March 10, 1975

Adam Walinsky and Peter B Edelman, 2 former key aides to late Sen R F Kennedy, say Kennedy told them in '67 that CIA agents had contracted with Mafia in aborted plot to assassinate Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba before Bay of Pigs invasion in '61, ints; say Kennedy told them he had played active role in stopping assassination attempt; high CIA official refuses comment; on Mar 3 '67 columnist Jack Anderson reptd that CIA might have plotted Castro's assassination and depicted Kennedy as official who 'may have approved' operation; Anderson cited what he termed persistent 'rumors' to effect that Castro may have become aware of Amer plot and decided to retaliate by having Pres Kennedy assassinated in '63; because of this possibility, Anderson suggested Sen Kennedy may have been blaming himself for death of his bro; Walinsky says column 'outraged' Sen and led to discussion of alleged CIA-Mafia assassination attempt (L)

Mar 10: Sec Kissinger on Mar 9 brings Egypt's ideas on achieving new Sinai agreement to Israeli leaders; apparently fails during stopover in Damascus to persuade Syrian Pres Assad to drop his opposition to Egyptian-Israeli negotiations; confers with Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Min Yigal Allon and Defense Min Shimon Peres; expects to receive concrete Israeli counterproposals that he can take back to Egyptian Pres Sadat; Israelis are described by diplomats as being generally optimistic that 2d-stage accord on Sinai will be worked out; US officials say 'precise ideas' were given to Kissinger by Sadat but Egyptian newspapers deny this; Kissinger's chief problem is to find formula by which Israel will withdraw from Abu Rudeis oilfields and Sinai mountain passes of Mitla and Gidi in return for significant Egyptian moves toward peace; in impromptu news conf in Damascus, Assad says, with Kissinger sitting next to him, that he opposes 'separate, partial agreements'; says he would favor further limited agreements only if progress could be made on all 3 fronts--Sinai, Golan Hts and West Bank of Jordan River; seems interested in undercutting Sadat by stressing Syria's close alliance with Palestine Liberation Orgn (PLO); seems to warn that unless PLO is accepted at Geneva peace conf, Syria will refuse to attend; withdraws from previous reptd comment of his that Syria is willing to sign peace treaty with Israel; criticizes significance of treaties signed with Egypt and USSR (M)

Carey adm is proposing aid program for mass transit that NYS Transportation Dept officials say will be too small to hold line on subway, bus and rr fares in '76; NYS Deputy Budget Dir Howard Miller says program will hold at same $100-million level as in current state budget; aid level that will be determined by NYS Legis for fiscal '76 will be key element in deciding whether NYC transit fare can be kept at 35c; MTA officials have told legislators that state contribution must rise greatly or fare will have to go up; NYS Transportation Comr Raymond T Schuler says any chance of increasing subsidy is intertwined with Carey's whole revenue and spending program; Sen John D Caemmerer says reason that subsidy falls short of filling projected transit deficit is that Fed operating-aid program does not meet state's expectations; Caemmerer's bill would double state's contribution to $200-million (M)

Work on Alaskan pipeline, after 6 yrs of litigation, Cong controversy, planning, purchasing and hiring of more than 10,000 people, has begun; construction crews have already laid 200-ft sec of pipe near Fairbanks and oil now flows there to test valves and other pipeline gear; crews are also preparing to lay pipe under frozen Tonsina River while other laborers work 12-hr days and 7-day wks to weld pipe and to build other facilities; many essential services are hard-pressed; Alaskan Gov Jay Hammond has apptd 11-member Growth Policy Council to help devise policies for future yrs; map; illus (L)

Article on impact of recession in NJ notes NJ suburbs have lost industries that provided them with taxpayers; notes 60% of all taxes raised in NJ are raised locally, through property taxes, and state has but one broad-based tax, a 5% sales tax; notes efforts to enact state income tax have failed repeatedly (S)

Cambodian Pres Lon Nol invites 7 foreign newsmen to villa, Mar 9, in apparent effort to end spreading rumors that he has fled country; does not permit questions to be asked; makes no comments other than greetings; leaned heavily on cane, which he has used since '71 stroke, during 15 minute visit; Premier Long Boret later says he has not been instructed to reorganize Govt; repts of Govt shake-up persist despite comment; Western pol observers hold prospects for negotiated settlement are almost non-existant unless Lon Nol is replaced; Communist-led insurgent leaders have demanded removal of 7 top Govt officials before they will consider end to fighting and negotiated settlement; pol maneuvering and shake-ups apparently have been inspired by Amer Embassy and Lon Nol Govt in effort to create air of responsiveness as US Cong prepares to vote on continued Amer financial assistance to Cambodia; evacuation preparations by Israeli, Brit, Australian and S Korean embassies described; Govt troops continue efforts to dislodge insurgent forces from Tuol Leap rocket position, which are aimed at Pochentong Airport, Phnom Penh; mil command repts that 24 rockets fell on or around airport, killing 9 persons and wounding 14; 8 rockets fell on Phnom Penh, killing 6 persons and wounding 9; US airlift is continuing despite rocket attacks; illus of Cambodian couple and wounded son in makeshift clinic, Phnom Penh (M)

Iraq has reptdly launched offensive against rebellious Kurds; sources say attack began on Mar 7 all along nothern front; attack came just after agreement between Iran and Iraq and sources say it might mean that Shah of Iran has decided to withdraw his support for Kurdish rebels and that Iraq now feels able to wipe out Kurdish resistance; sources say Iraqi air force bombed Kurdish leader Gen Mustafa al-Barzani's hq in village of Galalah; 50 Kurds reptdly were killed or wounded in air attack; fierce battles are reptldy continuing in several regions; sources say Kurds were taken by surprise and there is danger that they may be overwhelmed any day and resistance crushed; sources in Paris say they believe Iraqis are trying to crush Kurdish rebellion as rapidly as possible in wake of their agreement with Iran (M)

US winter resorts enjoy record or near-record business despite recession; several people linked to tourist business comment (L)

reproduction of Sir Francis Drake's ship The Golden Hind, skippered by Capt Adrian Small, followed trans-Atlantic course taken by Sir Francis Drake in 1579, with exception that Small took short cut through Panama Canal; historians disagree over Drake's landing place on Calif coast (S)

Assessment of mil situation in Cambodia focuses on current stepped-up Communist-led insurgent attacks on Phnom Penh and Pochentong Airport; many foreign mil experts believe they are witnessing final phase of mil victory for insurgents that reptdly could last several mos or longer; all roads to Phnom Penh and Mekong River have been cut; mil observers say river is probably irrevocably blockaded; Govt forces' critical defense perimeter around capital city reptdly is deteriorating gradually; threat of rocket attacks on city and airport assessed; attacks kill avg of a dozen or more civilians and soldiers each day; Govt mil units have been reduced to half strength because of heavy casualties; insurgent forces reptdly have suffered more severe casualties than Govt forces; difference in low morale of Govt forces and high morale of insurgent forces discussed; while Cambodian Govt lists and pays more than 220,000 soldiers with Amer funds, Western analysts estimate that there is maximum of 60,000 combat soldiers in country; Amer officials contend that insurgents have suffered over 15,000 casualties around Phnom Penh in recent wks; say Cambodian Govt mil casualties have been half that amount; mil analysts foresee possible loss of some outlying prov capitals as situation continues to deteriorate and Govt is forced to move troops from isolated towns to defend Phnom Penh; strategic town of Neak Luong is under increasingly heavy siege; loss of town will effectively seal Mekong River; soc conditions in capital during current insurgent attacks described; recent Govt 'shake-up' is seen by many mil experts as 'cosmetic'; US Pres Ford's continued requests for additional mil aid recalled; insurgent control of 3/4 of country and 1/3 of country's 7-million people noted, changes in Khmer Rouge fighting forces since '70 described; history of fighting traced; map of airport and surrounding area (L)

S Vietnamese mil source says N Vietnamese troops have launched ground attacks against central highlands prov capital of Ban Me Thuot, assaulting 2 airfields, ammunition dump and other positions; says number of Communist soldiers have penetrated city; adds that most have been killed; N Vietnamese troops reptdly have opened new front in highlands by attacking Duc Lap, 31 mi southwest of Ban Me Thuot; S Vietnamese Maj Gen Pham Van has ordered top priority alert for town; mil command repts Govt air strikes and ground combat have killed 165 Communist troops and knocked out 26 antiaircraft weapons; mil action on Rtes 14, 19 and 21 and in Dar Lac Prov and other areas detailed; wounded S Vietnamese soldier illus; map (M)

Article holds that agr production in Chile has increased 10% since downfall of Marxist Pres Salvador Allende Gossens; describes situation in Talca, where local officials claim that co-ops, which performed poorly under Allende, have shown 30% increase in land brought under cultivation; attributes success in agr to severe pressure on peasants and farm laborers to increase ouput despite decline in real income; officials have warned co-ops that they may face return to private hands unless production increases; illus; map (M)