THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 10 AUGUST 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007788
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: August 10, 1974

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The President's Daily Brief
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August 10, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification uhedule of Et/ 11652
exemption category 5%1),(2).0)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
August 10, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The world in the past 24 hours has seemed to mark
time as the US succession process worked itself out.
None of the potential troublemakers has produced
even a rumble. (Page 1)
In Geneva, the atmosphere at the Cyprus peace talks
has improved. The British say the conference has
settled down to a "reasonably pragmatic performance."
(Page 3)
Israeli aircraft bombed fedayeen targets in south-
eastern Lebanon yesterday for the third straight day
and the Israelis also flew a reconnaissance mission
over Syrian lines for the first time since May 24.
The Syrians meanwhile appear to have begun flying
their new MIG-23 fighters. (Page 8)
Somalia may have given the USSR "full base rights"
and "full" access to all Somali airfields under terms
of the recent but still-unpublished Soviet-Somali
Friendship Treaty. (Page 6)
Racial violence in Angola is hampering the local mil-
itary junta's efforts to form a provisional coalition
government preparatory to gaining independence from
Portugal. (Page 7)
A note on Ethiopian military-government friction ap-
pears on Page 8.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
WORLD
The world in the past 24 hours has seemed to
mark time as the US succession process worked itself
out. None of the potential troublemakers--Vietnam,
Korea, Cyprus, fedayeen--has produced even a rumble.
It may be that many have not had time to consider how
the situation might be turned to advantage. Many,
the Soviets for example, had probably not anticipated
the situation to come to a climax so rapidly and,
still in something of a state of shock, are without
fixed course. These conditions will naturally dis-
sipate quickly.
Some of those most concerned--the Soviets, ?the
Chinese, the Egyptians, the West Europeans--will be
looking for reassurance and will be buoyed by the
vote of confidence that President Ford has given to
Secretary Kissinger.
The initial Soviet response, as communicated to
us, has been pretty much along the lines anticipated.
The Soviet public reaction has been guarded. The
stress is on the expectation that the new US Presi-
dent will follow the course of his predecessor. The
support for detente in the U$, they say, rests on
durable forces, not on the fate of individual leaders.
This is what the Soviet leaders would like to believe
?and have others believe.
Moscow may, in fact, be a bit more worried than
these expressions of confidence show. The American
desk officer at the Soviet Foreign Ministry remarked
to Ambassador Stoessel yesterday that the main concern
of the Soviet government is that the direction of
US-Soviet relations, established in recent years, be
continued.
Moscow's East European allies have all reported
President Ford's succession. In most cases they have
provided generally favorable biographies on the Pres-
ident, noting that he has supported "Cold War" posi-
tions in the past but now holds favorable views on US-
Soviet relations.
Fighting continued Friday on Cyprus as both sides
sought to improve their positions in all parts of the
island. The conference in Geneva, however, is re-
ported to be settling down to serious discussion.
(Continued)
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
We have noted no development in the Middle East
that we would trace to the events in Washington.
Scheduled consultations on the negotiating process
continue, and in most Arab capitals the desire for
an early Geneva:peace conference remains undiminished.
Sadat is pursuing his efforts to reconcile Arab dif-
ferences, and is trying to postpone. an Arab summit
conference, which he thinks would be divisive. .Sadat
is conducting a risky sideshow with Libya, but he is .
likely to keep it in the nature of a back-fence squab-
ble. He has, indeed, renewed his offer of A new di-
alogue with Tripoli.
Spoiling operations by such fedayeen groups. as
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
can still be expected, and all the more so as a Geneva
conference approaches.
The fighting in South'Vietnam yesterday was at
modest levels. We found no new signs of any early
spread in the fighting or of any sharp increase in
its intensity. President Thieu put South Vietnameae
forces on a full alert against the. possibility that
the North Vietnamese. might try to take advantage. of
the situation- The North Vietnamese have confined
themselves so far to warning President Ford not to
follow past US policies toward Indochina.
North Korea took no visible .steps that could be
interpreted_as getting ready for some sort of spoil-
ing action, .....Its. single commentary, 21 hours after
President Nixon's. resignation, used typically abu-
sive language in briefly.noting the "falling out"
of the "wicked boss" .of the US imperialists. It
did not mention Ford's accession to the presidency.
Peking has. informed the Chinese people of the
change, but has not yet told them how.tathink about
it. The New: China News Agency quoted. favorably Mr.
Nixon's reference..in.his. resignation. speech to his
"unlocking the doors" between the US and China.
In Japan, concern was expressed in some quarters
that the new administration in Washington might .lean
in the direction of increased trade protectionism.
In Latin America, Havana hailed the departure_
of former President Nixon as the.removal of a major
obstacle to a fresh approach to the Cuban problem.
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BULGARIA
ALBANIA
ITALY GREECE r
Merted+*Ankara
Incirlik
CYPRUSJ
LEBANON
LIBYA
Territory controlled
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UK Sovereign base area
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20
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CYPRUS
The atmosphere at the Geneva peace talks improved
somewhat yesterday with the negotiation in Nicosia of
a partial accord on truce lines. The remaining truce
lines were referred to Geneva for further negotiation.
The British anticipate final agreement on the truce
line, but it may take some hard bargaining.
The partial accord reportedly was facilitated
by the Greek representative's acceptance of troop
dispositions of August 9 as the base point. The
Greeks had been insisting on those of July 30, the
date of the first Geneva declaration, or those of
July 22, the date of the UN cease-fire resolution.
A pro-government newspaper in Ankara has pub-
lished details of the proposal the Turkish delegation
in Geneva is expected to present on a "United Repub-
lic of Cyprus." The proposal comes close to de facto
partition. Autonomous Greek and Turkish Cypriot
administrations would each have responsibility for
their own finance, commerce, education, domestic se-
curity, justice, and even military forces. The fed-
eral government and parliament, which would be split
equally, would be left with little more to do than
regulate relations between two autonomous areas.
The newspaper account allots the Turkish Cypriots
some 30 percent of the island--north of a line from
Kokkina on the northwest coast, to Lefka, through
Nicosia, to Famagusta on the east coast--considerably
more territory than Turkish troops hold. This terri-
torial bid is probably Turkey's most ambitious posi-
tion and is negotiable. Foreign Minister Gunes, how-
ever, has hinted that the Turks are prepared to renew
military action if they do not attain their minimum
objectives in Geneva.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
A military venture does not
now seem reasonable to obtain objectives that might
be won diplomatically. Turkish political leaders are
still making the decisions in Ankara, and our best
evidence indicates they prefer a negotiated settle-
ment.
Turkish government leaders, however, are commit-
ted to securing an improved position for Turkey and
Turkish Cypriots on Cyprus. If they cannot do this
peacefully, nationalistic fervor in Turkey has created
a receptive atmosphere for a political decision in
favor of another military operation.
The US embassy in Athens believes that the Greek
government will be realistic in accepting modifica-
tions in the 1960 London-Zurich accords favorable to
Turkish Cypriots and Ankara. The Greek government
can live with relatively significant changes in in-
tercommunal relations and will find it easier to ex-
plain away concessions now, while the memory of the
ex-junta's folly is fresh, rather than later.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ISRAEL-ARABS
Israeli aircraft bombed fedayeen targets in
southeastern Lebanon yesterday for the third con-
secutive day, apparently in the same general areas
as other recent raids. The Israeli action probably
is related to operations that the Israelis have
mounted in retaliation for the abduction of several
Israeli Arab villagers by fedayeen earlier in the
week.
Syrian antiaircraft fire downed a UN transport
yesterday, killing nine Canadians. Syrian aviation
authorities .say_the plane was flying in, an area
where Syrian air defense units were engaging Israeli
aircraft that were bombing targets in southern Leb-
anon. Although the Syrians have acknowledged re-
sponsibility for .the incident, the Israelis deny any
of their aircraft were in action at the time the UN
plane crashed..
The Israelis also flew a reconnaissance mission
over Syrian lines esterday for the first timp Qint-Nc,
May 24.
The Syrians, meanwhile, appear to have begun fly-
ing their new MIG-23 fiahtprs
About 40 of the aircraft have been de-
vered to Syria so far.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR-SOMALIA
The Somali government is now reported to have
given the USSR "full base rights" and "full" access
to all Somali airfields under terms of the still-
unpublished Soviet-Somali Friendship Treaty signed
in Mogadiscio on July 11. The USSR in return is to
provide Somalia with arms and related equipment over
a 10-year period. According to this report, the
Soviets also have been given access to Dafet air-
field near Mogadiscio for "observation aircraft."
Somalia long resisted Soviet pressures for the
Friendship Treaty and has heretofore been a frequent
critic of foreign bases in Africa. The Somali
government, however, depends heavily on the USSR
for military assistance, and this factor may have
impelled Mogadiscio to provide increased, and for-
malized, access to its facilities.
The Soviets would find it advantageous to
stage naval reconnaissance flights from Somalia(
The USSR may hope to follow in Somalia a pattern
it has established in Guinea, where these reconnais-
sance aircraft use Conakry airport periodically.
The agreement may not only formalize the rou-
tine access the Soviets already have to naval facil-
ities at Berbera, but may also provide for some
expansion of these facilities. The USSR is well
aware, however, of the sensitivity in Somalia as
well as among its neighbors to the acquisition of
bases by the big powers.
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ANGOLA
Racial violence is hampering the local military
junta's efforts to form a provisional coalition gov-
ernment preparatory to gaining independence from
Portugal. Much of the violence in Luanda, Angola's
capital and most urbanized area, has been caused by
whites attacking blacks, but black Angolans also are
reported to have been fighting among themselves.
Supporters of the three Angolan insurgent organiza-
tions have also taken to the streets.
Angolan security forces have been ineffectual,
seemingly reluctant to use a heavy hand against
blacks or whites. Lack of decisive action on the
part of the authorities risks a serious erosion of
the security situation, worse racial violence, and
possibly antigovernment action by die-hard whites.
Earlier hopes that Angola's independence would
be some time in coming have been jolted by the
speed-up in Lisbon's timetable for independence in
all of its overseas territories. Some whites seem
to be reacting to rumors that the military govern-
ment is about to hand the territory over to the in-
surgents. At the least, white inhabitants believe
that the emphasis has shifted to winning insurgent
participation in a coalition government at the ex-
pense of other Angolans.
These whites fear a repetition of events at
the beginning of the Angolan rebellion in the early
1960s when numerous white settlers were killed.
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NOTE
Ethiopia: Prime Minister Mikael has averted
a confrontation with the Armed Forces Coordinating
Committee by agreeing to dismiss four cabinet min-
isters accused of corruption by the military. The
military had threatened to take over the government
if the ministers, who were appointed on August 3,
were kept in office. The four reportedly will be
arrested shortly.
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Top Secret
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