152. Telegram From the Embassy in Lebanon to the Department of State1
463. Chamoun asked me to call this morning for a general review of situation. In particular he was anxious to know reactions of General Chehab to yesterday’s events. I said I thought on basis of our visit with him yesterday afternoon, reported Embtel 433,2 General was sincerely if reluctantly ready to cooperate with Admiral Holloway. I regretted I could not say the same for Chehab’s staff.
President said he was deeply disturbed at evidence of treason in Chehab’s headquarters. He said he had tried twice to reach me yesterday when I was absent from Chancery in arranging for entry of Marine column (Embtels 4283 and 433), to say staff had ordered men, tanks and guns from two areas to deploy against American column. These deserted sectors had promptly been occupied by rebel forces.
Chamoun said he was determined to order Chehab to remove disloyal officers including Colonels Tewfick Salem, Abdel Kader Chehab, Youssef Chemaiet and Jamil Lahoud, Major Saab and Captain Genadry.
Comment: We have been through this exercise before. Each time Chamoun for lack of power has not been in a position to make his orders stick. This morning he seemed obviously to be looking for American assistance, but I told him in my judgment it was politically imperative for Lebanon military house-cleaning to be done by Lebanese themselves.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 783A.00/7–1758. Top Secret. Repeated to London and Paris.↩
- See footnote 4, Document 147.↩
- Document 147.↩