THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 26 MARCH 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007707
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 26, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012000010041-8
The President's Daily Brief
? March 26, 1974
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Exempt from general II ?
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exernption category 5B(
declauified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
March 26, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Yugoslavia is expanding its quarrel with Italy over
Trieste. (Page 1)
Loyal Ethiopian troops have put down a mutiny by rad-
ical airmen at a base south of Addis Ababa. (Page 2)
The South Vietnamese Air Force has begun daily air
strikes against Loc Ninh in Binh Long Province and
targets in northern Tay Ninh Province. (Page 3)
Hanoi has announced that a high-level Khmer Communist
delegation will make an official visit to North Viet-
nam soon. (Page 4)
Pathet Lao representative Phoumi Vongvichit will meet
with Prime Minister Souvanna in Vientiane to discuss
a list of coalition cabinet and political coUncil
members. (Page 5)
North Korea's proposal for direct negotiations with
the US is a basic bargaining position in the North-
South talks, which resume tomorrow. (Page 6)
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AUSTRIA
r..
ITA LY
Ljubljana.
YUGOSLAVIA
cZ Trieste
Free Territory
of Trieste
(1947-54)
ZO
ADRIATIC
SEA
Umago
iume
.Pisino
?..?International boundary(1970
MI LES
0 5
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
YUGOSLAVIA-ITALY
Yugoslavia is expanding the quarrel with Italy
over Trieste. A high-level Yugoslav Foreign Ministry
official said yesterday that Belgrade "would now be
forced" to reopen its claim to Zone A, an area the
Italians have held without challenge since 1954.
The official also threatened that Yugoslavia might
reveal the contents of secret talks with Italy, a
move that could prove embarrassing to the Italian
Government.
Yugoslavia is also making a show of military
preparedness against the alleged threat of an Ital-
ian invasion of Zone B. Belgrade's actions are a
flat rejection of Rome's efforts last week to back
away from the fuss created when it renewed its claim
to Zone B, which the Yugoslays have administered
since 1954.
Tito probably intends no more than a demonstra-
tion of determination, but he may keep the heat on
for some time. It gives him a chance to generate
patriotism that could help obscure domestic problems
during the national election in April and the party
congress in May. Tito would not hesitate to use a
NATO exercise scheduled for the northern Adriatic
this week to inflame matters further.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ETHIOPIA
Loyal.. troops yesterday put down.a mutiny by
radical air force, personnel at the air base at
Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa. The Capital
is calm; troops are guarding radio stations and
the ordnance depot.
Tensions between moderates and militants in
the military and between the military and the civil-
ian government are likely to persist. The air force
mutineers reportedly are the hard core of the mili-
tary dissidents who ousted the last government and
wrested major concessions from the Emperor.
They are impatient with the government's fail-
ure to come through with promised pay raises and
with the lack of progress toward economic and polit-
ical change. They are also angry at the government's
failure to try former cabinet members suspected of
corruption. The militants believe continued agita-
tion is the only way to maintain the momentum of
last month's rebellion.
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,)CAMBODIA
PHNOM
? ,,e(
PENH
\
TAY
NINH
Saigon
River
Corridor
SOUTH
VIETNAM' ,
? Loc Ninh
\\IBINH
LONG
Tonle Charn
SAIGON?
.-?
South China Sea
CON
SON
0 15 3.0 Miles
I
0 15 30 Kilometers
555524 3-74
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SOUTH VIETNAM
On March 22, the South Vietnamese Air Force be-
gan daily air strikes against Loc Ninh in Binh Long
Province and other targets in Communist-controlled
areas of northern Tay Ninh Province.
The strikes are in reaction to increased Commu-
nist shelling and ground probes against the Tonle
Cham Ranger base on the border between Binh Long and
Tay Ninh. The base is the only remaining government
position along a Communist corridor leading to Saigon,
and has been under pressure for over a year.
The government's chief delegate to the Two Party
Joint Military Commission has been instructed to de-
nounce the attacks against Tonle Cham and warn that
the air strikes will increase if the Communists do
not agree to a truce in the area. The Communists
will protest sharply against the air strikes, and
may well retaliate by increasing attacks elsewhere.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CAMBODIA - NORTH VIETNAM
A Khmer Communist delegation headed by "deputy
premier" and "defense minister" Khieu Samphan will
make an official visit to North Vietnam in the near
future, according to Radio Hanoi. Since the insur-
gents' dry season offensive is falling considerably
short of the Khmer Communists' expectations, future
strategy and tactics as well as the Khmer Communists'
tough attitude toward negotiations seem certain
topics for discussion. Samphan may also request ad-
ditional military aid from the North Vietnamese.
There has been no indication that Sihanouk will
participate in Samphan's talks with North Vietnamese
leaders. Even though Sihanouk has been to Hanoi
twice this year, he probably would like an opportu-
nity to confer with Samphan. The two last met a
year ago during Sihanouk's visit to Khmer Communist -
controlled areas of Cambodia.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
Pathet Lao chairman Prince Souphanouvong is
sending his plenipotentiary representative, Phoumi
Vongvichit, to Vientiane to resume talks with Prime
Minister Souvanna.
Phoumi is scheduled to arrive tomorrow
Souvanna and Phoumi hope to draw up a final
list of coalition cabinet and political council mem-
bers. They will probably also try to resolve the
few procedural difficulties still impeding the neu-
tralization of the twin capitals of Vientiane and
Luang Prabang.
Souvanna believes that Phoumi's visit will fa-
cilitate a meeting between himself, Souphanouvong,
and the King in Luang Prabang to "consecrate" the
new coalition sometime before the ?Lao New Year in
mid-April.
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KOREA
North Korea's proposal for direct negotiations
with the US for a peace treaty to replace the 1953
Armistice is in the first instance ..a basic bargaining
position in the North-South talks, which resume to-
morrow.
In making the offer, Pyongyang in effect is stat-
ing that it will not accept any arrangement, short of
a peace treaty, for continuing the Military Armistice
Commission once the UN Command is dissolved. The
North Koreans are particularly opposed to any formula
that would lead to an all-Korean armistice commission
unless, at the same time,. US troops are withdrawn
from South Korea.
Pyongyang is also attempting to focus interna-
tional attention on the continued US military role in
the South. Part of the proposal calls for the US to
cease sending arms to the South, to remove its troops
"at the earliest possible date," and to cease main-
taining any bases in the South once the troops have
left. Pyongyang does not, however, demand US troop
withdrawal prior to completion of a peace agreement.
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NOTE
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Top Secret
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