April 15, 1971

Sen Muskie charges FBI conducted widespread surveillance of nationwide Earth Day rallies last Apr 22, Sen s; makes pub FBI intelligence rept on rally, Washington, which he attended, to support charge; holds at least 1 Sen and probably more were subjected to surveillance because of their participation in rallies; contends such surveillance is 'intolerable'; White House press sec Ziegler scores s; says Nixon Adm did not order surveillance of Earth Day activities; Muskie says he got rept from 'third party'; stresses it is not stolen document; rept, dated June 10 '70 and apparently distributed among Govt agencies, has 2 appendixes on radical pol orgns; Muskie says he resents inference that Amers protesting against pollution were connected with radical groups

N Vietnamese troops use flamethrowers against S Vietnamese forces in heavy fighting on 2 sides of Fire Base 6; siege of base begins 3d wk; some S Vietnamese defenders attempt to flee base on landing skids of US helicopter lifting out Amer advisers; 1 Amer adviser reptd killed, another missing in latest fighting; S Vietnamese spokesman says N Vietnamese use flamethrowers for 1st time; no reason is announced for lifting out of 4 Amer advisers; 1 adviser remains; 96 enemy killed in 16 hrs of fighting; other details on siege; enemy gunners fire 2 rockets into S Vietnamese hq base at Tancanh, 7 mi NE of Fire Base 6; 8 S Vietnamese bns are committed to siege; map

Pres Nixon announces relaxation of 20‐yr old trade embargo with Communist China; says US exports will be ltd to nonstrategic items and notes imports of designated goods from China will also be permitted; will rev list of goods being prepared for him by inter‐agency group and Natl Security Council; cites other proposals to aid trade, including relaxation of currency controls to permit use of dollars by Chinese; White House press sec Ziegler says Nixon made final decision to relax restriction 2 wks ago but says timing of announcement was greatly influenced by recent events in Peking; Cong reactions to decision seen generally favorable; officials regard immediate expansion of Chinese‐US trade unlikely but believe it could reach several hundred million dollars over next decade; assumptions are that trade will be placed on same basis as that with USSR

dispatch by table tennis team member T Boggan describing Chou relaxed manner with group, especially with team hippie member G Cowan; team illus sightseeing

Dir Helms defends CIA as necessary to survival of dem soc and asks US to 'take it on faith that we too are honorable men devoted to her service,’ s, ASNE; s, his 1st in pub since becoming dir in '66, is given with Nixon's specific approval; he says CIA seeks to adapt intelligence work to Amer soc, 'not vice versa', his appearance was initiated by ASNE pres Noyes; Helms says there is 'growing body of criticism which questions need and propriety for dem soc to have a CIA'; says he respects view, but says some critics take advantage of silence of those engaged in intelligence to say things that are 'either vicious or just plain silly'; stresses CIA has no domestic security functions and never sought any; says it has no stake in policy debates, that it cannot and must not take sides; says Natl Security Council, Foreign Intelligence Advisory Bd, Mgt and Budget Office and 4 Cong coms regularly rev CIA operations, plans and orgn; illus