THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 15 OCTOBER 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014928
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: October 15, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
October 15, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 58( I ),12).(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
October 15, 1975
Table of Contents
Lebanon: The security situation in Beirut continued
to improve yesterday. (Page 1)
Morocco-Spain: King Hassan reportedly has privately
informed Madrid that Morocco will not start a
war with Spain over Spanish Sahara. (Page 2)
Greece-Cyprus-Turkey: Prime Minister Caramanlis
has indicated that he expects the US to take
the initiative to solve the Cyprus problem,
now that the arms embargo against Turkey has
been partially lifted. (Page 3)
Portugal: The government apparently ended the mutiny
in Porto last night by making concessions.
(Page 4))
Notes: USSR; Panama (Page 5)
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LEBANON
The security situation in Beirut
continued to improve yesterday. While
some incidents occurred, the city's
commercial life gathered momentum with
banks and most businesses open. Eve-
ning curfew hours have been reduced,
and Lebanese security officials believe
that the parties to the conflict are
serious about implementing the cease-
fire.
Syrian actions continue to be a major factor
in the improved situation. Zuhayr Muhsin, leader
of the Syrian-controlled Saiqa fedayeen organiza-
tion, has been active in mediating between the
Christians and the Muslims in the Tripoli area,
where the situation yesterday was described as calm.
At Monday's meeting of the national concilia-
tion committee, the members for the first time
moved to address the fundamental problems under-
lying the crisis. Subcommittees were formed to con-
sider political, economic, and social reforms. The
committee met again yesterday. Prime Minister
Karami announced after the meeting that the polit-
ical reform subcommittee will hold its first ses-
sion tomorrow. There is still no indication, how-
ever, that the Phalangists are ready to agree to
the modification of the existing governmental struc-
ture to permit the Muslims greater political power.
Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion, meanwhile, reportedly have decided not to at-
tend a foreign ministers' conference in Cairo. The
Syrians, who consider Lebanon to be within their
sphere of influence, oppose "Arabizing" the crisis.
A PLO spokesman described the conference as an at-
tempt to divert attention from the recent Egyptian-
Israeli Sinai agreement. Cairo, concerned that the
meeting would be used as a forum by critics of the
Sinai agreement to attack Egypt, presumably will
not be displeased by the absence of the PLO or
Syria.
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MOROCCO-SPAIN
King Hassan/
not start a war with Spain over Spanish
Sahara. Madrid is taking Hassan seri-
ously and now believes that Morocco will
wait for a Spanish withdrawal before oc-
cupying the region.
Hassan may be trying to create an atmosphere
conducive to bilateral negotiations with Spain.
The King can be expected to express concern over a
UN group's fact-finding report that recommends
"consultation" with the Saharan people to determine
their wishes. The report, however, stops short of
backing a referendum. Morocco opposes a referendum
on the grounds of historic sovereignty over the re-
gion. Hassan is also concerned that the Interna-
tional Court of Justice's advisory opinion, report-
edly to be delivered tomorrow, may go against
Moroccan and Mauritanian claims to the territory.
The King, on the other hand, may only be
signaling that Moroccan troops will avoid direct
contact with Spanish forces. Rabat has taken var-
ious measures to meet any military contingency that
may arise with Spain or Algeria over the Saharan
problem.
Madrid views the threat of imminent hostilities
as receding, and probably would welcome negotiations
with Morocco. A high-level Spanish official told
one of our embassy officials last weekend that Ma-
drid was even willing to stage a referendum in
Spanish Sahara in which Saharans would vote for
"association" with Morocco. Spain still seems un-
willing to disregard Algeria's interest, however.
The Spanish official said an agreement between Al-
geria and Morocco would have to be part of any
settlement.
The Algerians would almost certainly oppose
any attempt by Morocco or Spain to rig a referen-
dum. In a speech to the UN General Assembly last
week, Algerian Foreign Minister Bouteflika unequiv-
ocally supported a referendum on self-determination
for Spanish Sahara, provided it were "supervised
and guaranteed by the UN." A referendum indepen-
dent of Spanish control would be likely to favor
independence rather than union with Morocco.
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GREECE-CYPRUS-TURKEY
Greek Prime Minister Caramanlis
has indicated that he expects the US to
take a new initiative to solve the Cyprus
problem, now that Congress has partially
lifted the arms embargo against Turkey.
The Turks have suggested to our ambas-
sador in Ankara that they will be more
flexible on the issue.
Caramanlis indicated his willingness to be
flexible about possible terms for a settlement, but
expressed bitterness at Cypriot President Makarios'
inflexibility and was pessimistic about the Turks'
willingness to negotiate seriously. The Prime Min-
ister has urged principal opposition leader George
Mavros to tone down opposition attacks against Sec-
retary Kissinger.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Caglayangil
told Ambassador Macomber that Ankara is in a posi-
tion to be flexible on Cyprus, now that the election
is over and the embargo is relaxed. Caglayangil
stressed that his remarks were unofficial, but he
indicated that the Turkish government probably would
call for resumption of the intercommunal talks--sus-
pended since early September--next week.
Caglayangil's optimism regarding Cyprus con-
trasted markedly with his pessimism when asked about
the possibility of reactivating US bases in Turkey.
He hinted that his government now wants to open ne-
gotiations for a new defense cooperation agreement,
but he insisted that the US bases cannot be reacti-
vated until at least the essentials of a new agree-
ment are worked out. Caglayangil's negative tone
may be a deliberate negotiating posture designed to
encourage the complete lifting of the arms embargo
on Turkey, but it is also possible that the govern-
ment has not yet decided how to deal with the bases
issue now that the embargo has been partially lifted.
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PORTUGAL
The government apparently ended
the mutiny in Porto last night by
making concessions to the dissident
artillerymen.
The rebels took over their regiment a week
ago, demanding that a leftist transportation unit
disbanded by northern military region commander
General Pires Veloso be reconstituted. Veloso
refused to negotiate with the troops and remained
firm in his determination to restore discipline to
the units under his command.
Army Commander in Chief General Carlos Fabiao
flew to Porto yesterday to discuss the situation
with Veloso and the rebels. Fabiao met with the
rebel leaders and proposed that the transportation
regiment be reconstituted as an operational combat
unit. The unit had been a haven for sons of the
upper class and had avoided any combat.
The compromise undercuts Veloso's drive for
discipline and could lead to further military
problems. Whether Fabiao, whose support of the
Azevedo government has become more suspect in re-
cent days, had the full backing of the Lisbon gov-
ernment in conceding to the dissidents is unclear.
If he did, it is possible that the regime may have
felt that it could regain control of the regiment
by removing the issue, or failing that, would at
least gain some time.
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NOTES
Panama's celebration on October 11 of the 1968
"revolution" that brought General Omar Torrijos to
power was a peaceful, generally sober affair, with
the crowd of about 35,000 falling far short of gov-
ernment expectations.
Torrijos' speech emphasized the need for pa-
tience during prolonged canal treaty negotiations.
Government security measures helped ensure the ab-
sence of anti-US demonstrations.
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