THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 13 NOVEMBER 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006466897
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: November 13, 1976

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/14 : CIA-RDP79T00024A000300050002-1
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The President's Daily Brief
November 13, 1976
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E 0 11652
exemption category 5B(11.121,(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
November 13, 1976
Table of Contents
Egypt-USSR: Cairo is taking a hopeful but cautious approach to
recent Egyptian-Soviet contacts. (Page 1)
Italy: Prime Minister Andreotti survived a parliamentary con-
fidence vote on his latest austerity measures yesterday
largely because he left unresolved the most controversial
economic problem facing the government--how to limit the
country's soaring labor costs. (Page 2)
Ethiopia-USSR-China:
(Page 3)
Notes: Lebanon; Zaire-USSR; Spain (Pages 5 and 6)
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EGYPT-USSR: Egypt is
taking a hopeful but
cautious approach to
recent Egyptian-Soviet
contacts. Cairo seems
anxious that the in-
coming US administra-
tion notice these con-
tacts but not interpret
them as foreshadowing
a radical turn to close
Egyptian ties with Mos-
cow.
Cairo is also inter-
ested in using its ties
with Moscow to exert
pressure on the US to
reopen peace negotia-
tions early next year.
Foreign Minister Fahmi told Am-
bassador Eilts on Wednesday that
he had raised the issue of resumed
deliveries of arms and spare parts
during his talks last week with
Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko.
Fahmi explicitly requested that
Washington be informed that no
agreement on Soviet deliveries
had resulted from the meeting.
Actually, agreement on deliveries
is not normally reached at minis-
terial meetings but in discussions
among technical experts.
The Soviets have probably not
closed the door to further explo-
ration of the arms question, and
the Egyptians will want to keep
the US in some suspense on the
matter until it is resolved one
way or the other.
Fahmi endorsed last week's Egyp-
tian-Soviet communique advocating
the "quick resumption" of the con-
ference and asserting that the
Middle East situation had been the
"primary" topic of discussion.
Fahmi has attempted since last
summer to bring about some thaw
in Egyptian-Soviet relations,
specifically in order to open an
additional Egyptian option in the
event a new US administration
should alter US Middle East policy.
At the same time, Egyptian leaders
want to avoid giving the US the
impression that they have written
off Washington as a useful ally
under President-elect Carter's
administration.
--continued
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The Egyptians want more
amicable ties with Mos-
cow for both practical
and propaganda purposes,
but they want to make
sure that any meaning-
ful improvement in
those ties comes with
minimal political
strings.
ITALY: Prime Minister
Andreotti survived a
parliamentary confi-
dence vote on his lat-
est batch of austerity
measures yesterday,
mainly because he left
unresolved the most
controversial economic
problem facing the gov-
ernment--how to limit
the country's soaring
labor costs.
In conversations with Ambassador
Eilts, for instance, Fahmi has
described the Soviet initiative
on the Geneva peace conference as
merely a propaganda ploy.
In a clear effort to signal this
to Moscow, President Sadat told
the new Egyptian cabinet on Wednes-
day that he welcomes improved re-
lations with the Soviets, but that
"he who wants to deal with us must
deal with us as we are and not as
he wants us to be."
* * *
Andreotti declined to make a spe-
cific proposal on the issue, call-
ing instead for industry and organ-
ized labor--in which the Communist
Party plays a leading role--to
come up with a negotiated solution
within a month.
The measures that were approved
are designed to raise to about $6
billion the amount that the gov-
ernment plans to take in through
the austerity program. These
steps, aimed at curbing the gov-
ernment's deficit, will not by
themselves solve Italy's economic
problems.
A way must also be found to dimin-
ish the inflationary impact of the
country's wage index system, under
which the wages of most workers
rise automatically in response to
any increase registered by the
cost-of-living index. Most ob-
servers, including Italy's poten-
tial foreign creditors such as the
EC, maintain that modification of
this system is essential to the
success of the stabilization ef-
fort.
--continued
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ETHIOPIA-USSR-CHINA:
Andreotti's reluctance to submit
to parliament his wage proposals--
one of which calls for freezing
or reducing automatic increases
for the upper 20 percent of wage
earners--stems from the stiff
resistance encountered among the
trade unions. Had Andreotti in-
sisted that parliament consider
the wage issue this week, he would
have forced the Communists to
choose between offending their
rank and file in the labor move-
ment or bringing down the govern-
ment, which the Communists do not
want to do in present circumstances
By calling on industry and labor
to negotiate a solution to the
wage issue, Andreotti has placed
on the Communists much of the
burden for hammering out a policy
in this key area.
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* * *
--continued
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MEDITERRANEAN
SEA
BEI Rig
DAMASCUS
620645 1176
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Syrian peacekeeping
units in Lebanon have
delayed their entry
into Beirut for at
least a day.
Relations between Zaire
and the USSR, brought
to the verge of a dip-
lomatic break during
the Angolan war, appear
to be on the mend.
NOTES
The Syrians may be awaiting the
arrival of security force contin-
gents from Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates in order to
give the operation a more pan-Arab
character. The delay may also re-
flect Christian insistence that
the Syrians move into Sidon and
Tripoli before taking up positions
along Beirut's confrontation line.
Security force commander al-Hajj
asked Palestinian military leaders
on Thursday to collect their heavy
weapons in order to minimize inci-
dents with the advancing security
troops; apparently he did not ask
them to turn in their weapons.
The fedayeen reportedly have been
caching their heavy weapons in
underground depots at the refugee
camps south of Beirut to avoid
their confiscation.
Shelling continued yesterday in
both east and west Beirut as well
as in the southern suburbs.
* * *
According to the US embassy in
Kinshasa, the Soviet ambassador to
Zaire returned recently from con-
sultations in Moscow with instruc-
tions to strengthen relations and
particularly to facilitate early
signature of cultural and commer-
cial accords.
President Mobutu sent Soviet Pres-
ident Podgorny a congratulatory
message on the anniversary of the
October revolution--something he
--continued
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The Spanish government
appears increasingly
confident that its con-
stitutional reforms
will be approved by
parliament without
major revision.
did not do last year--in which he
expressed the wish to strengthen
cooperative relations. The Zair-
ian minister of commerce is pre-
paring for a trip to Moscow to
sign a commercial agreement.
Mobutu will probably move only
gradually in improving relations
with Moscow, given his long-
standing suspicion of Soviet in-
tentions in Africa. At the same
time, Mobutu presumably believes
he must make some accommodation
with the Soviet position in Angola
and the good relations the USSR
has with most of Mobutu's other
neighbors. Mobutu also hopes to
discourage Soviet or Angolan sup-
port for Zairian dissidents, many
of whom have congregated in An-
gola.
The government has been busy ap-
plying pressure to the 300-odd
fence-sitters in parliament. Dep-
uty Prime Minister Osorio recently
confided to a US official that the
legislation has been discussed
individually and "negotiated" with
almost every member of parliament.
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