THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 23 MARCH 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005992543
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 23, 1971

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The President's Daily Brief
23 March 1971
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
23 March 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Argentine Army commander Lanusse has removed Presi-
dent Levingston and A junta has assumed command.
(Page 1)
The situation in Luang Prabang is assessed on Page 2.
Peking says Japanese Government leaders are welcome
at.any time. (Page 3)
A four-state Arab federation may be formed on Sunday.
(Page 4)
The Pakistan National Assembly has been postponed
again but broad outlines of an agreed solution may
have been reached. (Page 5)
The Turkish situation remains in flux. (Page 5)
Japanese Communist Party representatives will attend
the Soviet party congress. (Page 5)
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ARGENTINA
The shaky situation in the-country since the
violent riots in the city of Cordoba.last?week fi-
nally erupted yesterday and early ?this morning.
President Levingston. made an abortive effort to
oust army commander General Alejandro Lanusse and
when it failed a junta of thecommanders of the
three armed services assumed power and removed the
President. The junta announced that it would "re-
assume political power until the objectives of the
Argentine revolution are fulfilled."
GeneraZ Lanusse will certainly be the
strongman in this apparent attempt at
collective rule designed to return
Argentina to an elected government.
The desire of the military to acceler-
ate the return to a representative de-
mocracy was largely responsible for the
ouster of President Ongania last June
and may have been the most serious point
of disagreement with Levingston, who
wanted to wait four or five years.
Lanusse seems to have the necessary support in
the military to carry out a more rapid return to
civilian government. All major troop commanders
rallied to the general's side when Levingston an-
nounced he was being removed.
This support could weaken quickly if
Lanusse fails to demonstrate early prog-
ress in solving the nation's pressing
political and economic problems.
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LAOS
Defense Minister Sisouk accompanied Prime Min-
ister Souvanna on a:visit to Luang Prabang yester?
day. Sisouk. later said he believed the situation
had stabilized but he expressed dismay that govern-
ment units north and northeast Of the town had fled
in-the'face of what he believed was a small enemy
force of some 300 to 400 attackers. Sisouk has or-
dered two generals and several other officers. from
the General Staff to move to the royal capital to
assume control of all tactical operations, in Mili-
tary Region 1. General yang Pao, commander of Mili-
tary Region 2, has also visited Luang Prabang and
has ordered the move of some 850 of his irregulars
to reinforce the town and clear the area.
King Savang, assuming a more active role has
commanded that government units recapture the posi-
tions nearest the airfield. The King canceled his
traditional appearance at Army Day in Vientiane yes-
terday in order to remain in Luang Prabang; his con-
tinued presence there should help to calm the jit-
tery residents.
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COMMUNIST CHINA - JAPAN
:Chou-En-lai remarked that Japanese Gov-
ernment leaders are welcome to visit China at any
time. He singled :out the "present prime minister
and foreign minister"
Chou's statement stands in marked contrast
to Peking's public posture of irreconcil-
able hostility toward the Sato government.
Chou can hardly expect this gesture to be
acted on, but his remarks suggest that
Peking is prepared to deal with Sato if
it finds an opportunity to make a signifi-
cant change in key bilateral issues.
The most important of these issues appears
to be Tokyo's relations with Taiwan. Pe-
king's new flexibility is designed to
forestall the possibility that Japan, as
a result of its large economic stake in
the island, will replace the United States
as "protector" of the Nationalist regime.
Peking recently underlined its concern on
this issue when it for the first time de-
manded that Tokyo abrogate the Japan-
Taiwan peace treaty of 1950 as a "condi-
tion" ?to establish diplomatic relations.
Chou En-Zai
recently encouraged the visit of many more
"leftist" businessmen to China and defined
as leftist anyone who "visualized" sever-
ing relations with Taipei. This formula-
tion is clearly meant to suggest to Japa-
nese business circles that mainland mar-
kets will prove more fruitful than those
in Taiwan.
Peking's rigid policy toward Japan until
now has stood in contrast to its concilia-
tory attitude toward most of the rest of
the world in the past year. This approach
has neither undercut the Sato government
nor appreciably arrested a drift toward
a "one China, one Taiwan" policy in Tokyo.
Chou's recent remarks suggest that Peking
is now considering substituting honey for
vinegar in its Japan policy.
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ARAB FEDERATION
A four-state union bringing together Egypt,
Syria, Libya, and the Sudan will be announced on
Sunday if Libyan-Sudanese differences can be re-
solved, according to Arab press circles. Failing
this, a three-state union, excluding the Sudan,
will be formed. The union is to encompass defense,
foreign, and economic affairs.
The decision to proceed with the formal
union likely was confirmed during Presi-
dent Sadat's unannounced one-day trip to
Libya last week. Sadat, fully aware of
the popular opposition to such a federa-
tion in both Libya and the Sudan, has
heretofore resisted Libyan Premier Qad-
hafi's calls for unification. Sadat may
now believe, however, that at least a
facade of a united front will help main-
tain Arab support for his policy of nego-
tiations.
Sadat may also hope Syria's inclusion
will generate additional domestic support
for President Asad. Since he came to ?
power last November, Asad has muted Da-
mascus' opposition to a negotiated settle-
ment and has endorsed Cairo's stand.
The Sudanese position on joining the
union is still unclear. President Nu-
mayri, moving cautiously on an issue un-
popular in the Sudan, has insisted on a
protracted timetable for formal union.
His position has caused Qadhafi to react
critically and there have been some bit-
ter exchanges between the two.
Despite the broad scope of the planned
merger, it is not likely that effective
political integration is in the cards.
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NOTES
Pakistan:, President Yahya, after ameeting
with Bhutto and Mujib, has postponed the convening
of the National Assembly that had been scheduled
to begin writing anew constitution on Thursday.
he and Mujib:have
already agreed to the broad outlines of a solution.
Although many details remain to be worked out, mar-
tiallaw would end, civilian provincial governments
would begin to function, and an interim national
Cabinet formed, With alljparties apparently in
agreement that mOre,timeis needed for negotiations:,
among. the political, leaders, it seems unlikely there
willipe a repetition of the violence that followed
Yahyals earlier postponement of the assembly on 1,
March.
Turkey: Prime minister. - designate Erim now
has received pledges of support from, both major par-
ties i although the. second largest, the Republican
People's Party, apparently split over the issue. He
is reported intending to select up to half of his
cabinet ministers from among independents and:from
outside Parliament. The threat-of an ultimate mil-
itary take-over, persists, and many Turks view Erim
as "a last chance" for some time-to come. Although
the nationwide military alert. has, been relaxed, se-
curity precautions in some areas have actually been
tightened because of new warnings of leftist terror-
ism-.
USSR-Japan: The Japanese Communist Party will
attend the Soviet:party congress which opens next
week. This decision resulted from recent consulta-
tions between the two parties in Moscow, and, as a
concession, the Soviets apparently have pledged to
cease their support of a pro-Soviet Japanese Commu-
nist splinter group. It does not appear that thefl
parties reconciled their conflicting ideological
views on such issues as the invasion of Cechoslo-
vakia, but the wording of their joint -communique'
suggests that they agreed to keep their differences
private. The presence of the Japanese party at the
congress will be a significant, gain for Moscow and
may benefit politburo member Suslov, who apparently
was instrumental in easing the strained relations
between the two parties.
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