THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 DECEMBER 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977871
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: December 28, 1970

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009000230001-2
The President's Daily Brief
28 December 1970
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
28 December 1970
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The military situation in Cambodia and Laos is dis-
cussed on Pages 1 and 2 respectively.
The fedayeen exchanged fire with elements of the
Jordanian Army over the weekend in several areas.
(Page 3)
The reasons for Mrs. Gandhi's call for national elec-
tions are noted on Page 3,
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Current Situation
THAILAND
13 LCE-7-?
/C
' 77--7-47--114
BattaMbthjg - ?
.11
-,RICE
-
VA 101D Regt
Sre timb
Kern?
(Sihanoukville):. 2-?
GULF a.
OF
THAILAND
?10-
Cambodia
o Principal city (10,000 or over)
? i Population over 125 per sq. mi.
Communist-controlled area
[ I 1
MILES
'210
194
SOUTH
CHINA SEA
106
550751 12-70 CIA
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CAMBODIA
Kompong Cham city was hit by a long-range rocket
attack on 23 December, and the enemy probed several
government positions in one of the heaviest harass-
ments of a major urban area in recent weeks. The
Communists also continued to shell Cambodian posi-
tions along Routes 6 and 7, but government casual-
ties were light. A joint Cambodian - South Vietnam-
ese (ARVN) sweep operation is continuing south of
Route 7 near Peam Chikang. A preliminary assessment
of the latest communications intelligence indicates
the VC 272nd Regiment, which had been in this area,
has moved north of Route 7.
It is not clear whether the 272nd moved
to avoid contact with the allied forces
or to reinforce the NVA 174th Regiment
against a possible allied thrust north-
ward along Route 21. In a possible re-
lated development, the NVA 95C Regiment
has moved westward toward the Mekong
River where it is in a position to send
reinforcements to the 272nd or 174th.
In the south, Route 4 linking Phnom Penh with
Kompong Som remains closed. Desultory Cambodian
efforts to clear the Communists from the Pich Nil
pass and other strongholds near the road are making
no progress. A government battalion was routed
near Sre Umbel on 24 December while elements of
still other battalions nearby appear to have been
encircled. The Cambodians have asked that ARVN
forces help with clearing operations along Route 4,
but we have no information on Saigon's reaction to
the request.
1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Activity Increases on the Bolovens Plateau
BURMA
Ban Ban
LAOS*
VI TNAM
eSa ra vane
THAILAND
Government repels
Paksonu--,,sharp Communist probes
is 23 r
Site 2
Bo/ovens
Site 165
Plateau
ttopeu
Se Sou
SOUTH
VIt'TNA
CAMEIO IA
55075312-70 CIA
25
1.
50 miles
Stung Treng
? Communist-held location
0 Government-held location
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
Two battalions of government irregulars were
driven from the Site 172 area on the southeastern
rim of the Bolovens Plateau on 25 December by North
Vietnamese troops. Sharp Communist probes were re-
pulsed at Site 165 and at Site 22, the last major
government base in the eastern portion of the pla-
teau. Some minor skirmishing was also reported in
the northern reaches of the plateau.
The Communists apparently want control of
the Bolovens to facilitate the opening of
a major westerly infiltration route into
Cambodia, but so far they have been
thwarted. The recent southward deploy-
ments of the 9th and the 52nd NVA regi-
ments and the stockpiling of supplies in
the area indicates that the enemy may make
a more concerted drive on the Bolovens.
At a minimum, we expect the Communists to
maintain pressure on the Bolovens to di-
vert government irregulars from conduct-
ing harassing raids against the main Com-
munist infiltration corridor to the east.
In north Laos, the government's operation in
the Ban-Ban valley has not made any significant for-
ward progress Government-troops have managed to
destroy a 100-ton rice cache and some ammunition
east of the valley.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Lake
Tiberias
Tiberias 1
?Saharn
Mafraq
-^
Jerash
Karama
Ma'daba.
Dead..
Sea
Karak.
iDimone
55075412-70 ?
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
Jordan: Two days of intermittent fighting be-
tween the fedayeen and army elements near Salt ended
Saturday. New clashes broke out yesterday, however,
near the Wahdat refugee camp in Amman and in the
Syrian border area near Saham. The Arab Truce Com-
mittee has restored an uneasy peace in all areas.
USSR:
USSR:
India: Prime Minister Gandhi has decided to
call for earlynational elections in an attempt to
parlay her personal popularity--apparently at an
unprecedented high level--into a parliamentary
majority. She wanted to act while the opposition
parties were in disarray and at a time when the
economy was comparatively strong. Mrs. Gandhi's
Ruling Congress Party, which now has 222 members
in the lower house, will have to capture 262 of
the 523 seats to win a majority.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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