THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 5 MARCH 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014737
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 5, 1975

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012500010016-1
The President's Daily Brief
March 5, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category, 5Bt I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
March 5, 1975
Table of Contents
Cambodia: Government troops continue to give ground
northeast of Phnom Penh. (Page 1)
Palestinians-Egypt: Leaders of the PLO are moving
cautiously to repair Palestinian-Egyptian re-
lations. (Page 2)
Ethiopia: The land reform program will almost cer-
tainly lead to widespread rural unrest. (Page 3)
Notes: Israel; Peru; Turkey (Pages 4 and 5)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Cambodia: Lower Mekong
; OudOng
Toal Leap
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4
PH NON!
PENH'
Positions lost
Navy het_x_lay
iPochenton
Airport
15
Banam
Neak Luong
Naval craft sunk
Takeo
SOUTH VIETNAM
'r
?21'??
0 Miles 10
557421 3-75 CA
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P
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CAMBODIA
Government troops continue to give
ground northeast of Phnom Penh, but re-
lief forces have broken the communist
encirclement near Route and are as-
sisting in an operation to retake the
town of Tuol Leap.
Two government positions on the west bank of
the Mekong have fallen so far this week, and the
communists have begun to mortar the Cambodian navy's
headquarters from newly won territory on the east
bank. Farther south on the Mekong, the communists
are keeping steady pressure on the navy's base at
Neak Luong and have kept it cut off from the nearby
town of Banam. The government lost two landing
craft yesterday, and a patrol boat was sunk near
Neak Luong.
Recent intercepted messages have reflected
communist efforts to get into position so that they
can fire artillery against Pochentong airport.
The communists are expecting fresh arms deliv-
eries from Hanoi, and fragmentary intercepted mes-
sages suggest that the materiel should have already
arrived. Prince Sihanouk claimed in a press inter-
view last week that Hanoi had agreed to increase
its deliveries in response to our airlift to Phnom
Penh.
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PALESTINIANS-EGYPT
Leaders of the Palestine Liberation
Organization have been chastened by Presi-
dent Sadat's uncharacteristically strong
reaction to the PLO policy statement of
February 26 condemning step-by-step nego-
tiations and are now moving cautiously to
repair the damage to Palestinian-Egyptian
relations.
The head of the PLO political department, Faruq
Qaddumi, is soon to lead a Palestinian delegation to
Cairo to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Fahmi.
The group can be expected to minimize the importance
of the offending PLO statement and argue that the
Palestinians were condemning the US rather than
Egypt.
On Monday, a
Palestinian radio broadcast from Cairo claimed both
sides had agreed to "contain the crisis for the sake
of Arab unity." Second-level Palestinian leaders
have publicly called for a return to normal rela-
tions with Egypt. The Palestinians nevertheless
continue to oppose another agreement between Egypt
and Israel and are also continuing quiet efforts
to marshal Arab support for their position.
There is no indication that President Sadat,
who will probably be meeting with Secretary Kis-
singer in Aswan when the Palestinians arrive, will
meet with the delegation. Sadat has given no sign
that he has backed down from his demands that the
PLO either withdraw its policy statement or send
the entire PLO executive committee to Egypt to iron
out Palestinian-Egyptian differences. The Qaddumi
visit, however, could clear the way for a subse-
quent meeting between Sadat and PLO Chairman Yasir
Arafat, who has yet made no public comment on the
contretemps.
Should the Egyptian efforts ultimately produce
nothing for the Palestinians, and should the Pales-
tinians be excluded from the negotiating process,
Arafat would quickly revert to more militant tac-
tics and endorse further fedayeen terrorism. The
US embassy in Beirut considers that Arafat is keep-
ing this option very much open.
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ETHIOPIA
The land reform program announced
yesterday by the ruling military council
will almost certainly lead to widespread
rural unrest.
Powerful landowners, especially those already
in armed opposition to the military regime, will
oppose the land use edict, which restricts holdings
to about 25 acres. In the northern provinces they
may be joined by small farmers and peasants unwill-
ing to see an end to communal ownership of tribal
lands.
In the southern provinces, where the land ten-
ure system has been characterized by absentee owner-
ship and ownership of large estates by aristocrats,
the government seems to be banking on peasant sup-
port to neutralize landowners who are political
opponents of the council. Tribal differences be-
tween landowners and tenants in the south have long
been the cause of animosity and hostility in that
region.
The council yesterday also announced a major
reshuffle in the civilian cabinet, apparently in an
effort to improve administrative effectiveness.
The changes removed several ministers who were ap-
pointed to serve under executed former prime minis-
ter Endalkatchew. Mikael Imru, another former prime
minister who was serving as information minister,
has now become political adviser to the chairman of
the council.
In Eritrea Province, government forces and
rebels have engaged in numerous firefights during
the past three days.
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NOTES
The rightist Likud bloc is planning protest
demonstrations in Israel during the Secretary's
visit to the Middle East.
These protests--directed primarily against any
further Israeli concessions without getting a for-
mal peace agreement from Egypt--are likely to marshal
substantial public support. The bloc's criticisms
of US policy parallel broader popular concern that
the Rabin government may be forced to concede "some-
thing for nothing" to Egypt. Prime Minister Rabin's
immediate problem, however, is not Likud, but the
conservatives within his cabinet, principally De-
fense Minister Peres. According to the latest em-
bassy assessment, Peres is sticking to a hardline
position and even casting doubt on the worth of any
Egyptian non-belligerency declaration that might
be attained in return for Israeli withdrawal from
the Sinai oilfields and passes.
Peru
(continued)
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Turkish prime minister.- designate Sadi Irmak's
announced intention to form a "national coalition"
of the country's two largest political parties ap-
pears to have been dashed.
Justice Party leader Suleyman Demirel said
yesterday that his party will not participate in
the coalition. Irmak will probably continue to
negotiate with other parties in the hope that he
can form a coalition including former prime minis-
ter Ecevit's Republican Peoples Party, the Demo-
cratic Party, and a few independents. Should Irmak
fail to break the political impasse, he could con-
tinue as caretaker for the time being. President
Koruturk's prestige is clearly on the line, however,
and there are rumors that if a new government is
not formed by March 6, he might resign.
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Top Secret
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