– NBC Nightly News – July 30, 1975 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
A lot of smiles, jokes and back-slapping, this July 30th, 40 years ago.
Getting down to business in Helsinki, as the Strategic Arms Limitation talks got underway between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. With Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Gerald Ford in attendance, things took on an air of joviality.
Of course, looks weren’t everything – and some tough negotiations were looming – however, on this July 30th, talks went so smoothly on Strategic Arms Limitations, that it gave time for discussions on the Middle East.
But all wasn’t rosy – at least as far as Turkey was concerned. On this day, the government of Turkey was taking further retaliatory steps against the U.S. – saying American ships were no longer permitted to unload at Izmir, but will have to sail to Istanbul, and American military aircraft would now have to get permission every time they wanted to fly in Turkish air space. And tax exemptions for Military personnel were to end on July 31.
While in Helsinki, President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger met with Greek Foreign Minister Karamanlis, who felt the Ford administration wasn’t being tough enough on Turkey over the situation in Cyprus.
And Senator George McGovern revealed that Cuban leader Fidel Castro had given McGovern accounts of 24 attempts on his life by members of the CIA. McGovern disclosed he was turning the documents over to the Senate Committee investigating the CIA. And former Senior Aide to Howard Hughes, Robert Maheu confirmed he had worked with the CIA and two prominent gangsters on a plot to poison Castro.
And the Senate Committee investigating the CIA also decided to question former President Nixon over the CIA’s role in the overthrow of Chilean President Salvatore Allende. It wasn’t known whether Nixon would be questioned at home or in Washington.
And that’s just a small taste of what went on, this July 30th in 1975 – as presented by NBC’s Nightly News.
