THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 3 DECEMBER 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007883
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: December 3, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
The President's Daily Brief
December 3, 1974
5
7r14.6.L25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Exempt from general
declassification uhedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category, 5B( I 1,12),13)
declassified orgy on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
December 3, 1974
Table of Contents
Israel: President Katzir comments publicly on Is-
rael's'nuclear Capability. (Page. 1)
Egypt:
USSR-Palestinians:
(Page 2)
Soviets win guarded concessions
from Arafat. (Page 4)
USSR: Soyuz-16 is first manned Soviet mission
directly related to Apollo-Soyuz project.
(Page 5)
Ethiopia: Eritrean insurgents retaliate for in-
creased military operations against them.
(Page 6)
Laos:
(Page 7)
Spain,: Publication of draft law allowing political
parties in sharply limited form disappoints
many Spaniards. (Page 8)
Notes: Japan; Iraq-Kurds (Page 9)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ISRAEL
Israeli President Katzir is quoted
as saying Sunday during a reception for
international science writers that Is-
rael has the potential to produce atomic
weapons, and would do so if necessary.
According to press accounts, Katzir was
evasive when asked how long it would take
for Israel to produce nuclear weapons and
whether parts already existed for them.
It is highly unusual for Israeli officials
to comment on Israeli nuclear capabilities, and
Katzir's remarks may well have been intended as a
veiled threat to Israel's Arab neighbors. In a
lecture at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv last
Thursday, former Israeli defense minister Dayan
said that the possibility of the introduction of
nuclear arms into the region could not be ruled
out and that "one should not think that only the
Arabs will have these weapons."
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
EGYPT
(continued)
2
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR-PALESTINIANS
The Soviets apparently won some con-
cessions from Palestine leader Arafat dur-
ing his visit to Moscow last week, but
made it clear that they are not yet ready
to reciprocate with unqualified support
for the Palestine Liberation Organization.
In an end-of-visit communiqug, Arafat
moved a step closer to Moscow's position
and to a PLO commitment to accept a trun-
cated Palestinian state and, indirectly,
Israel's right to exist as a state.
In a tortuously constructed passage, the com-
munique states that the PLO should assume respon-
sibility for any Palestinian territory "liberated
by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the seized
Arab lands, as demanded by well-known UN decisions."
By endorsing this reference to Israeli-occupied ter-
ritory as opposed to Israel itself, Arafat has con-
ceded--although indirectly--to the Soviet position
that Israel proper must continue to exist. Although
Arafat privately accepts this as reality, he prob-
ably will withhold a more explicit acknowledgement
of his position until offered major concessions from
Tel Aviv in return.
Arafat's approving reference to "well-known
UN decisions," in the same breath as withdrawal, is
also a first. It is obviously an allusion to Secu-
rity Council Resolution 242, which calls for an Is-
raeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967
and guarantees the "territorial inviolability" of
all states in the area.
This concession notwithstanding, the Soviets
refrained from an explicit recognition of the PLO
as "sole" representative of the Palestinians. They
also went no further than before in recognizing
the right of the Palestinian people to "statehood,"
without spelling out just what this means.
Moscow evidently still takes a cool view of a
Palestinian government in exile, and the communiaue
makes no mention of it.
The Soviets did announce that a PLO office will
open in Moscow in the "nearest future."
there is as yet
no evidence to indicate that the office will be ac-
credited to the Soviet government.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR
Soyuz-16, the manned spacecraft
launched early yesterday, is.the first
manned Soviet mission directly related
to the joint Apollo-Soyuz project sched-
uled for next July.
Tass has announced that the spacecraft is iden-
tical to the one the Soviets will use for the joint .
mission. The crew of the Soyuz-16 is one of the
back-up teams for the joint project. The current
mission will test new equipment, including a modi-
fied docking adapter. The cosmonauts are also to
carry out a scientific program that includes photo-
graphing the earth; the mission will probably last
three to six days.
Because of the serious problems the Soviets
have had with their manned space program, they are
preparing carefully for the joint mission. Earlier
this year they launched two unmanned Soyuz space-
craft that had been modified with an eye toward the
Apollo-Soyuz mission.
Since the fatal Soyuz-11 accident in June 1971,
the Soviets have flown a total of four manned and
six, unmanned Soyuz missions, not counting the one .
now in orbit. Two of the manned flights were made
this year. The crew of Soyuz-14 occupied a Salyut
space station for approximately three weeks in July;
the flight of Soyuz-15 one month later, however, was?
cut short after two unsuccessful attempts to dock
with the space station.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ETHIOPIA
The recent bombings Of government-
controlled installations inAddis Ababa
were apparently the work of the separa-
tist Eritrean Liberation Front, in re-
taliation for the military council's
decision to step up. operations against
the rebels.
Reinforcements recently began arriving in
Eritrea. Some 1,500 troops will join army units
already there. The insurgents apparently decided
to deal the first blow, opting for terrorist at- .
tacks in the capital in order to demonstrate their,
ability to strike anywhere in the country.
The military council will:probably detain
some .Eritreans who live in Addis Ababa. After the
bombings, the council directed the residents of..
the capital to carry identification cards, and
some have already been arrested for not doing so.
The provisional military government, meanwhile,
has shown renewed interest in consummating agree-
ments for US military assistance. The Ethiopians
held portions of a package offer in abeyance for
several weeks while the late General Aman negoti-
ated for a separate agreement for additional credits
and grant aid.
:The government now shows a strong desire to
proceed. immediately with the credit arrangements
and the cash purchase of military equipment pro-
vided for in the US offer. This intention first
surfaced on November 21--two days before the exe-
cution of Aman--and was cOnfirmed in a meeting on
November 29 between the vice minister of defense
and the thief of the US military advisory group.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
25X1
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SPAIN
The publication yesterday of a long-
awaited draft law allowing the formation
of political parties in sharply limited
form has disappointed those Spaniards
favoring wider public participation in
politics. The draft statute legalizes
"political associations," but makes sure
they have no clout by making them sub-
servient to Franco's National Movement.
The Movement is a collection of predominantly
rightist groups that have supported Franco since the
Civil War. The new law authorizes the Movement to
recognize, suspend, or dissolve the "political asso-
ciations."
Prime Minister Arias wanted a bill that would
permit associations independent of the Movement.
Arias, however, defended the law in a nationwide
speech yesterday by calling it "in agreement with
Spanish reality" and a hopeful new step.
25X1
25X1
25X1
The new law is likely to add to tension that
has been building up in Spain. Many will consider
the proposed legislation a travesty, and will dem-
onstrate their dissatisfaction by ?refusing to form
"political associations."
Last week, 14 centrist opposition leaders were
arrested in Madrid at a meeting called to discuss
the launching of a "Democratic Conference" composed
of seven Christian Democratic and Socialist polit-
ical groups. Those arrested were released the next
day. Participation in the meeting by a former cabi-
net minister and by the son of a former chief of the
armed forces General Staff lent some respectability
.to the aims of those present.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
Japan: It is not clear whether the Liberal
Democrats will accord prime minister 7 designate
Takeo Miki a regular three-year term as party pres-
ident or confine him to a caretaker role. The stay-
ing power of a Miki administration is also uncertain
at this point. His personal position will be rela-
tively weak, because he is the first leader of a
minor faction to head the Liberal Democrats and was
selected abruptly amid a party crisis'. In addition,
Miki assumes office. in the face of intractable eco-
nomic problems and a burden of recovering public
Confidence in time for important local elections
next spring. Miki's main asset in the effort to .
hold.on to office may be the party's continuing in-,
Ability to break the political impasse between Ohira
and Fukuda, the prime contenders for power.
? Iraq-Kurds: The US consul in the Iranian city
of Tabriz, who spent several days last week in the
border area of western Iran, reports that the Iraqi
offensive against the Kurds has "sputtered and fi-
nally gone out." Iranian supply lines to the Kurds
remain open, Kurdish strongpoints are secure,. and
Iraqi government forces have made few gains over
the past several weeks. Winter weather, already
present in that mountainous region, will further
hamper Iraqi operations, and the Kurds will prob-
ably be able to take back much of the ground they
lost over recent months. Other information tends
to bear out the consul's assessment.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012400010002-7