THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 30 AUGUST 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005992833
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: August 30, 1971

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
The President's Daily Brief
30 August 1971
4 6
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
30 August 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
An initial assessment of South Vietnam's Lower House
elections is on Page 1.
The Bangla Desh government may be relying on the US
to arrange talks with Islamabad. (Page 2)
In Laos, the Communists have rebuffed Prime Minister
Souvanna's latest efforts to get peace talks started.
(Page 3)
East German efforts to portray the Berlin agreement
as a victory, for Pankow's claims to sovereignty seem
designed to counter doubts about it within party
ranks. (Page 4)
Trading on the Japanese foreign exchange market was
light again this morning, and the value of the yen
in relation to the dollar was virtually unchanged.
(Page 5)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SOUTH VIETNAM
Despite some opposition claims to the contraru.
irregular-
ities were not a major factor in the Lower House
elections yesterday. Opposition groups are busy
documenting complaints, most of which are coming
from Military Region IV--the Delta. None of sev-
eral threatened opposition demonstrations ever ma-
terialized, however, and Communist efforts to dis-
rupt the elections were on a small scale and were
generally ineffective.
Voter participation was higher than in last year's
Senate elections and in the previous Lower. House
elections in 1967. The sizable turnout is helping
. ?
the government discredit opposition charges that
disillusionment over the presidential campaign ?has
caused widespread voter apathy in South Vietnam,
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
PAKISTAN
A representative of the exiled Bangla Desh gov-
ernment has told an officer of the US Consulate Gen-
eral in Calcutta that the Bengalis believe sufficient
pressure to force the Pakistani Government into dis-
cussions with Bangla Desh can only be exerted by one
of the Great Powers, and that Bangla Desh authorities
accordingly have canceled all other efforts to open
contacts with Islamabad. The American officer re-
ported that, although the Bengali acknowledged that
his government understands that the US has not of-
fered to undertake such an effort, it apparently as-
sumes the US Government will do so.
The Bangla Desh government may in fact be
relying solely on the US to arrange"talks
with:Islamabad. Indeed, there is no evi-
dence that any very serious effOrts have
been made through other channels;
The Bangla Desh representative claimed that
15,000 more guerrillas have entered East Pakistan,
and he confirmed that an attempt will be made to
sabotage the Padma, a ship carrying US-supplied mil-
itary equipment to Pakistan.
2
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
()
rregular
, oiitioftuarr Lone
;-
uong
9 ?
an
?=
;cr)
7.
THAILAND
551 81 2 8-71 CIA
LAOS
Y."
Area of
maps
? Government-held location
?Communist-held location
25
MIL ES
50
? ?
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
Lao Communist leader Souphanouvong has dis-
missed Prime Minister Souvanna's message of 18 Au-
gust, which proposed discussions for a cease-fire
and a bombing halt in northeast Laos, as "unreal-
istic" and a "crafty maneuver." Souvanna's more
recent suggestion for neutralizing the Plaine des
Jarres, discussed in The President's Daily Brief
of 27 August, was similarly brushed aside. The
Pathet Lao representative in Vientiane told a press
conference that Souphanouvong remains opposed to
such a step as long as allied bombing of Communist
troops and the Ho Chi Minh trail continues.
On the military front, the Communists during
the past few days have made some gains against gov-
ernment units in the north. Three irregular bat-
talions were forced to withdraw from four major po-
sitions in the northern foothills of the Plaine des
Jarres on 27 August, following 4 series of heavy
shelling and ground attacks. On 28729 August,.the
Communists carried out similar strong attacks against,
three other irregular battalions on the northeastern
part of the Plaine, forcing them to abandon the gov-
ernment's remaining positions there.
In south Laos, government.forces attempting to
retake Paksong on the Bolovens Plateau continued to
run into scattered Communist resistance over the,
weekend and made no significant advances. An ir-
regular reconnaissance team that moved briefly into
Paksong on 27 August reported that villagers said
the few North Vietnamese troops -remaining in Paksong
were sick and dispirited.
3
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
EAST GERMANY - BERLIN
Party leader Honecker is taking a direct hand
in the regime's expected effort to portray the ten-
tative Berlin agreement as a victory for East German
claims to sovereignty..
/Honecker touted the
East German and Soviet roles in reaching the agree-
ment despite alleged Western obstructionism, and as-
serted that the accord recognizes and strengthens
East Germany's territorial integrity.
These propaganda claims, echoed in Hon-
eckeris interview with the major party
daily on 27 August, seem designed to
counter doubts within party ranks as de-
tails of the agreement leak out, and to
guide the party's thinking during the sub-
sidiary, inter-German negotiations on Ber-
lin.
The first inter-German exploratory session last
week deferred substantive negotiations until the
governments of the four powers approve the draft ac-
cord.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTE
International Financial Developments: Trading
on the Japanese foreign exchange market was light
again this morning of the first full day of the mar-
ket's operation since the decision to float the yen,
and the yen's value in relation to the dollar was
virtually, unchanged. Japanese Finance Minister Mikio
Mizuta has stated that the decision enables Japan to
take "joint action with European countries which are
also floating their currencies" and to demand with-
drawal of the ten-percent US import surcharge. In
an effort to dispell fears over the effect of the
action, he announced that relief would be given to
exporters hurt by the revaluation.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009800260001-1