State Dept Warns Arab Countries to Restrain Palestinians Spreading ‘big Lie’ of U.S. Complicity with

Arab governments were sternly advised by the State Department today to stop immediately allowing their official media facilities to spread the “Big Lie” invented by Palestinian Arab groups that the United States had assisted Israel in its raids Tuesday in Beirut in which three reputed Arab terrorist leaders were slain.

At the same time, the Department disclosed that additional precautions were being taken to safeguard American lives and property in the Arab countries against violence which might stem from the emotional upsurge over the raid and alleged U.S. complicity Arab-governments were being reminded, Department spokesman Charles Bray said, that they have a responsibility for visiting officials and their properties. He declined to name the countries being advised. Lebanon was reported as being the only country that thus far has taken measures against attacks on U.S. government buildings and personnel.

The U.S. protested to Algeria yesterday over the broadcast from that country by the Voice of Palestine radio alleging American involvement in the raids and calling for the killing of Americans and destruction of U.S. Embassies. Asked if the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean was included in the precautionary measures. Bray indicated it was not. He said “Our focus regarding the safety of our people is their direct physical safety on the ground.” He said that a U.S. warning to American tourists against travel in the Middle East “is under consideration.”

Denouncing the “false allegations” for the third consecutive day, Bray said that the “obvious fedayeen movement–PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and BSO (Black September Organization)–are systematically repeating lies through the numerous media available to them in the Middle East including the semi-clandestine Voice of Arab radios.” He added that “in those cases any denial of U.S. involvement in the raids in not being carried.” Bray said “It seems to the U.S. government what is unfolding here is a deliberate anti-American campaign by fedayeen using the old technique of the Big Lie–to make the lie big enough and often enough so that eventually people will believe it.”

State Department sources said that broad-casts were monitored in Washington of radios emitting the allegations in Cairo, Damascus, Algiers, Tripoli, Baghdad, Khartoum and Amman, but not in Beirut. The Middle East News Agency in Cairo also was included as using them. The sources said that in many cases the radios were manned by Palestinians.