THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 16 OCTOBER 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006466873
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: October 16, 1976

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
The President's Daily Brief
/
October 16, 1976
2
Top ecre425x1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E 0 11652
exemption category 5B( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
October 16, 1976
Table of Contents
China: Word is out to the Chinese people on the arrest of the
four leading leftists in the Politburo. (Page 1)
Lebanon: The Syrian advance toward Beirut slowed yesterday.
Saudi Arabia has obtained President Asad's agreement to at-
tend a six-member "mini-summit" in Riyadh. (Page 2)
USSR: There are indications of possible impending changes among
top Soviet leaders that could include the replacement of ail-
ing Premier Kosygin by party secretary Kirilenko. (Page 4)
Cuba: Prime Minister Castro condemned the CIA yesterday for "di-
rect participation" in last week's bombing of a Cuban air-
liner but offered to discuss with Washington a solution to
the problem of terrorism. (Page 5)
USSR-Yugoslavia: The Soviet Mediterranean naval squadron is in- 25X1
creasingly using Yugoslavia's naval repair facilities.
(Page 6)
Rhodesia:
North Korea
(Page 7)
(Page 8) 25X1
Notes: Cuba-USSR; USSR (Page 9)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CHINA: Word is out to
the Chinese people on
the arrest of the four
leading leftists in
the Politburo.
The anti-Left blitz
has prompted other Chi-
nese officials to act
with growing confidence.
Wall posters have appeared in at
least three major Chinese cities,
including Shanghai, calling for
harsh measures to be taken against
the quartet, now dubbed the "four
dogs." The tone of the posters
suggests that rumors of their ex-
ecution are false.
The roundup of other leftists has
extended to those sectors in which
the left was most influential--the
fields of propaganda, culture, and
education.
The dragnet does not appear to
have extended widely into the
provinces, where leftist supporters
are keeping a low profile. There
is one report, however, that a
leftist newspaper in Shanghai,
which carried an article in March
attacking Chou En-lai, has been
closed. A poster in Shanghai re-
portedly called for one local left-
ist official to explain his rela-
tionship to those arrested in Pe-
king.
The minister of foreign trade re-
portedly apologized to foreigners
that trade had come to a stand-
still but promised that the sit-
uation would change for the better
and trade would progress. The
trade policy had been under attack
since the campaign to oust Teng
Hsiao-ping. A Chinese vice-pre-
mier told foreigners that the Chi-
nese will "crush" any attempts to
distort Mao's line, an accusation
that has been raised against the
left.
Some foreign observers have noted
an increased number of police,
militia, and military men on the
--continued
1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Tyre-)
IS EL
620319 8-76
S Y R
/
:ft' tpy
I A
/4? Goi.
Heigh
MILES 20
?O KILOMETERS 20
Hilaliy'r
Sidon
DAMASCUS
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LEBANON: The Syrian
advance toward Beirut
slowed yesterday as
Syrian forces engaged
in stiff fighting in
the Bhamdun area.
Saudi Arabia has ob-
tained Syrian President
Asadis agreement to at-
tend a six-member
"mini-summit" in Riyadh.
streets of Peking. These height-
ened security measures are un-
doubtedly related to the move
against the left and possibly also
to the fact that a Central Commit-
tee meeting is still in progress
in the capital. There have been
no reported signs elsewhere in
China of heightened security.
Units attempting to pass north
and south of the town also ran
into fierce resistance.
In the south, advance Syrian units
have apparently reached heights
overlooking the port of Sidon.
The Christian militias have largely
stayed out of major fighting dur-
ing the past few days, but they
have been moving against leftists
and Palestinians in villages north
of the Jazzin-Sidon road.
The Arab League peacekeeping force
in Lebanon has been ineffectual
in the face of the Syrian offen-
sive and could be on the verge of
disintegrating. Arab League me-
diator Hasan Sabri al-Khuli, who
is now in Cairo, has reportedly
ordered the commander of the League
forces to return to Egypt. The
Lebanese press, citing Egyptian
sources, states that Khuli himself
may submit his resignation from
the peace mission.
--continued
2
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Riyadh 25X1
has announced that presidents Sadat,
Asad, and Sarkis, Saudi King
Khalid, Kuwaiti Amir Sabah, and
Palestine Liberation Organization
chief Arafat will attend.
Asad's agreement to attend reverses
his earlier refusal to go to any
limited summit that would include
both Arafat and Sarkis and would
focus on the situation in Lebanon.
He may have decided that, in view
of recent Syrian military suc-
cesses, he risks little by acqui-
escing in the Saudi desire to hold
a summit. Asad may also assume
that nothing but rhetoric will
emerge from the meeting.
Since his intervention in Lebanon,
Asad has followed a pattern of
pursuing a military option for
only short periods of time, broken
by long pauses during which nego-
tiations were conducted and Syria
could give an impression of will-
ingness to compromise--without,
however, conceding anything of
value. Asad may calculate that
such a pause is in order again.
The Arab League summit, scheduled
to begin Monday, presumably has
been pre-empted by the Riyadh meet
ing and may well be postponed.
* * *
--continued
3
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR: There are indi-
cations of possible im-
pending changes among
top Soviet leaders that
could include the re-
placement of ailing
Premier Kosygin by
party secretary Kiri-
lenko. Such a transfer
would remove Kirilenko
from future considera-
tion as a successor to
General Secretary Brezh-
nev.
In a Kremlin ceremony yesterday,
Kirilenko was presented with the
Order of Lenin, an honor that is
appropriate for his position in
the leadership. The ceremony was
attended by Brezhnev and most of
the other party leaders.
Kirilenko's acceptance speech
seemed to go to far greater lengths
than would seem necessary--or even
appropriate--to heap praise on
Brezhnev and demonstrate his own
loyalty to the party boss. His
remarks may reflect a growing con-
cern about his credentials as a
successor to Brezhnev.
Kirilenko has been one of Brezh-
nev's oldest and closest associates
and has been regarded as his most
likely successor. Despite this,
and even though he has served as
Brezhnev's unofficial deputy in
the party secretariat, he has
never been recognized publicly as
the number two man in the secre-
tkriat. Moreover, his age--he was
70 in September--becomes an in-
creasing liability with the pas-
sage of time.
25X1
--continued
4
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
25X1
CUBA: Prime Minister
Fidel Castro condemned
the CIA yesterday for
"direct participation"
in last week's bombing
of a Cuban airliner but
offered to discuss with
Washington a solution
to the problem of ter-
rorism.
25X
He conditioned such discussions
only on "a definitive end to all
acts of hostility and aggression"
against Cuba.
Speaking at a mass rally in Ha-
vana's Revolutionary Square to pay
tribute to the victims of the
crash, Castro announced his deci-
sion to terminate, effective April
15, 1977, the 1973 agreement with
the US on hijacking. He pledged,
however, that if a US commercial
plane should be hijacked to Cuba
after the agreement expires, Cuba
would return the aircraft, crew,
and passengers to the US and would
--continued
5
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
AUSTRIA
HUNt ARY
ROMANIA
Danub,
YUGOSLAVIA
BULGARIA
0 25 50 75 100 Miles
0 25 50 75 100 Kliorneters
ALBANIA
Lake
'4? )
620544 10-76
ITALY 18
5') GREECE
Lake
l'rospo 22
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR-YUGOSLAVIA: The
Soviet Mediterranean
naval squadron is in-
creasingly using Yugo-
slavia's naval repair
facilities.
not "put up with" the perpetrators
of the air piracy. He said Cuba
would continue to honor similar
bilateral agreements now in force
with Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and
Venezuela.
Castro's renunciation of the agree-
ment with the US appears to be
little more than a gesture designed
to mollify the Cuban people and
to press the US to take action
against Cuban exile terrorists.
The charge of CIA complicity seems
to be intended as another way of
exerting leverage on the US.
Although Castro absolved the Ven-
ezuelan government of blame in
the bombing, he referred in some
detail to the role Venezuelans and
exiles in Venezuela played in the
crash and the access some exiles
have to "certain political circles"
in Venezuela.
Castro left the impression that,
frustrated by a series of ter-
rorist incidents, he is earnestly
seeking a means to stop them even
if this must include talks with
Washington.
* * *
Yugoslav facilities available to
the Soviets are no real substitute,
however, for those at Alexandria,
Egypt, from which the USSR was
25X1
evicted in April.
\
the Soviets are quietly being
permitted greater use of Yugoslav
ship repair facilities because of
the lack of necessary bases in the
Mediterranean. Observations by
the US defense attache in Belgrade
and by other NATO attaches there
tend to confirm the report.
--continued
6
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
RHODESIA:
Yugoslav laws are circumvented by
falsely declaring the Soviet naval
ships as merchant ships. Yugoslav
maritime law prohibits the repair
of naval ships at commercial ports,
stipulates that not more than two
naval ships from the same country
may be repaired at the naval ship-
yard at Tivat at the same time,
restricts visits by foreign naval
units to the ports of Split, Ri-
jeka, and Dubrovnik, and limits
such visits to ten days.
* * *
25X1
25X1
--continued
7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NORTH KOREA - SCANDINA-
V IA;/
* * *
25X1
25X
* * *
--continued
8
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
25X1
1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
*
The Soviet spacecraft
Soyuz 23 apparently
will return to Earth
today after unsuccess-
fully attempting to
dock with the Salyut 5
military space station.
NOTES
25X1
25X1
*
*
Soyuz 23 was launched on Thursday
with two cosmonauts aboard. We
have no information as yet to in-
dicate why a successful docking
was not achieved.
9
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/13 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300020006-1