Dayan: North Korean, Cuban Troops May Be Aiding Syrian Forces

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said on a television interview here today that he had reason to believe that Cuban and North Korean troops were serving alongside Syrian forces on the Golan Heights in addition to troops from other Arab states. He placed the size of the Cuban force at a brigade.

Appearing on the NBC-TV “Meet The Press” program, Dayan, who concluded two days of meetings here with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, and a meeting last night in New York with United Jewish Appeal leaders, also said he believed Soviet-made anti-aircraft missiles in Syrian hands were in some ways superior to the American weapons supplied to Israel. But he indicated that the superiority of the Soviet weaponry was limited to ground-to-air missiles. U.S. anti-tank artillery supplied Israel was satisfactory, he said. Dayan stated he did not believe the Soviet-made Scud missiles in Egypt were equipped with nuclear warheads. The Scud has sufficient range to hit Israeli population centers from Egypt.

Dayan declined to describe the Israeli proposals for disengagement with Syria that he presented to Kissinger. He said he was “hopeful… not more than hopeful” that Israel and Syria would reach a disengagement accord on the Golan Heights. (See separate story on Dayan’s meetings with Kissinger and UJA leaders.)