do not anticipate any counter moves. The Associated
Press says that many Egyptians received the news of
the purge with "trisible *delight.
2. Sadat has reportedly moved to undercut
potential resistance by placing under house arrest
a number of senior officers previously on the staffs
of the ministers of interior and war. The minister
of war and 23 high-ranking officers formerly assigned
to his office are said to have been detained, as
well as the ex - chef de cabinet of ousted Interior
Minister Goma and the former chief of genera].
security.
3. The editor-in-chief of Cairo's left-lean-
ing dai.ly newspaper, Gumhuriyya, is also said to be
under house arrest. His newspaper is considered to
be an organ of the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) and
is one of the forums that Sadat's critics in the
ASU have used in their indirect attacks on the
President and,his policies.
r,
'-25X1
State Dept. review completed
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4? In his address to the nation today, Sadat
alleged that he had foiled what amounted to a "coup"
attempt by his political opponents. He accused All
Sabri and Goma of leading the plot and said they
had sent men to the radio station on Thursday night
to prevent him from announcing a referendum on "party re-
fo;-m" (presumably the ASU). We have no other
information that would tend to confirm Sadat's
charges of an attempted coup.
5. Sadat's intention to mold the ASU.'in his
own image, or possibly discard it completely, was
evidenced in his remarks that "sooner or later"
the party would be dissolved and a new body elected.
He vowed that free elections would be held from
"top to bottom" under his own supervision.
6. In announcing his new cabinet today, Sadat
issued a decree reappointing Mahmud Fawzi as prime
minister, and Husayn ash-Shafi as vice president.
7. The Soviets have likely been taken aback
by Sadat's bold move, and now are probably assess-
ing the significance of the dismissals for their
own position in Egypt. For the short term, Moscow
will probably maintain a low profile while allowing
the dust to settle somewhat, the same approach it'
followed after Nasir's death last year. Should
Sadat's moves appear at some point to endanger or
diminish the Soviet position, however, Moscow
would likely feel compered to take a more active
hand in Egypt's domestic affairs.
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