THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 23 SEPTEMBER 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977001
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 23, 1969

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A007500200001-2
The President's Daily Brief
23 September 1969
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
MIDDLE EAST
Repair work on the East Ghor Canal in Jordan finally be-
gan Saturday afternoon, but ,by the next evening the Israelis
were already complaining that a number of mortar shells had
landed in a kibbutz not far from the break in the canal. If
incidents like this--which we would guess was the work of the
fedayeen--keep up, Israeli military restraint is likely to be
short'-lived.
Embassy Amman reports that the Jordanian Government is
also finding it more and more difficult to control the feda-
yeen in the towns. Over the past few weeks, the police have
refused to act in at least two cases where fedayeen killed
prominent non-Arabs. Neither would they intervene in the
kidnaping of a newspaper editor or in a youth riot in Amman.
One important reason for the ineffectiveness of the police is
the fact that most of them are Palestinians sympathetic to
the fedayeen.
The government is relying increasingly on bedouin tribal
elements, long a major prop of the monarchy, to take up the
slack left by the police, but this does not seem to be enough.
Many private citizens are said to be arming themselves and
setting up their own vigilante units. The embassy believes
the government must soon take firm steps to establish its
sway or risk losing the backing of its traditional elements
of support.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SOVIET AFFAIRS
A Canadian Embassy official in Washington informed the
Department of State last Friday that Gromyko would be return-
ing home from the UN meeting by way of Ottawa. Later the
same official stated that the Soviet foreign minister had
canceled the Canadian visit because he had to be back in Mos-
cow by 3 October.
The most logical explanation for such a deadline would
be a plenary session of the central committee, although we
do not now have any evidence that such a meeting has been
called. The last session was held in June, following the
international Communist conference, and normally two are held
each year. Furthermore, Sino-Soviet relations would seem to
require discussion.
Preparations are under way for another Soviet unmanned
moon shot using the SL-12 booster. The mission probably will
be similar to Luna-15 and could come within the next few days.
Luna-15 failed in an attempted soft landing on the moon in
July.
VIETNAM
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LIBYA
Cr4ks are already beginning to show up in the civilian
government facade set up by the military junta. Prime Minis-
ter Maghribi in particular seems to be drawing fire from sev-
eral quarters; even junta chief a1-Gaddafi is said to be dis-
satisfied with Maghribi's performance. We would expect the
junta to ,go slowly in making changes however, if only to
avoid giving the impression that it is having trouble getting
organized.
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?
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
BOLIVIA
armed
forces commander General Ovando held a press conference yes-
terday at which he announced his resignation in the wake of
charges by an opposition deputy that his presidential cam-
paign is being financed by US oil companies.
Ovando took a strongly anti-US position at the press
conference, claiming that the charges were an American plot
to discredit him and that "the imperialists do not favor my
candidacy because of my nationalist
may generate the popular support he
attract. Ovando has been talking coup for some time, and -
he may view the current situation as an opening for a move
that, if not putting him overtly in power, would at least
install a government favorable to his candidacy.
position." This line
has thus far failed to
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Top Secret
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