THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 21 FEBRUARY 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977311
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: February 21, 1970

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A008000180001-9
The President's Daily Brief
21 Februag 1970
27
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
21 February. 1970
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
North Vietnam may be ready to try something new in
Paris. (Page 4)
Communists in Laos take the Plaine des Jarres.
(Page 6)
Philippine students will demonstrate again today
at the US Embassy. (Page 7)
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CUBA
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BOLIVIA
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FRANCE
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NORTH VIETNAM
A North Vietnamese press spokesman in Paris an-
nounced yesterday that Le Duc Tho has completed his
mission as Hanoi's representative at the French Com-
munist Party congress and has "returned" to the head-
quarters of the North Vietnamese delegation to the
Paris talks. Tho had been absent from Paris for more
than seven months.
This is the latest, in a series of indica-
tions that the Vietnamese Communists may
be edging toward new maneuvers in the talks
and perhaps in their tactics in Vietnam
as well. Previous signs include:
--The gratuitous praise Hanoi recently
heaped on the compromise agreements Ho con-
cluded with the French.in 1946.
--A long and authoritative article by First
Secretary Le Duan which, among other things,
mentions a strategy based on "the exploita-
tion of enemy contradictions and on system-
atic concessions."
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--Soviet Counsellor Oberemko's assertion
on 17 February to Robert Blake of the US
Embassy that Tho was staying on in Paris
in hopes that "sincere" talks could be
started.
We suspect Oberemko was accurately reflect-
ing Hanoi's estimate when he said the North
Vietnamese do not think Vietnamization will
work. Nevertheless, the evidence is grow-
ing that they feel a need to alter the evo-
lution of the war. We think Hanoi is going
to try harder to get the US out faster,
and with less support for the Saigon gov-
ernment than might accrue from the Vietnam-
ization program.
(continued)
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Short of a major military effort, which
they are almost certainly not prepared to
undertake any time soon, the Communists'
only means for hastening the withdrawal of
US forces lies in the realm of negotiations.
Tho could leave Paris for Hanoi at any time,
We believes however, that the post-Ho lead-
ership has finished a round of decision-
making and cautiously begun a new political
reconnaissance.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Xieng Khouang Airfield Falls
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and airfield overrun /
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97693 2-70 CIA
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LAOS
A major Communist ground assault early this
morning captured the command post and the airfield
at Xieng Khouang. Government troops are withdraw-
ing in an orderly manner,r
and should be off the
Plaine des Jarres altogethr by the end of the day.
In recent days, Xieng Khouang has assumed
great symbolic importance to General Vang
Pao and his Meo troops. Its fall will
surely depress the always fragile morale
of the Meo and Vang Pao himself, even
though the government's strategy all,
along has been to minimize casualties by
falling back prudently. The loss of the
Plaine was expected, in view of the ex-
ceptional Communist buildup before the
campaign began.
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PHILIPPINES
the or-
ganizers of today's demonstration in Manila are plan?
-
ning a peaceful affair. Student leaders are not
always able to prevent violence, however, particu-
larly when it is instigated by outsiders.
The students were embarrassed by Wednes-
day's riot, or so they claims and are try-
ing hard to blame almost anybody except
themselves. No matter, how careful the
planning, however, simply by convening a
large gathering in such emotion-fraught
circumstances they are opening the door.
to further misadventures.
At press time (0500 EST) we were receiving re-
ports from the embassy that students were gathering
in large numbers but so were security forces person-
nel.
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USSR?Egypt:
NOTE
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Top Secret
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