Sample Page 1 - Muammar Gaddafi Rise to Power in Libya - Libyan Revolution 1969-1972  - CIA, State Department, National Security Council and White House Files

Text transcription: First Page of Memorandum From Harold Saunders of the National Security Council Staff tothe Special Assistant to the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs Tony Lake  for the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs Kissinger,Washington, September 2, 1969

FROM: HAL SAUNDERS
TO: TONY LAKE FOR HENRY A. KISSINGER

The import of the coup in Libya will be clearer in another 24-48 hours, Following is to give you the best Washington appraisal as of the end of the day (Monday).

A group of young military officers has staged a coup, proclaimed the "Arab Republic of Libya" and set up a Revolutionary Command Council. The head of the council is the only individual publicly named so far as associated with the coup. He is a 34-year-old former officer who has apparently been brought out of "retirement," Colonel Sa'ad al-Din Abu-Shuawayrib. He received his basic military education in the UAR Cadet College but has since attended US military schools, including Command and General Staff Officer Course in 1964-65. His bio in intelligence files describes him as pro-US, but of course no one should lean too heavily on that description in present circumstances.

The best we can say about the political complexion of the new government without knowing more about its composition is that its very few initial pronouncements show some moderation. For instance, representatives of the coup group have assured our charge that the coup was directed at the removal of internal corruption�of which there has been an increasing amount recently�and not at any foreign group, east or west. The new government has promised to protect foreign interests, including oil companies. The five-point statement proclaiming the new government said the regime would be socialist, would seek solidarity with the third world and would be based on the Koran.

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