THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 17 JULY 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005992757
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: July 17, 1971

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The President's Daily Brief
17 July 1971
48
o et,ei
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
17 July 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Viet Cong cadres in Cambodia are selling opium and
heroin to smugglers across the South Vietnamese border.
(Pagel)
Lao officials say they have suggested to the Com-
munist Chinese raising diplomatic representation to
the anbassadorial level. (Page 2)
Mack Trucks wants to renegotiate the terms of its
participation in the Soviet Kama River truck project.
(Page 3)
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SOUTH VIETNAM
Viet Cong cadres based in the southern Cambodian
province of Takeo? are selling opium and heroin as well
as marijuana to smugglers from across the South Viet-
namese border,
The opium and heroin are
brought into Cambodia by the North Vietnamese; the
drugs are already processed and refined, but where
this occurred was not specified. Any profits the
Viet Cong make from the smuggling operations are used
to purchase supplies and equipment for their local
units, but they are said to be willing to sell the
drugs at or below cost in order to ensure a steady
flow into South Vietnam for government civil servants
and US servicemen.
Earlier reports had indicated that the Viet
Cong obtain marijuana locally and even en-
courage its production; this is the first
report implicating the Communists in the
hard drug traffic. Viet Cong personnel are
said to be strictly forbidden to use the
hard drugs themselves and any caught smoking
opium risk the death penalty.
at. least one Cambodian smuggler ,was -reported
to-move about 10 to 20 pounds of opium and:
heroin into South Vietnam each month for
resale via middlemen to American servicemen
in the delta city of Can Tho..
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LAOS - COMMUNIST CHINA
Lao officials say they have proposed to the
Chinese that Vientiane and Peking raise their dip-
lomatic representation to the ambassadorial level.
.SouVanna has recently made :several Other,
moves to improve relations'ioith-Peking,
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Sou
vanna has also reiterated publicly that
Communist China should participate in any
Indochina settlement.
These steps reflect '$ouvanna.'s effortsto
srengthen'hishand in, relationtO Hanoi
in, the 'event that Indochina negotiations
Come 'to pass, They also reflect his dis-
enchantment over Moscow's apparent lack
of interest ?or leverage in Indochina.
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USSR-US
Mack Trucks wants to renegotiate the contract
terms which call for Mack to act as the major engi-
neering and management consultant in the Kama River
truck project. Mack says it cannot meet some of the
conditions specified in the protocol signed in May,
particularly the rigid completion date set by Moscow
and the Soviet insistence on having the final say
on equipment suppliers. Mack argues that US suppli-
ers are reluctant to prepare detailed engineering
designs unless practically assured of a contract.
Mack's decision to reopen negotiations,
together with Moscow's protracted diffi-
culties in obtaining Western technical and
financial assistance from other sources,
almost certainly means a delay in the 1974
completion date. The Soviets cannot them-
selves supply the formidable management
and engineering services Mack could pro-
vide, and in the end the Soviets may have
to come to terms with Mack. Even so, we
do not see ,the project coming to fruition
before 1976.
The Soviets view the truck project as the
key to modernizing their freight trans-
portation system. They hope to reduce
their dependence on railroads for inter-
city and short hauls; this would be eco-
nomically feasible with the large trucks
they plan to produce at Kama. The 20-ton
capacity of the largest of these three-
axle trucks will be five times the average
capacity of the lighter common carrier
trucks the Soviets now use. Kama trucks
Will be light enough for much of the exist-
ing Soviet road network, however, unlike
the few large three-axle trucks now avail-
able. The Kama trucks could be used by
the military to transport heavy equipment,
but they are not specifically designed for
this purpose and probably will be used
primarily in industry and agriculture.
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NOTE
Panama:
4
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Top Secret
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