THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 11 MARCH 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007694
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 11, 1974

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The President's Daily Brief
March 11, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5BI 15,f 21.(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
March 11, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
King Husayn's domestic position and the trend of
his thinking on the establishment of a Palestinian
?state on the West Bank are discussed on Page 1.
Two of Portugal's top military men are reported to
have been sent into exile over the weekend in con-
nection with the growing dispute over Lisbon's pol-
icy in the African territories. (Page 3)
After 11 days of hard bargaining in Moscow, West
German negotiator Egon Bahr has returned to Bonn
with a report on some agreements with Moscow.
(Page 4)
Khmer Communists maintained pressure on the iso-
lated provincial capital of Kampot during the week-
end, but a Cambodian Government counterattack has
begun. (Page 5)
The Pathet Lao are delaying formation of a coali-
tion government. (Page 6)
Another Soviet space probe has arrived in the vi-
cinity of Mars. (Page 7)
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JORDAN
King Husayn, who postponed his viait to the US
last month when a mutiny developed among enlisted men
in the army, arrives in Washington today. He presum-
ably expects that his visit will reinforce his stand-
ing at home, which was briefly shaken by the mutiny.
More important, he probably hopes that reaffirmation
of strong US support will strengthen his hand in bar-
gaining with other Arab leaders and the fedayeen
over the eventual disposition of the Israeli-occupied
West Bank.
Many members of the East Bank Jordanian estab-
lishment, would
prefer--as would the Palestinians--to see Husayn re-
linquish his claims to the West Bank and turn his
attention instead to developing the rest of the coun-
try. As of now, Husayn still has no intention of
doing that. Last week he sent special envoys to
President Sadat, King Faysal, and President Asad
with the message that he wished to discuss the Pal-
estinian issue with them after his visit to Washing-
ton.
Husayn may still be angling for an agreement to
hold an internationally supervised plebiscite on the
West Bank as his price for cooperating with the
Palestine Liberation Organization during peace nego-
tiations. The Arab summit in Algiers last November
designated the fedayeen group as the sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinians; Jordan, in effect,
acknowledged this at the recent Islamic summit in
Lahore. Husayn may believe that the other Arab
leaders need him to negotiate the withdrawal of
Israeli forces because Tel Aviv refuses to deal with
the fedayeen.
At home, Husayn seems to have assuaged, at
least temporarily, the discontent that erupted in
his Bedouin army on February 3. He continues to
refuse, however, to fire either Prime Minister Rifai
or army chief of staff Bin Shakir whose dismissals
were among the demands of the mutineers.(
/the
King recently praised Rifai for his "daring and his
1
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defense of truth against all challenges." The Prime.
Minister figured prominently during Secretary Kis-
singer's latest visit to Amman, and in local press
coverage of the event overshadowed his principal
adversary, Crown Prince Hassan, the King's brother
and the heir apparent.
? Husayn's public endorsement has probably
strengthened Rifai's position over the short term.
Although Husayn may be simply paving the way for
Rifai to make a graceful exit, the King is unlikely
to dispense with Rifai as prime minister soon because
he does not want to appear to be giving in to the
mutineers' demands.
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PORTUGAL
Two of the country's top military leaders may
have been exiled over the weekend in connection
with the growing dispute over Portugal's overseas
policy.
The US defense attache reports that Armed
Forces Chief of Staff General Costa Gomes and his
deputy, General Spinola, were flown out of the coun-
try on Portuguese civil flights on March 9. Accord-
ing to this account, they had attempted a peaceful
takeover of the government on the previous evening.
Heavy security measures were noted at Lisbon
airport on March 9 and some military personnel were
placed on alert. One of the deported officers re-
portedly was flown to Madeira, an island off the
coast of Morocco, and the other to the Azores.
Lisbon has been tense since the publication
last month of a book by General Spinola which ad-
vocated greater autonomy for Portugal's overseas
territories as well as the liberalization of the
Portuguese Government itself. The fact that the
book was allowed to be published was thought to re-
flect Prime Minister Caetano's tacit approval of
Spinola's thesis.
In a speech before the National Assembly on
March 5, Caetano's remarks were ambiguous enough to
allow different interpretations according to the
preconceptions of the audience. His speech was
followed by two days of debate on a vote of confi-
dence for Caetano's overseas policy. All speakers
pledged their support for the Prime Minister, al-
though some deputies called for a speeding up of
the autonomy process.
Spinola is Portugal's most famous war hero and
is said to be extremely popular in military circles,
particularly with junior officers. His widespread
support in the military may explain the use of civil
rather than military aircraft in the deportation
flights.
The exile has not been confirmed. The situa-
tion may be clarified later today when the US de-
fense attache seeks to keep a scheduled appointment
with General Costa Gomes. Regardless of the status
of the officers, the debate initiated by Spinola's
book is now before the nation and cannot be withdrawn.
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WEST GERMANY - USSR
After 11 days of strenuous bargaining in Moscow,
Chancellor Brandt's chief foreign policy adviser,
Egon Bahr, returned to Bonn on Saturday relatively
pleased with his trip. A formula was worked out
ending a long struggle for the inclusion of West
Berlin in the Soviet - West German scientific-tech-
nical agreement. Bahr says the formula will be a
model for handling the touchy Berlin question in
future negotiations between Bonn and Moscow.
Some progress apparently was made toward set-
tling the question of Bonn's right to represent the
legal interests of West Berlin, but further negoti-
ations will be necessary.
Brezhnev assured Bahr that the number of ethnic
Germans permitted to emigrate to the Federal Repub-
lic will increase. Brezhnev's promise came during
their last meeting, which Bahr called the "turning
point" in the talks. The Soviet leader also dis-
cussed at length West German participation in three
economic projects in the USSR.
Bahr made no announcement of progress concern-
ing Soviet opposition to the establishment of a
federal environmental office in West Berlin, an
omission that suggests this issue is not resolved.
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CAMBODIA
Khmer Communist forces maintained pressure on
the isolated southwestern provincial capital of
Kampot over the weekend, but a government counter-
attack has begun. Reinforcements have increased
the strength of the Cambodian Army in the Kampot
area to some 3,200 troops. US defense attaches who
visited Kampot last week reported that the city has
been receiving adequate air support from the nearby
naval air base at Ream. Four government aircraft
were damaged, however, in a Communist mortar attack
on the base on March 10.
The insurgents apparently hope to intensify
the action around Kampot to compensate for their
recent tactical setbacks in the Phnom Penh area.
Intercepted Communist messages state that munitions
and troop reinforcements are being shifted from
Phnom Penh's southwestern front to Kampot in an ef-
fort to "liberate" the provincial capital. Other
messages, however, indicate that insurgent forces
southwest of Phnom Penh are badly understrength
and are exhausted after nearly two months of steady
fighting. As a result, the insurgents may have
considerable difficulty in reinforcing the Kampot
front. No major fighting developed in the Phnom
Penh area over the weekend.
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LAOS
Pathet Lao actions--and lack of action--have de-
layed Prime Minister Souvanna's efforts to form a
coalition government. Pathet Lao chairman Prince
Souphanouvong has failed to dispatch a plenipotentiary
to Vientiane with .a promised list of Pathet Lao can-
didates for the coalition cabinet and its advisory
political council. Moreover, there is still no indi-
cation as to when chief Pathet Lao negotiator, ?Phoun
Sipraseuth, who left for .consultations in Sam,Neua on
February 26, will be returning to Vientiane.
Meanwhile, the. Pathet Lao delegation in Vientiane
is.demanding more effective neutralization of the twin
capitals of Vientiane and Luang Ptabang as the price
of further progress toward forming the coalition.
The Pathet Lao Call this situation the primary ob-
stacle to a meeting between Souphanpuvong and Souvanna
in the royal capital to work out final arrangements.
on the new government. The delegation is also com-
plaining bitterly about the government's lethargy in .
transferring municipal police functions in both cities
to the Joint Police Forces.
The positions of the Pathet Lao are being used
against. Souvanna by his conservative Opponents in the
National Assembly. They are demanding convocation of
a special legislative session to address the Consti-
tutional problems raised by Souvanna's plan to form
the new government by direct royal investiture. The
cabinet's recommendation to the King against a special
session may head off this move.
The-conservatives claim they are not trying to
obstruct Souvanna's scenario for forming the coalition,
but they apparently do want to reserve the right to
approve' the Prime Minister's appointees to the new gov-
ernment.:
To make matters even more complicated for the
Prime Minister, there are indications that the King
also is backing away from his assurances to Souvanna
that he would invest the coalition without prior ap-
proval by the assembly.
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NOTE
USSR: Mars 7, the third of four Soviet space
probes launched from Tyuratam last summer, has ar-
rived in the vicinity of the planet./
/ The fourth probe, Mars 6,
will reach the planet tomorrow and is expected to
? attempt to land a capsule. The first two probes
arrived in the vicinity of the planet last month.
One of them--Mars 5, which reached the planet on
February 12--is now in orbit around Mars.
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Top Secret
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