THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 MARCH 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005992535
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 18, 1971

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The President's Daily Brief
18 March 1971
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
18 March 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Cambodia is taking precautionary measures to prevent
trouble today on the first anniversary of Sihanouk's
downfall. (Page 1)
Soviet commentary on new silo construction at the
SALT is discussed on Page 2.
Developments in Pakistan are discussed on Page 3.
An economic agreement was signed Tuesday between the
USSR and Egypt. (Page 4)
Mexico's attitude toward Communist countries appears
to be cooling. (Page 5)
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CAMBODIA
Phnom Penh is taking precautionary measures to
prevent trouble today on the first anniversary of
Sihanouk's downfall. All popular demonstrations
have been banned, a nighttime curfew ordered, and
army (FANK) units in and around the city have been
placed on full alert. These steps are prompted in
part by fear that the Communists are planning ter-
rorist acts or harassing attacks in or near the cap-
ital. Some 22 FANK battalions are conducting sweep
operations in three separate areas in the Phnom Penh
special military region. They have made few signifi-
cant contacts with enemy elements, however.
The possibility, reported in The President's
Daily Brief of 1.5 March, that Khmer Krom
troops or 'other non-Communist elements
might take some ill-considered action in
the capital'around this date has dimin-
ished, but the leadership is still ner-
vous over possible antigovernment activi-
ties. The government believes, for ex-
ample, that some students and Buddhists
have been planning to demonstrate against
the presence of South Vietnamese forces
in Cambodia and the effects of US air
strikes in the countryside.
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USSR-SALT
Initial attempts by US negotiators at the
fourth round of SALT to'elicit Soviet commentary on
the significance of their recently detected silo
construction met with studied ambiguity. Soviet
Deputy Foreign Minister Semenov and other represen-
tatives have Side-stepped questions as to the pre-
cise meaning of Semenov's remark to Ambassador Smith
that Moscow's new silo construction "does not have
a bearing" on the US-USSR strategic relationship.
During the informal conversations following the 16
March plenary, some of the Soviets responded to US
queries on this issue with allusions to the need for
"modernization."
Generally speaking, the Soviets thus far
have been slippery but affable, low-keyed,
and vague. They clearly feel themselves
on the defensive with respect to the dis-
closure of the new silos and doubtless
wished to assess the US reaction before
giving another aggressive push to Moscow's
position on other contentious issues.
The Soviet delegation has not yet homed
in on forward-based systems or Moscow's
proposal for an ABM-only agreement, but
there is no real sign of new flexibility
in its view on either count.
There is, in fact, slim prospect for much
early progress. Semenov himself will
leave for Moscow on 27 March to attend the
Soviet Party Congress, and he will prob-
ably not be back in Vienna until well into
April.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
PAKISTAN
After a second meeting with President Yahya in
Dacca yesterday, Mujibur Rahman appeared discouraged
but said he hopes discussions will continue. Another
meeting is scheduled for today.
According to .a report reaching the Consulate-
General in Karachi, Yahya does not believe Pakistan
can be held together by force. He therefore intends
to give in to most of Mujib's demands and turn "the
whole bloody business" over to him--meaning the Na-
tional Assembly, which is to write a constitution.
According to other reports, the main barrier to an
agreement is Yahya's insistence that martial law
will continue until a constitution is written.
Meanwhile, the pro-Peking East Bengal Communist
Party may already be trying to take the initiative
away from Mujib and his moderate followers.
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USSR-EGYPT
Moscow has extended $200 million in credit for
new aid projects to Egypt under, agreements signed
Tuesday. (The Egyptians report that the total
amount of aid involved is $400 million, but half of
this we believe includes credit provided but not
yet used.) Cairo news accounts say the Soviets will
provide almost $70 Million for rural electrification
and $40 million for additional land reclamation;
both projects were discussed during Soviet President
Podgorny's visit to Cairo in mid-January., The USSR
is also said to have'agreed in principle to provide
more civil aircraft to the Egyptian airline'. In ad-
dition, Moscow will 'provide more than $30 million
for construction and expansion of cement factories
and $55 million for grain silos and commercial de-
velopment of Lake Nasir.
The 19/1 trade ,protocol also was signed. It
calls for total trade of about $470 million, roughly
the: level of trade in recent years. Egypt has
agreed to ship primarily consumer goods to the USSR
while Moscow will send crude oil, petroleum products,
and cast iron to Cairo.
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MEXICO
The government is continuing its efforts to
round up the remaining members of the Revolutionary
Action Movement (MAR), an extremist organization of
young Mexicans trained in sabotage and terrorisM, by
North Korea. On Monday the government announced
that it had arrested 19 of the extremists whose ob-
jective was the overthrow of the Mexican Government
and the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist regime.
The MAR apparently was in the final stages of placing
cadres in strategic Iodations around the country and
is said to have planned to begin its program of sab-
otage this summer.. Interrogation of those arrested
So far has resulted in a detailed account of travel
routes and contact networks involving numerous Com?
munist countries,.
The Echeverria administration apparently
intends to keep publicizing the details
of the "plot," particularly Soviet and
East German involvement in providing
transit facilities, funds, and equipment
to the revolutionaries. The US Embassy
notes that the affair could have a signif-
icant effect on the government's attitude
?
toward the activities of Communist diplo-
matic, cultural, and trade missions in
Mexico; toward the activities of exiles
from all over Latin America; and toward
leftist groups within the administration.
The recall yesterday of Mexico's ambassador
to Moscow is a clear sign that the govern-
ment's attitude toward Communist countries
is beginning to cool.
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NOTES
Argentina: The Cordoba labor confederation
has called for another 14-hour strike today, and
the government is likely to use the federal police,
or perhaps army troops, if Monday's violence re-
curs. The politically motivated labor leaders in
Cordoba have 'already accomplished one of their
principal objectives-the resignation of Governor
Uriburu7-and now they have their sights on the te-
moval[of President Levings ton.
Turkey: The leaders of the four largest polit-
ical parties are meeting again today with President
Sunay to search for a new government that would be
both acceptable to the military and politically
feasible. There is some speculation that retired
General Fikret Esen will be named prime ministeri
but such a move probably would be strongly opposed
by the political leaders unless the government is
given a provisional, status that would limit its
mandate and duratiOn Meanwhile, the purge of mil-
itary officers suspected of holding personal polit-
ical ambitions reportedly is continuing, and troops,
especially in the Ankara area, remain in a high
state.of readiness.
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Top Secret
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