THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 9 OCTOBER 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007837
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: October 9, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012300010014-5
The President's Daily Brief
October 9, 1974
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4.1
Exempt from general
declassification schedule of CO. 11652
exemption category 5B( I )12),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15: CIA-RDP79T00936A012300010014-5
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
October 9, 1974
Table of Contents
Greece: The cabinet resigned yesterday in favor of
a caretaker government that will conduct par-
liamentary elections on November 17. (Page 1)
Oil Price Increases: Saudi Arabia and Iran plan to
boost their take from oil sales in conformity
with recent OPEC decisions. (Page 2)
Israel: Prime Minister Rabin has been taking his
case for a major shift in policy directly to
the people. (Page 3)
Egypt-Israel:
Laos: Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma is tentatively
scheduled to return home on October 18. (Page 5)
France- West Germany://
/ (Page 6)
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GREECE
The Greek cabinet resigned yesterday
in favor of a caretaker government that
will conduct parliamentary elections on
November 17, Prime Minister Karamanlis
and Foreign Minister Mavros remain in
the interim cabinet.
Principal competitors in the elections are
Foreign Minister Mavros Center Union and the New
Democracy party headed by Prime Minister Karamanlis,
who is still riding a wave of popular support gen-
erated by the recent return to civilian rule. Two
left-of-center parties--the New Political Forces
and the Democratic Socialist Union--have decided
to merge with the Center Union.
On the extreme left, "Democratic Defense,"
which was active in resistance efforts against the
junta, has announced its support for Andreas Papan-
dreou, who has been denouncing elections as an
"electoral coup" designed to deprive the left of
time to organize an effective campaign.
Greece's highly politicized armed forces, which
have also been grumbling about the timing of elec-
tions, appear to have adopted a wait-and-see atti-
tude. In assessing the role of the armed forces,
the notes that:
--Karamanlis' recent suspension of officers
who represented the hard core of Major General
Ioannidis' power base in the army has done
much to restore the chain of command and make
the army more responsive to the government.
--In the longer term, A stable and effective
right-of-center government under Karamanlis
could lead to neutralization of the army as
a threat to democratic parliamentary govern-
ment
--The army has been involved in politics too
long to be counted out. Many officers remain
convinced that politicians are unable to give
Greece the stability they feel is necessary
to avoid the threat of communism and anarchy.
Should they decide that Karamanlis is letting
the left get out of hand, the army could be
expected to intervene again.
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OIL PRICE INCREASES
Saudi Arabia and Iran plan to boost
their take from oil sales in conformity
with recent OPEC decisions reached at
Quito and Vienna.
Saudi Arabian Petroleum Minister Ahmad Zaki
Yamani has notified Aramco that his government will
apply the Quito formula to all oil lifted since
July 1 and the Vienna formula to all liftings since
October 1. This move would increase the average
cost of Saudi crude oil from an estimated $9.47 per
barrel to between $9.85 and $10.00 per barrel. At
present production levels, Saudi Arabia's annual
oil revenue would increase by $1.2 to $1.7 billion.
It is not clear whether King Faysal has approved
the price hike. Minister of State for Foreign Af-
fairs Omar Saqqaf, no friend of Yamani's, told a
US official that the petroleum minister's action
was unwarranted and illegal, having been taken with-
out the knowledge of the Supreme Petroleum Council.
Saqqaf said he would advise the King to rescind this
increase.
Saudi Arabia had been expected eventually to
adjust prices in line with other oil-exporting coun-
tries of the region. Nevertheless, such an adjust-
ment flies in the face of Yamani's assertions that
Saudi Arabia would like to see prices lowered.
Meanwhile, the National Iranian Oil Company
has sent a letter to the consortium operating in
Iran with its preliminary views on the implementa-
tion of the Vienna OPEC decision.1
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ISRAEL
Prime Minister Rabin has been taking
his case for a major shift in policy di-
rectly to the people ever since he re-
turned from the US last month. He appar-
ently expects that his persuasiveness and
his enhanced prestige will attract suffi-
cient support to overcome the objections
of political leaders.
Public attention has been focused primarily
on Rabin's assertion, first made in a US television
interview broadcast on October 1, that Israel is
prepared to make territorial concessions to the
Arabs--specifically parts of the West Bank to Jor-
dan--in return for a declaration of "nonbellicrer-
ency."
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EGYPT-ISRAEL
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the Egyptians have been conducting a 25X1
?bridging exercise in the canal since Saturday.
the exercise might be re-
lated to Cairo's raising the state of readiness of
its military forces because of the first anniversary
of the October war. In the past, the Egyptians have
set up additional bridges across the canal during
periods of heightened tensions in the area. Such
bridging activity is not prohibited by the disen-
gagement agreement.
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LAOS
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma is
tentatively scheduled to return to Laos
on October 18, but some influential non-
communist officials are not enthusiastic
about the prospect.
The non-communists have taken advantage of
Souvanna's absence to delay action on a number of
key Pathet Lao policy initiatives., including dis-
solution of the National Assembly, Souphanouvong's
18-point political program, and recognition of com-
munist shadow regimes in South Vietnam and Cambodia.
Most recently, they have blocked cabinet approval
of an economic assistance agreement with North Viet-
nam negotiated by Communist minister Soth Phetrasy.
The non-communists are apprehensive that a
physically weakened Souvanna will be more inclined
than ever to accommodate Pathet Lao political pres-
sures.
? Powerful right-wing Finance Minister Ngon
Sananikone, who was in Washington last week for
the annual meetings of the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank, stated privately to US
officials that the coalition government--meaning
the non-communist side--was doing better without
Souvanna, "who gave in too much" to Lao Communist
demands.
Tianethone Chantharasy, the coalition's
highly regarded non-communist deputy minister of
foreign affairs, recently echoed Sananikone's
fears, warning that if the Prime Minister's pro-
pensity for capitulation continues, the Pathet Lao
will outmaneuver the non-communists on every major
political issue.
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FRANCE ? WEST GERMANY
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Top Secret
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