THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 30 APRIL 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006015096
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 30, 1976

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The President's Daily Brief
April 30, 1976
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Exempt from general
declauification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 513(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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April 30, 1976
Table of Contents
'Egypt-Israel: Egypt has admitted having more battalions in the
limited armaments zone along the Suez Canal than are per-
mitted by the Sinai II agreement but promises that seven of
these will be ordered back over the canal next week.
6
(Page
Lebanon:
1)
Leftist leader Kamal Jumblatt has formally requested a
of the presidential election scheduled for to-
(Page 1)
The appointment of Party Secretary Dmitry Ustinov as min-
of defense only hours after Grechko's interment sug-
that the top leadership was anxious to head off any
over the selection of Grechko's successor.
3)
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USSR:
postponement
morrow.

ister
gests
politicking
(Page
USSR:
Ghana:
(Page
4)
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USSR-China:
(Page 5)
A lengthy article in Pravda holds out little hope
for change in Sino-Soviet relations unless Peking takes the
initiative. (Page 6)
Notes: Panama; Angola; Syria; Italy; Israel (Pages 7 and 8)
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EGYPT-ISRAEL: Egyptian
Minister of War Gamasy
has admitted that Egypt
has more battalions in
the limited armaments
zone along the Suez
Canal than are per-
mitted by the Sinai II
agreement. Gamasy told
Ambassador EiZts that
within the coming week
seven of the battalions
would be ordered to
move back over the
canal, thereby putting
Egypt in full compli-
ance with the agree-
ment.
LEBANON: Leftist leader
Kamal JumbZatt formally
requested yesterday that
the presidential elec-
tion scheduled for to-
morrow be postponed.
His action is an elev-
enth-hour effort to
block Ilyas Sarkis,
whose Syrian-backed
candidacy has gained
a significant edge in
the last several days
over Jumblatt's choice,
Raymond Edde.
According to UN observers,?
Egypt had 16 infantry battalions
in the limited armaments zone,
eight more than permitted by the
agreement. We have since deter-
mined that the UN observers
double-counted one of the batta-
lions. Thus, the withdrawal of
seven will put Egypt within the
limit of eight.
UN observers have reported that
the number of Egyptians on the
east side
man limit.
I.- 1
LTZ_
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There is still a problem, however,
involving three occupied SA-6
sites which may be deployed closer
to the Suez Canal than permitted
by the agreement. This issue is
being resolved through the UN.
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Beirut radio followed up the an-
nouncement with warnings--probably
at Jumblatt's instigation--that
only a compromise on a candidate
other than Sarkis or Edde could 25X1
prevent a "new explosion."
Sarkis is believed to have close
to the 66 votes necessary to ?lye
him a first ballo Al
--continued
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The speaker of parliament, who is
responsible for fixing the elec-
tion date, is polling other dep-
uties on Jumblatt's postponement
request and has indicated that
his bloc of deputies is prepared
to find a compromise candidate, if
that will satisfy Jumblatt. The
speaker probably will not make a
final decision before checking with
Damascus.
If Jumblatt succeeds in delaying
the session either through legal
means or through violence, he will
again be on a collision course
with the Syrians. His moves will
almost certainly elicit a sharp
reaction from the Christians, who
may counter with threats to with-
hold President Franjiyah's resig-
nation and to press for partition.
Syria reportedly sent more troops
into the Beirut area yesterday.
We have no firm information as to
the numbers involved, but the ad-
dition may total about 400 men.
According to the press, the troops
were special forces of the Pales-
tine Liberation Army--an often-
used cover for regular Syrian
forces.
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USSR: The appointment
of 67-year-old Party
Secretary Dmitry Us-
tinov--a civilian and
already a member of the
Politburo--as minister
of defense yesterday
allows the Soviet lead-
ership to finesse the
question of whether a
military successor to
Marshal Grechko should
inherit his Politburo
seat. Ustinov may have
been chosen to serve in
an interim capacity
while General Kulikov,
aged 55, the chief of
the General Staff, ac-
quires more seniority.
The announcement of Ustinov's ap-
pointment only hours after Grech-
ko's interment in the Kremlin wall
suggests that the top leadership
was anxious to head off any poli-
ticking over the selection of
Grechko's successor. Ustinov's
posting as minister is almost cer-
tain to provoke an adverse reac-
tion among elements of the high
command opposed to the idea that
any civilian should hold the top
post in the ministry.
As a civilian, Ustinov will have
a somewhat different outlook on
defense matters from that of a
professional soldier. His back-
ground in the armaments field and
in industry will probably facili-
tate better integration of stra-
tegic planning with such matters
as rescurce allocation, research
and development, armaments pro-
gramming, and national mobiliza-
tion than would be possible under
a career military man. Unencum-
bered by service loyalties, Ustinov
may be expected to weigh more im-
partially the claims on resources
and advice on defense matters of-
fered by the various members of
the high command.
We doubt that Ustinov's appoint-
ment will lead to any change in
the Soviet position at either the
SALT negotiations, with which he
has been involved, or at the MBFR
talks.
For the moment, Ustinov's appoint-
ment means that the military have
been left without a representa-
tive on the Politburo. Although
--continued
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USSR:
Ustinov has an extensive back-
ground in defense production and
has been made a general of the
army, he is not a professional
soldier, and has had no command
experience.
Consequently, it seems likely
that a good deal of the command
authority that the defense min-
ister has had over the armed
forces will pass to the General
Staff. It also is possible that
General Secretary Brezhnev, re-
cently identified in public for
the first time as the chairman
of the Defense Council, will ac-
quire more command authority over
the armed forces.
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--continued
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ruic 111E rAL)JL'LJv1 U.1?11_,
e GHANA:
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! USSR-CHINA: The Soviet
leadership has pub-
lished in Pravda a
lengthy article on
China which holds out
little hope for change
in Sino-Soviet rela-
tions unless Peking
takes the initiative.
The article's recital of what the
Soviets have done to encourage
better party and state relations
with China is the longest author-
itative rendition in years. Cit-
ing General Secretary Brezhnev at
the recent Soviet party congress,
it implies that Moscow has made
its last offer.
The article refers to the recent
political turbulence in Peking as
evidence that the-Chinese people
are not reconciled to Maoism. The
message for China's moderates
would seem to be that the USSR
recognizes that not all Chinese
are anti-Soviet and believes the
situation may improve after Mao
goes.
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r UK lit ricroniLiv I
Panama plans to provide
the press with the names
of US boats allegedly
fishing within the coun-
try's claimed 200-mile
limit.
Panama will demand for
each a maximum fine of
100,000.
,Recent satellite photog-
raphy of Angolan ports
indicates that Cuban
merchant ships have
moved military equip-
ment from northern to
southern Angola.
NOTES
If the Panamanians take a tough
public stance on US fishing boats
in the Canal Zone, domestic pres-
sure will make it difficult for
General Torrijos to retreat from
his aggressive position. The Pan-
amanians yesterday captured a fish-
ing boat of Senegalese registry.
Meanwhile Torrijos has indicated he
will abandon efforts to extradite
the captain of a US-registered fish-
ing boat that transited the canal
and is now in port on the Atlantic
side of the Canal Zone. He has ap-
parently decided the demand for ex-
tradition would be tacit admission
that the zone is foreign territory.
Coverage of Lobito in late March
showed three Cuban ships berthed
there. One had on deck five T-34
tanks, an unidentified armored ve-
hicle, and two oil trucks. The
presence of cargo on deck indicated
that the ship probably was shuttling
equipment over short distances.
Photography of Luanda in early April
showed several light tanks, 15 ar-
mored personnel carriers, support
vehicles in open storage, and a Cu-
ban freighter at dockside.
The Luanda regime has been shifting
its armed forces southward over the
past month to support operations
against UNITA-FNLA guerrillas and
to meet the potential threat of
South African forces in neighboring
Namibia. Satellite photography of
mid-April also showed MIG-21 and
MIG-17 fighters for the first time
at a southern Angolan airfield.
--continued
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l'Ulk 1 nE, 1-1?12.0.11JE1IVL.JIVLiJ
Reports of unrest within
the Syrian military and
of confessional tensions
resulting from Syria's
involvement in Lebanon
continue to circulate
in Damascus.
i'!The Italian parliament
will conclude a debate
on Prime Minister Moro's
Christian Democratic
minority government to-
day. There is now only
the slimmest chance that
dissolution of parlia-
ment and an early elec-
tion can be avoided.
t The Israeli government
is bracing for a possi-
ble confrontation on
Saturday with Arabs who
are expected to hold
May Day rallies in
northern Israel and on
the occupied West Bank.
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While opposition to President Asad's
Lebanese policy exists among middle-
level and junior officers, it does
not appear to have reached unmanage-
able proportions.
Ten- 25X1
sions within the military are likely
to continue so long as Syria remains
heavily involved in Lebanon.
Moro cannot win the confidence vote
scheduled to follow the debate be-
cause the three parties on which
his survival depends--the Socialists,
Social Democrats, and Republicans--
have decided to vote against him or
abstain. Moro may decide to resign
in advance of the vote.
Officials fear that the rallies
could turn violent and lead to a
new wave of widespread anti-
Israeli demonstrations.
Arab Communists have received per-
mission to hold an open air meet-
ing in Nazareth, Israel, which
they expect several thousand peo-
ple to attend. Any demonstration
there would help Arab nationalists
on the West Bank whip up support
for a march they are reportedly
planning next week. It would pro-
test the Passover march of mid-
April that was sponsored by an Is-
raeli group pushing for more Jew-
ish settlements in the area.
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