106. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Director, Office of the Assistant Director, Near East and South Asia, United States Information Agency (Pistor) to the Director (Shakespeare)1
In response to your request for media and public reaction to the latest developments on the cease-fire standstill in the Middle East,2 we have had telephone conversations with Athens and Tel Aviv, have placed calls to Ankara and Beirut, and have sent an immediate telegram to New Delhi.3
Results of our efforts so far indicate that it is too early to have any reaction to the reports which appeared in this morning’s Washington Post4 and the late editions of the New York Times5 to the effect that the US now has evidence of recent violations of the standstill.
In Athens, the afternoon editions come out at noon local time (or 6:00 a.m. Washington time), and our people were able to report nothing on the latest developments. However, they are checking to see whether comment might have been carried on the radio, although they are doubtful that there was any.
In Israel, there have been no new developments in the last 24 hours. However, there has been a cumulative buildup of disappointment since the cease-fire went into effect over the US failure to take action on the reported violations of the standstill. There is increasing feeling that the US is caving-in to the Russians and not living up to its previous assurances to Israel. This, coupled with the so-called “Dayan crisis,” resulting from a widespread belief that the Israeli Minister of Defense may resign if the US is not more forthcoming, has created an atmosphere unlike any which our PAO in Tel Aviv has seen during his two years service there.
We have been informed there will be two to four hour delays in our calls to Beirut and Ankara, and we do not expect a reply from [Page 264] New Delhi until late this afternoon. We will bring to your attention whatever information comes in.
IOR has informed us that media reaction reports from posts in the area so far have carried nothing on the developments described above.
- Source: National Archives, RG 306, Director’s Subject Files, 1968–1972, Entry A1–42, Box 10, Field—Near East (IAN) 1970. Limited Official Use. Shakespeare initialed the memorandum.↩
- See footnote 4, Document 105.↩
- Not found.↩
- Presumable reference to A.D. Horne, “Nixon Told Of Violations In Mideast,” Washington Post, September 2, 1970, p. A1. The Washington Post also printed an editorial entitled “Making the Mideast Cease-Fire Work,” on September 2. (Ibid., p. A20)↩
- Presumable reference to Tad Szulc, “U.S. Is Convinced U.A.R. Broke Truce: Nixon Is Shown Evidence—Senate Backs Wide Arms Deliveries to Israel,” New York Times, September 2, 1970, p. 1.↩