THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 24 NOVEMBER 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993994
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: November 24, 1973

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The President's Daily Brief.
24 November 1973
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 513(l),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
24 November 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Defense Min-
ister Dayan has taken a tough line on how Israel
should approach future peace negotiations. (Page 1)
Jordanian armed forces Commander in Chief Majali
recently gave the US ambassador a lengthy lecture
on what Majali described as a dangerous deterioration
in King Husayn's standing with army and tribal lead--
ers. Ambassador Brown observes that growing discon-
tent among the King's traditional supporters is cause
for concern, particularly if a future crisis should
put their loyalty to the test. (Page 3).
The nine EC countries will make oral demarches in
Arab capitals this weekend in an attempt to convince
the Arabs that-EC unity will not be breached by tac-
tics of discrimination. (Page 4)
General Secretary Brezhnev will arrive in India on
Monday on his first trip to a Third World country
since he became party chief. The visit will prob-
ably produce further agreements on military and
economic aid as well as Indian endorsement of many
Soviet foreign policy initiatives. On sensitive
matters, however, the Indians will keep their dis-
tance. Prospects for the visit are discussed on
pages 5 and 6.
Participants at the Gaullist party congress last
weekend displayed considerable dissatisfaction with
President Pompidou's leadership. Orthodox and
liberal Gaullists seemed to emerge from the congress
with a new sense of unity that excludes Pompidou.
(Page 7)
Canada is considering wheat deals with Syria, Egypt,
and Libya totaling $375 million. The negotiations,
which follow reports of similar discussions with
Venezuela, suggest that Ottawa is trying to link
wheat exports to crude oil supplies. (Page 8)
Notes on the death yesterday of Japanese Finance
Minister Aichi and on the performance of the dollar
this week also appear on Page 8.
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ARAB STATES - ISRAEL
Otherwise there has been
no additional evidence of imminent Arab military
action since that which was passed yesterday by the
Israelis and which apparently caused them to begin
mobilizing reserves and to bring their forces to a
high state of alert. From the Arab side, King
Husayn expressed concern over reports of heavy Is-
raeli military traffic moving toward Jericho and
the Jordan Valley, but
there is no unusual military activity in
Jordan.
Yesterday's Israeli-Egyptian discussions at
Kilometer 101 were inconclusive; the two sides will
meet again today. A UN spokesman said that both
sides showed a "constructive" attitude and clari-
fied "many details." Meanwhile, other Israeli and
Egyptian military representatives at Kilometer 101
are discussing arrangements for returning bodies of
soldiers killed in action, moving additional Egyp-
tian wounded out of Suez city, and reunifying Egyp-
tian families separated as a result of Israeli mili-
tary operations west of the Suez Canal.
Israeli Defense Minister Dayan has taken a
strong stand with respect to how Israel should
approach future peace negotiations. Dayan told a
meeting in Tel Aviv yesterday that the Israelis
must ensure that the Geneva peace conference is
neither a "withdrawal conference, as the Americans
want," nor a "surrender conference, as the Arabs
want." He stressed that Israel must not relinquish
control over the Golan Heights, the Jordan West
Bank, or Sharm ash-Shaykh at the tip of the Sinai
peninsula, and added that the Israelis should
"tackle the Bab al-Mandab" blockade. Dayan's state-
ments contrasted with those attributed to him ear-
lier this week when he reportedly called for flex-
ibility in negotiations with the Arabs.
(continued)
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Tel Aviv sent a formal complaint yesterday to
UN Secretary General Waldheim, charging Syria with
"murder and mutilation" of Israeli POWs. The Is-
raelis remain seriously concerned over the fate of
Israeli prisoners and want to bring international
pressure on Syria to at least publish a list of
POWs. Israel claims Damascus holds 127 Israelis,
while the Israelis have 360 Syrian prisoners of
war.
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JORDAN
The Commander in Chief of the armed forces,
Field Marshal Majali, has added his voice to those
of others disgruntled over palace politics. The
veteran soldier lectured the US ambassador for an
hour recently on what Majali described as the de-
terioration of King Husayn's standing with the army
and with tribal leaders of the East Bank. He claimed
that Husayn's growing isolation from these tradi-
tional supporters leaves the King open to betrayal
by courtiers and politicians who now control the
palace and the government ministries.
There have been numerous complaints of this
kind by army officers since the King's unpopular
divorce and remarriage, the granting of privileged
positions to the new Queen's family, and the restora-
tion to power of politicians with pro-Palestinian
sympathies. Husayn's recent efforts to come up
with a workable solution to the Palestine problem
have also stirred resentment and concern among
Bedouin army officers. Ambassador Brown observes
that the growing discontent among the King's tradi-
tional supporters is cause for concern, particularly
if a future crisis should put the loyalty of army
and tribal leaders to the test.
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EC - MIDDLE EAST
The nine EC members have agreed to pursue a
common policy in the Middle East and will so advise
Arab governments. Partly in an effort to help the
Dutch, embassies of EC members in each of the Arab
capitals will select .a spokesman who will present
an oral demarche to the host government before the
Arab Summit on November 26. The approach is to be
"extremely diplomatic" but will try to convey two
basic points:
--that EC unity will not be breached by Arab
tactics of discrimination, and
--that common EC policy toward Middle East
questions will not be revised by Arab
pressure.
The demarche will also include mention of the
Nine's intention to contribute jointly to a Middle
East settlement.
?The Nine have also agreed to respond to Tel
Aviv's criticism of the EC's Middle East policy,
but only after the Arab Summit. They will use as
the basis for these talks their generally pro-Arab
declaration of November 6.
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USSR-INDIA
General Secretary Brezhnev will arrive in New
Delhi on Monday for a five-day visit. This will be
his first trip to a Third World country since he be-
came party chief.
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On more sensitive matters, however, Brezhnev
probably will tread cautiously. He will certainly
make a pitch for Indian support for Moscow's vague
Asian collective security scheme, but New Delhi has
carefully avoided becoming identified with this
clearly anti-Chinese proposal and no doubt will con-
tinue to resist.
Both sides will have China very much in mind
in discussing international problems. They have a
common distrust and fear of Peking, and this has in
the past led to increased mutual cooperation. This
peaked two years ago, however, with the signing of
the Soviet-Indian treaty and the Soviet Union's
strong support for India during the war with Paki-
stan. Unhappily for Moscow, these developments did
no more than halt temporarily New Delhi's efforts
to seek improved ties with China. The Soviets have
been doing their best to frustrate Sino-Indian rap-
prochement, and Brezhnev will certainly try to get
a reading on India's present attitude toward Peking.
The Brezhnev visit is likely to produce further
military aid agreements. India's long shopping list
includes sophisticated surface-to-air and anti-tank
missiles and advanced aircraft, although the Soviets
are not likely to meet all these requests. As for
naval equipment, the Soviets have agreed to discuss
India's request for guided missile cruisers and de-
stroyers, and probably will supply minesweepers.
(continued)
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?The Indians are prepared with a number of pro-
posals for increased Soviet economic assistance, and
Brezhnev is likely,to be at least partially respon-
sive. The two countries may also sign a space re-
covery agreement which would permit the USSR to
send planes and ships to India several times a year
to assist Soviet space ventures. In addition, an
accord on commercial shipping appears almost ready
for signature.
If Brezhnev renews Moscow's request for special
privileges for the Soviet Navy at Indian ports, how-
ever, the Indians are likely to continue to say no.
Just this week Indian officials leaked word to the
press that the USSR had formally asked for "stand-
ing port privileges," adding that New Delhi probably
would not agree. Soviet Defense Minister Grechko
broached a proposal of this kind to the Indians last
summer without success.
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FRANCE
Participants at the Gaullist party congress
last weekend displayed considerable dissatisfaction
with President Pompidou's leadership. Pompidou
himself was not there, and references to him were
greeted with lukewarm enthusiasm. In contrast,
former Prime Ministers Debre and Couve de Murville
and current Prime Minister Messmer were roundly
applauded. Pompidou's isolation was further il-
lustrated by the acclaim given Chaban-Delmas, who
represents the liberal wing of the Gaullist party.
In effect, the Gaullists seemed to emerge from the
congress with a new sense of unity that excludes
Pompidou.
?The delegates' attitudes reflect a discontent
that has been building for some time. Many Gaullists
have come to believe Pompidou is unable to provide
the strong leadership needed to solve the increasingly
difficult problems facing France. In addition, there
was a new spate of rumors at the congress that the
President's health will not permit him to complete
his term, which runs to 1976. Die-hard Gaullists
at the congress reportedly formed a watch-dog com-
mittee to follow and comment on Pompidou's policies
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NOTES
Japan: The death yesterday of Finance Minister
Aichi?TEFFives Prime Minister Tanaka of one of his
most experienced and capable supporters. Tanaka him-
self will take over the key Finance Ministry, at
least temporarily. Aichi's death will probably
bring about an early cabinet shuffle.
Canada: Ottawa is considering wheat deals
with Syria, Egypt, and Libya totaling $375 million.
At current prices, this would represent 1.8 million
tons of grain, and would be Canada's largest sale
since the contract with China in September. The
negotiations, which follow reports of similar ones
with Venezuela, suggest that Ottawa is trying to
link wheat exports to crude oil supplies. Canada
faces rationing at the wholesale level unless there
is a sudden improvement in supply. Before the cut-
back, eastern Canada obtained 22 percent of its
crude from the Arab countries and 44 percent from
Venezuela.
International Monetary Developments: The
dollar closed significantly stronger on European
money markets this week. Since Monday it has ap-
preciated 2 to 3 percent against the mark, the
pound, and the French franc. Concern over the ef-
fects of the oil shortage continues to depress
these currencies.
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Top Secret
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