117. Telegram From the Embassy in Lebanon to the Department of State1
54. In conversation with me today, President Chamoun brought up the question of arms aid to Lebanon, remarking that there should be no objection to any such arrangement since by no stretch of the imagination could Lebanon be conceived as having any aggressive designs on Israel. I replied that as far as I was aware there was no consideration being given by the USG to arms aid arrangements with any of the Arab States at this time, observing that until there was some lessening of the tension with regard to Israel, the moment would hardly seem opportune.
There followed some discussion of the tension in the Gaza district and President Chamoun suddenly expressed his opinion that no real assistance could be expected from the military regime in Egypt toward moving in the direction of a solution of the Israeli issue. He asserted that the Communists and Communist viewpoint were well represented in the Revolutionary Committee and in the Egyptian press. He cited the last edition of the magazine Al Tahrir, under direction of Anwar Sadat which he said contained three pages praising the Soviet-inspired Partisans of Peace.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 683A.84A/7–1555. Confidential.↩