THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 NOVEMBER 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993975
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: November 2, 1973

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The President's Daily Brief
2 November 1973
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 513(1),(2).(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDEHT S DAILY BRIEF
2 November 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Both fronts in the Middle East were quiet again yes-
terday except for an hour-long skirmish reported by
the Israelis on the east bank of the Suez Canal.
Yesterday's informal UN Security Council meeting only
sharpened the controversy over which nations should
contribute to the UN Emergency Force. (Page 1)
The Khmer Communists have publicly rejected Sihanouk's
recent assessment that they will be unable to achieve
a military solution in Cambodia during the forthcoming
dry season and reiterated their opposition to a nego-
tiated settlement. (Page 2)
Senior Thai officials have stated both publicly and
privately that the new government will continue its
close relationship with the US. (Page 3)
President Pompidou's proposal to his community part-
ners for an EC summit has met with a mixed response.
(Page 4)
The French are proposing a new, broader declaration
of Atlantic principles by NATO. Within the EC,
agreement on a new version of the US-EC declaration
of Atlantic principles is almost complete. (Page 5)
The yen depreciated by more than one percent, and
the dollar continued to gain strength yesterday.
News of the Japanese currency adjustment led to a
rise in the value of the dollar on European money
markets. (Page 6)
The Chinese continue to augment their forces facing
the Soviet Union. (Page 7)
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ARAB STATES - ISRAEL
Both fronts were quiet again yesterday except
for an hour-long skirmish reported by the Israelis
on the east bank of the Suez Canal. The Israelis
claim the clash involved both artillery and tanks
and developed when a company-sized Egyptian force
moved toward Israeli lines near the Gidi Pass.
Israeli and Egyptian officers held a fourth
meeting yesterday to discuss prisoners of war, but
apparently reached no agreement.
Yesterday's informal UN Security Council meet-
ing only sharpened the controversy, over which na-
tions should contribute to the UN Emergency Force.
The Soviet Union demanded that the decision to
utilize Canadian logistic units be withdrawn unless
Warsaw Pact members are also included. For the mo-
ment, Canadian participation seems in doubt. Non-
aligned states insisted that the council disregard
the Israeli requirement that contributors have dip-
lomatic relations with Tel Aviv. The nonaligned
states have sided with the Arabs in pressing Afri-
can nations--which the Secretariat believes should
be represented on the force--to offer contingents
only if they have severed relations with Israel.
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CAMBODIA
The Khmer Communists have bluntly rejected Siha-
nouk's recent public assessment that they will be un-
able to achieve a military solution in Cambodia dur-
ing the forthcoming dry season. In a "birthday greet-
ing" to the Prince on October 26, Sihanouk's in-
country "defense minister," Khieu Samphan, stated
that the war is entering a "decisive and irreversible
phase" that will soon lead to "total victory." He
referred to forthcoming dry season offensives "in
all regions," perhaps indicating that the Communists
intend a nationwide offensive rather than one aimed
exclusively at the capital itself.
Samphan's message is almost insulting in its
felicitations to Sihanouk while in the same sentence
asking him to "accept our wishes...for the complete'
liberation of Cambodia during this dry season." It
states that "all our people, cadres, and combatants
will oppose any effort to negotiate with the govern-
ment in Phnom Penh." A subsequent insurgent state-
ment makes clear that the Khmer Communists will not
negotiate with any third parties either. In this re-
gard, the message seems to confirm Sihanouk's private
statements that he wants a negotiated settlement in
Cambodia but cannot get the leaders in the field to
concur.
The bellicose tone of the message--the first
authoritative public statement by the Khmer Communist
leaders on their military intentions since the insur-
gent offensive against Kompong Cham fizzled in Sep-
tember--is reflected in the insurgents' tactical
communications.
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THAILAND
Senior Thai officials, including army chief
Krit, have privately indicated the keen interest
of the new government in maintaining close ties
with and support from the US. Foreign Minister
Charunphan has stated publicly that Bangkok will
continue its close relationship with the US.
At the same time, the government has moved
to head off criticism that it is insensitive to
the concerns of those who believe that the rela-
tionship with the US needs to be adjusted.
Charunphan has .reiterated Thailand's "total sover-
eignty" over US bases in Thailand and has stated
that, negotiations concerning the reduction of US
forces will continue until a total withdrawal is
achieved. He offered no timetable and' stressed
that the withdrawal would have to proceed gradu-
ally and in accordance with the security situation
in Indochina.
Charunphan is trying to leave open the possi-
bility of relations with Peking by referring to
Bangkok's desire to have good relations with gov-
ernments of different ideological persuasions.
He has made it clear, however, that there will be
no change in Thailand's relations with Taipei, and
has recommended that a new Thai ambassador be sent
to Nationalist China. Such a move would make
early diplomatic recognition by Peking impossible.
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FRANCE-EC
President Pompidou's proposal to his community
partners for an EC summit has met with a mixed re-
sponse. He suggested that the summit be held before
the end of the year and be the first in a series of
regular gatherings. Pompidou said the initial meet-
ing should decide on a procedure for convening rep-
resentatives of the Nine to define common attitudes
for future crises.
Pompidou is clearly dissatisfied with allegations
of Europe's "inadequate" role during the Middle East
crisis and hopes to exploit similar sentiment to em-
phasize the distinction between European and US in-
terests. The French leader also wants to establish
that Western Europe's detente with the East is in-
dependent of that between the US and USSR.
Although Paris has taken the lead in making
clear European unhappiness about US actions in the
Middle East crisis, EC members are very much aware
of their continuing dependence on the US. They hope,
therefore, to make sure that steps toward European
unity do not take on an aura of confrontation with
the US.
Pompidou initially suggested regular EC summits
during a press conference on September 27. At that
time the Germans, Italians, and British responded
positively--possibly because they were looking for
additional ways to invigorate the community.
Bonn has reiterated its support in response to
Pompidou's latest proposal. Other EC members, such
as the Netherlands, may be reluctant to participate
unless France indicates willingness to cooperate in
a community oil-sharing program. The Dutch also
fear that regular summits may have a debilitating
effect on existing EC decision-making machinery.
All members harbor lingering suspicions that Pompi-
dou may primarily be seeking to magnify France's
role in the EC.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NATO-EC
The French are proposing a new, broader declara-
tion of Atlantic principles by NATO. Paris has won
allied approval to defer consideration of the declara-
tion for two weeks, however, to let irritations over
US-European disagreement about cooperation on the
Middle East subside.
The new draft will be added to Paris' earlier
defense-oriented paper. The French Ambassador told
NATO Permanent Representatives on October 30 that
this latest draft takes into account important mat-
ters about which several allies had been concerned.
These presumably include aid to developing nations,
stressed by the Netherlands, and broad political
and economic considerations which allies not in the
EC had insisted be included. Paris originally had
wanted to reserve these subjects for the US-EC dec-
laration. According to a US Embassy source in Brus-
sels, the second French draft will even contain some
reference to burden-sharing, although it will not go
as far as the US wished.
Within the EC, agreement on a new version of the
US-EC declaration of Atlantic principles is almost
complete. A remaining problem is the extent of US-
EC consultation arrangements. The Europeans want
assurances that consultation is binding and recip-
rocal. The next round of talks is expected to be-
gin on November 14.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
JAPAN - MONETARY DEVELOPMENTS
The yen depreciated by more than one percent,
and the dollar continued to gain strength before
the Bank of Japan intervened yesterday. Until re-
cently, the central bank had kept the exchange rate
at about 265 yen to the dollar by intervening al-
most daily. The gradual erosion of the yen in Oc-
tober despite intervention, however, induced the
bank to set the unofficial intervention point at
270 to the dollar.
Pressure on the yen has been strong for some
months because of Japan's declining trade surplus
and record long-term capital outflows. Underlying
this downward pressure is the belief that the de-
clining trade surplus and large balance-of-payments
deficits will continue. If the dollar's strength
holds, Tokyo may allow the yen to float toward an
exchange rate of about 280 yen to the dollar to
avoid a further sharp decline in foreign exchange
reserves.
News of the Japanese currency adjustment led
to a rise in the value of the dollar on European
money markets yesterday, even though European cur-
rencies appreciated relative to the yen.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CHINA
The Chinese continue to augment their forces
facing the Soviet Union.
two new
armored concentrations northwest of Peking adjacent
to a major route to the north. One concentration
at Chang-pei contains over 160 tanks and assault
guns. The second at Chang-chia-kou includes over
60 tanks. These forces constitute at least one
armored division.
The newly identified units may have been moved
north from Shansi Province, where there has been a
corresponding decrease in the number of armored ve-
hicles. The Chinese now have three to five armored
divisions deployed in the Peking Military Region.
Since the Sino-Soviet border clashes in 1969,
the Chinese have significantly strengthened their
forces in this region. Two armies were deployed
there between 1969 and 1971, and an additional army
apparently was formed there last year from existing
units. Defensive positions have been constructed
in advantageous terrain north of Peking.
The Chinese objective apparently is to make a
ground invasion or occupation of Chinese territory
from the north costly, while Peking's growing mis-
sile force acts as a deterrent against a Soviet
nuclear attack.
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NOTES
USSR:
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Turkey: Republican Peoples Party leader Bulent
Ecevit has promised to review the ban on opium pro-
duction if he succeeds in forming a government. He
apparently does not wish to make a move in sharp
opposition to US and European sentiment, but report-
edly feels that some poppy, cultivation must be le-
galized because of pressure from influential growers.
an Ecevit government would
allow a poppy crop for export medical purposes. It
would also press the US for additional funds for
crop substitution and compensation to farmers.
South Korea - Japan: Seoul and Tokyo have
worked out an agreement to settle difficulties
caused by the kidnaping of South Korean opposition
leader Kim Tae-chung by Korean agents in Japan
three months ago. The Korean Prime Minister will
apologize to the Japanese today and will provide
assurances that Kim, who was released from house
arrest in Seoul on October 26, will not be re-
stricted or punished. The South Koreans have
agreed also to dismiss an intelligence officer
identified by Tokyo as involved in the abduction.
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(
Top Secret
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