MIDDLE EAST SITUATION REPORT NUMBER 35 (AS OF 1130 EDT)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-544-5-2-0
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: January 4, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 14, 1973
• Content Type: MEMO

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DIA review
completed.'
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
: IA 'October 1.73
'INTELLIGENCE 14EMORANDOM
State review complete.
MIDDLE EAST
SitUation Report. Number 35
.
As of .1130 EDT) ?
MORI/CDF per
C05480432
THE MILITARY SITUATION
GENERAL
. 1. The Egyptians are continuing their general
offensive.in the Sinai, and units have,been reported
in the Mitla Pass area. The Israelis claim to be
holding in most 'areas. ' Little .Israeli progress has
..been reported.on the Syrian front, and the Arabs
parently ara still able to launch counterattacks on
Israeli positions:. The aordanian brigade has avoided
any military action, and the Syrians are beginning to
complain.
:EGYPTIAN:FRONT
2. The Egyptian general Offensive which began
at dawn this morning .continues,' wlth pressure being
exerted along -the entire Suez Front., especially in
the Mitla'Pass area; The Israelis may have
turned back a ground attack'near the Mit.1 Pass, and
at Bir Jifjafa the northern Sinai air control center ?
*was out of action for three hours, due possibly to
combat action. Israeli?pross summaries of the battle
report heavy attrition of Egyptian armor, while thp
. Egyptians report several Israpli.aircraft downed.
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We have received no official Israeli account of the
fighting since 0030 ml Aviv time
SYRIAN rioNii *
5. The ilsraeliS claim to have repulsed continued
Arab -coUnterattackd on the SYrian front early on 14
October, and say they are making Cantinued progress ?
over-difficult terrain Tel Aviv now claims to have
taken 414 Arab .pri,soners in the action on both fronts..
.JORDANIAN INVOLVMMENT
? 6. .Early this morning President Asad of Syria
complained to, Ring Husayn that.the_commander of the
Jordanian 40th armored brigade, now in Syria, had
refused to fol;bw,Syrian orders to;advance. The.
.brigade was located-last night 12 kilometers inside
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syria. east Of DEL1r.ra1. The comminder evidontly ts fol-
lowing. King Rusayn's'stridt order to take no actions
on ?Syrian orders to adVancewithout?first. checking
with jordanian amy headquarters.
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7. .Thes Syrian air force 'is*now flying coordinated
air defense patrols in. Jordanian airspace'. The flights
are designed ? to &otect 3Ordanian air bases against .
. possible air Attack by Israeli aircraft now that Jordan
. has- sent a small force into SyrAa.
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STATUS OF:SOVIET.FORCES
'SOVIET POtITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
15; Soviet broadcasts in English continue to
cite foreign reports of US military efforts on be-
half of Israel in an attempt to justify Moscow's
airlift to the Arabs These broadcasts have referred
to 'articles in two. US newspapers. (Los Angeles Times'
and Portsmouth 'Herald) that descriBe a "massiv-6-717-
liet to Israe17-rE1iding F-4 Phantom fighters and.
both
both sparrow and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. A
.separate TASS broadcast on 13 October carries an Arab
report that US pilots have taken' part in bombing raids
on Damascus. Ilus? far the Soviets have made no comment
? of their own about alleged US involvement.
14. Mosdow. is continuing the processing of Soviet
emigrants bound for Israel. The Dutch consul in Moscow .
. reports that this i?rocessing has been normal as of 12 .
'October and that for the time being there are no indi-
cations that the
the war.
Ct
1 The temporary suspension
of commercial flights between Bucharest and Tel Aviv
due to the hostilities had interrupted the flow of
,
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Jewish emigrants. through Romania, but apparently
the resumption of El. Al flights has been accompanied
by a resumption Of emigration as well. The US Em-
bassy in Moscow believes., however,. that a continua-.
tion :of hOstilities or a major Israeli victory would
probably cause the Soviets to Suspend or curtail em-
igration to Israel. ?
A SHAZIJI LINE
? .16. A French Ev6assy source claims to have
"Absolutely definite" information that the Egyptians
are in the process of preparing a line of static
'fortifications somc distance to the east of the canal
and behind the front. Egypt's strategy, according to
the French and her sources, is to entrench them-
selves unshakably and simply wait for Israel to grind
Itself don against Egyptian ground and antiaircraft
defenses. Other uses for Egyptian civil contractors
on the east bank :might be the construction SAM sites
of the SA.-2 variety, which refauire heavy concrete
construction.
. .
AN. - SAUDI ARABIA
;
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LEBANON-FEpAYEEN
? 18.: The Lebanese Army'reports a sharp decrease
in the level of:fedayeen activity in southern Lebanon;
only one incident of artillery rocket firing across
the. border into.Israel was detected on the. night of
13 October. ? '
? l9.. The efforts of the Saudi Arabian and Ku-
O'aiti governments on behalf Of the Lebanese appear
to be the major!faetor behind.the reduction of feda-
yeen border action. At the request of the Kuwaitis,
the Syrian Government reportedly ordered Saiga leader,
Zohayr muhsin to stop action Along the Lebanese bor-
der, Saudi AraBian diplomatic officials also appealed
to Fatah leaders to move their forces to the Golan
Beights.area?and to stop giving Israel a pretext for
attacking Lebanon.
' 20. A.senior Lebanese army officer explained to
US Embassy officials that much of the fedaycon posturing
and. the ineffectual rocket.firings.into Israel were the
result of a continuing' power struggle between Saicia and
Fatah leaders, With each trying to outdo the other with-
out actuallyLtaking any risks,
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ALGERIA
'KUWAIT ? ,
22. Kuwait has decided to dispatch a number of ?
armored units to' fight on the Syrian front according
to the local press.
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BAHRAIN
' 23.: Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalifs,..
warned the US Charge yesterday that his government
. ? -
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is considering ending the US Navy's stationing
agreement because of the US Tmlitical stand on the
Middle Es situation. He apologized throughout
the conversation, reiterating Bahrain's friendship
with the US, but said open US shipment of arms to
Israel made it difficult for his government to al-
low the US to maintain a Mideast presence. The em-
bassy's assessment is that Bahrain does not intend
to terminate the agreement at this time, but as the
situation draws out the government will be under,
increasing pressure from its neighbors.
TUNISIA
23. the local press re:ports that arrangements
for the reSumption of relations between Tunisia and
Jordan.are.in 'progress'. .
? UGANDA
24, Fredident Amin has. arrived in Saudi Arabia
for discuSeionS with King Faysal on the Mideast crisis.
About half of the 2,000 Ugandans 'Ise1ected4 as vol-
unteerS ,for the Mideast have assembled in Kampala.
A humber of officers and men' have deserted or been
arrested becaube they did not want to serve outside
Uganda.
LATE ITEMS
25. Th Israeli situation report released at
1530 hours loca1 time on 14 October reports that al-
most the entire Egyptian army is noon the East.Bank
of the canal participating in today's ?offensive. The
Egyptian attack is general but concentrated on the
southern sector. Thee Israelis claim to have limited
the Egyptian advances to ten' kilometers Israel ad-
mits to an Egyptian air attack.on their headquarters
at Bir Jifjafa and calims that Mirage aircraft par-
ticipated for the first time Some damage also was
admitted from the attack. : ?
-.7-
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26.. On the Syrian front, the Israelis still
claim 'Mlle near Sasta and in a position to shell
Dama*curi. They report no significant advances, and
it that Syrian and Iraqi forces continue to launch
local counterattacks. Syrian air activity is reported
to be nonexistent due to fatigue and attrition.
ISMAEL: MIRAGE PROTEST
27. .Israel protested to France today against
the Arabs alleged use of French-supplied Mirage
fighter aircraft in attacks on Israeli positions
along tho Suez Canal. The French charge d'affaires,
according to a Reuters release, was summoned to the
Israeli FOreign7WilinTry where A senior official made
the protest. An Israeli military spokesman in Tel
Aviv had earlier referred to "enemy Mirage aircraft"
participating in Egyptian air strikes:and other offi-
cials had described these aircraft as Some of the
planes delivered by France to Libya.
PAI STAN
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