THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 JUNE 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007986
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 18, 1974

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The President's Daily Brief
June 18, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of EO. 11652
exemption category 5B(
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
sf .??
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
June.18, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
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China
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The appearance of political wall posters attacking
Chinese officials by name seems to be the latest
phase in the struggle between leftists and moder-
ates for control of the anti-Confucius campaign.
(Page 4)
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The Soviet press is now giving fuller coverage to
the President's trip to the Middle East and is
straining to emphasize the importance of the Soviet
Union in the region (Page 5)
Left-wing gains in the Sardinian election and more
political violence have added to the difficulties
surrounding the formation of a new Italian govern-
Ment. (Page 6)
Portuguese President Spinola continues to stump the,
country in an effort to consolidate his leadership.
(Page 7)
Close. examination of the joint Soviet-Afghan state-
ment has convinced the US emhassy. in Kabul that his
seeming acceptance of Moscow's scheme for an Asian
collective security system is so carefully hedged
as to be no real endorsement at all. (Page 8)
\soviet)
China\ /(Page 9)
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CHINA
(continued)
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CHINA
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CHINA
The appearance of political wall posters attack-
ing Chinese officials by name seems to be the latest
phase in the struggle between leftists and'moderates
for control of the anti-Confucius campaign. New in-
structions issued late last month authorize attacks
on provincial leaders--a strategy that evidently re-
sponds to pressure from the leftists--and reverse
earlier directives banning attacks by name.
Within the bounds of the new ground rules, how-
ever, moderates in Peking seem to be trying to make
the case that national leaders, even if they double
as province chiefs, should not be considered fair
game. Posters that appeared last weekend criticizing
Politburo member Hua Kuo-feng--who is concurrently
political boss of Hunan Province--have been removed.
Replacing them are posters attacking the Hunan leader-
ship in general, but naming no names. Criticism of
the Peking city leadership last week seemed aimed at
another Politburo member, but no names were mentioned.
Chinese officials at both ends of the political
spectrum seem unconcerned about the recent flurry of
posters.
Vice Foreign Minister Chia? Kuan-
hua who is close to Premier Chou En-lai, said that
the party Central Committee will ultimately decide
the fate of those currently under attack, and that
criticism of specific individuals does not necessarily
mean that they will be purged. Chiao rationalized
that such posters were an example of "democracy," a
line repeated a few days ago by a provincial official
who is himself under attack in his home province.
Actually many provincial leaders have been at-
tacked in wall posters for several months. These of-
ficials continue to appear publicly and meet visitors.
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USSR - US - MIDDLE EAST
The Soviet press is now saying somewhat more
?about the President's trip to the Middle East and is
straining to emphasize the importance of the Soviet
Union to the region. The Soviets now credit them-
selves with making possible the improvement in US-
Arab relations.
In its issue of June 16, Pravda emphasized Mos-
cow's contribution toward a settlement of the Middle
East crisis, and asserted that Soviet support for the
Arabs is responsible for the change in the Middle
East climate. Pravda condemned "cold war" advocates
in the West who, the paper alleges, are trying to
portray the President's trip as a campaign to under-
cut Soviet-Arab relations.
The Soviets are still laboring, as they have
been since the first of the year, to convince the
Arabs, that their demands can be satisfied only with
the continuing support of the Soviet Union. The US
is being portrayed as a Johnny-come-lately whose basic
interests still reside with Israel. This week's issue
of New Times, for example, told its readers that it
was not until the 1973 US-Soviet summit that the US
had pledged to respect the rights of the Palestinian
people.
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ITALY
Left-wing gains in the Sardinian election and
more political violence have added to the difficul-
ties surrounding the formation of a new Italian
government. Final returns from Sardinia, long a
Christian Democrat stronghold, show a 7-percent
gain for the Communists and a 6-percent loss for the
Christian Democrats since the last regional election
in 1969. Large shifts in Italian voting patterns
are unusual, and the Sardinian results will damage
Prime Minister Rumor's efforts to end the quarrel
between his Christian Democratic Party and the So-
cialists over a government austerity program.
Rumor will meet today with the leaders of the
ruling center-left parties for another attempt to
form a government. The soundings Rumor took over
the weekend led him to believe that a compromise
was possible. The Sardinian results may dispel his
optimism and stiffen Socialist opposition. The
Christian Democrats have been on the defensive since
their defeat in the divorce referendum last month.
The Socialists and other left-wing parties will in--
terpret the Sardinian results, coming not long af-
ter the divorce referendum, as another indication
that the trend is away from the Christian Democrats.
Italian voters are obviously blaming the domi-
nant Christian Democrats for the rise in the cost
of living and the growth in political terrorism.
The image of a government that has lost control was
accentuated yesterday when two neo-fascist leaders
were assassinated in their office in Padua.
The gravity of Italy's political and economic
problems appears to be the only factor favoring
Rumor's reaching an accord with his center-left
partners. Any new accord would be erected on a
fragile foundation and could easily come apart the
first time a contentious issue came up.
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PORTUGAL
President Spinola continues to stump the country
in an effort to consolidate his leadership. His lat-
est speeches have stressed the need for order, disci-
pline, and vigilance against extremists. His personal
appeals to the rank and file-of military units are
designed to broaden his control over the military and
the younger officers who planned the coup that over-
threw the caetano regime.
The government, meanwhile, is showing a firm
hand in labor disputes and antigovernment demonstra-
tions by far-left groups. The only major work stop-
page now in progress is a postal workers' strike that
began yesterday. The government has criticized the
strike, promised to study worker grievances, and
warned that it will be firm in ensuring normality.
Spinola may be faced with resignations from the
cabinet, including, possibly, the Prime Minister him-
self. Spinola's most pressing differences, however,
are with Foreign Minister Soares.
Soares and his followers want more immediate
steps toward independence than does Spinola. The
Algiers talks have been suspended, however, and
Soares' trip to Ottawa for the NATO conference may
lead him to postpone his resignation.
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AFGHANISTAN USSR
Close examination of the joint Soviet-Afghan
statement issued at the conclusion of President
Daoud's recent'visit to Moscow has convinced the US
embassy in Kabul that his seeming acceptance of Mos-
cow's scheme for an Asian collective security system
is so carefully hedged as to be no real endorsement
at all.
The statement as worded agreed that such a system
would "meet the interests of all Asian peoples." The
Afghans, nevertheless, managed to insert into the
joint statement the caveat that a precondition for
the creation of a collective security system would be
a "settlement of disputable issues through peaceful
means and elimination of remnants of colonialism."
This is the standard Afghan reference to the Pushtun-
istan issue--a problem with no likelihood of early
resolution. A Soviet news bulletin issued in Kabul
featured quotations from the joint statement on the
collective security concept, but omitted the Pushtun-
istan qualifier.
Daoud also won use of the term "negotiations"
in the joint statement's reference to the Afghan-
Pakistani dispute rather than "discussions," which
up to now is all the Pakistanis have been willing to,
accept. This may call for some skillful maneuvering
on Moscow's part during Prime Minister Bhutto's com-
ing visit to the Soviet Union.
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USSR-CHINA
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FRANCE
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