THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 13 FEBRUARY 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007673
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: February 13, 1974

Declassified in Pari - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012000010008-5
The President's Daily Brief
February 13, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of EO, 11652
exemption category 5B(I )A2)(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012000010008-5
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
February 13, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The arrest of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is discussed
on Page 1.
King Faysal is trying to postpone the conference of
Arab oil ministers that had been scheduled tomorrow
in Tripoli. (Page 2)
Israel may be planning to retaliate for Syria's
shelling of Israeli civilian settlements on the
Golan Heights. (Page 3)
Communist footdragging has considerably diminished
chances for naming a new coalition government in
Laos by February 21, the first anniversary of the
peace accord. (Page 4)
Philippine troops are gradually reasserting control
over Muslim rebels in the city of Job. (Page 5)
President Sadat appears to be offering good offices
to bring together representatives from India, Paki-
stan, and Bangladesh so that there can be a fully
attended Islamic Summit on February 22. (Page 6)
Romania's President Ceausescu is touring Arab states
to stave off an economic boycott of Romanian goods.
(Page ,7)
Prime Minister Whitlam, during a recent tour, was
largely successful in convincing Southeast Asian
leaders that Australia is sincere about desiring a
constructive role in the region. (Page 8)
At Annex,
China
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USSR
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is under arrest, accord-
ing to his wife. Police took Solzhenitsyn from his
wife's apartment late Tuesday, after he refused to
comply with a summons to appear at the prosecutor's
office that morning. Solzhenitsyn had appeared to
abandon all caution recently and to seek confronta-
tion with the regime. His defiance of the summons
was a challenge to legal authority that could not
be left unanswered.
Western newsmen who saw Solzhenitsyn on Monday
told the US Embassy in Moscow that he was resolved
not to make the authorities' task easier. He did
not seem averse to provoking them into taking him
forcibly. He gave the correspondents part of the
unpublished last half of the Gulag Archipelago; the
extract condemns current Soviet legal procedures.
Solzhenitsyn also issued this week a written
statement that refers to the "complete and general
illegality ruling in our country," and demands that
a host of past and present wrongs be corrected. In
essence, he is enunciating the principle of civil
disobedience.
Implications of the arrest for Soviet foreign
and domestic policy will depend on the nature of the
charges and the handling of the case. The most
satisfactory solution, from the Kremlin's point of
view, would be expulsion--a theme that has been
sounded repeatedly both privately by Soviet of
and publicly by the media. The leveling of
formal charges yesterday, however, leaves open the
possibility that he will be tried and convicted.
A quick trial and light sentence on some minor
charges, perhaps unrelated to publication of the
Gulag Archipelago, might be the best way out for
the Soviets. Such a solution would lessen the
damage the affair will have on Moscow's detente
policy and on relations with foreign communist
parties. Considerable damage would be caused by a
long detention, a trial focused on Solzhenitsyn's
activities as a writer, and a heavy sentence.
The decision to arrest the author was made at
the very top. Until now, the leadership has not
been ready to prosecute, largely because of the ef-
fect abroad. Commentators had voiced the opinion
that action should not be taken that would make a
martyr of Solzhenitsyn. Letters in the press urged
that he leave, or be made to leave, the country.
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ARAB STATES
The conference of Arab oil ministers, sched-
uled to begin tomorrow in Tripoli, was postponed
early this morning, according to a spokesman of
the Kuwait Embassy in Beirut. No reason was given
for the postponement.
King Faysal had been working to obtain a
postponement until after the Islamic summit in
Pakistan February 22 and 23.
? Taysal reportedly has been motivated by a
desire to allow more time for attempts to work out
a Syrian-Israeli disengagement. He may believe
that unless there is progress on this soon, there
is little prospect for an easing of the Arab oil
embargo. The Saudis may also hope that postpone-
ment of the meeting will prompt Washington to in-
crease pressure:on Israel for concessions.
Meanwhile, Faysal and presidents Boumediene,
Sadat, and Asad are scheduled to meet today in Al-
giers--not in Aswan, as reported earlier. They are
likely to focus on military disengagement on the
Syrian front as well as on the oil embargo.
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SYRIA-ISRAEL
The Israeli press claims that the three-hour
Syrian barrage along the entire front on February
11 was one of the heaviest since the October war
and that for the first time Israeli settlements
there were hit. Two Israelis were killed and five
soldiers were.wounded. One settlement was severely
damaged.
, the Syrian
shelling was perfectly timed to catch the settlers
by surprise. Israeli commentators have suggested
that this indicates a deliberate decision by Syria
to inflict maximum casualties. The US Embassy in
Tel Aviv believes that the government is behind
press stories suggesting the attacks violated a
tacit Syrian-Israeli understanding. The understand-
ing was that the Israelis refrained from retaliatory
air strikes as long as Damascus limited its attacks
to military targets.
Damascus may have launched the attacks in
response to Prime Minister Meir's recent statements
about Israeli retention of the Golan Heights and to
allegations that the Israelis plan to start build-
ing a new city there. The shelling may also be
more Syrian muscle-flexing prior to moving toward
a disengagement agreement,
The Israelis have shown some restraint in the
face of past Syrian shellings. They are likely to
retaliate, however, if there are more attacks on
Israeli settlements, particularly if these result
in civilian casualties. The press has suggested
that Israel might respond by shelling Damascus air-
port Or by conducting air raids on Syrian military
positions.
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LAOS
Prime Minister Souvanna's prospects for naming
a new coalition government by the first anniversary
of the Laos peace agreement on February 21 have been
considerably diminished. The chief Lao Communist
negotiator, Phoun Sipraseuth, did not bring Souvanna
the promised list of Communist cabinet ministers when
he returned from his headquarters last week. The
Pathet Lao leader, Prince Souphanouvong, sent only
a letter dealing with procedures on investing the
new government.
The Communists, according to Souvanna, are still
strongly opposed to submitting the names of the new
coalition cabinet to the National Assembly, whose
authority they do not recognize. They want to submit
the new government directly to the King instead, but
he has steadfastly insisted that, under the constitu-
tion, assembly ratification must precede royal inves-
titure of the government.
Souvanna, for his own reasons, is also reluctant
to take the issue to the assembly, which is dominated
by his rightist political opponents. They are unhappy
with his handling of the negotiations and would almost
certainly insist on some say in the new government's
formation.
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PALAWAN
Philippines
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