THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 JANUARY 1972

Document Type: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
0005993101
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
T
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
August 14, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 24, 2016
Sequence Number: 
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
January 25, 1972
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 The President's Daily Brief 25 January 1972 46 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 January 1972 PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS (Page 1) Laotian irregulars ?recaptured the rest of Skyline Ridge yesterday, but the Communists remain in a strong position to strike anywhere in the Long Tieng area. (Page 2) The Soviet Union and some of its Warsaw Pact allies may try to inject the issue of Communist China's role in the Communist world into the Pact summit meeting that begins today. (Page 3) The Israelis are making it clear they will not toler- ate an increase in fedayeen attacks based in Syria. (Page 4) (Page 5) Soviet FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 25X1 25X11 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY 1 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 LONG TIENG AREA 11 *Government-held location (10 Communist-held location A Highpoint 0 5 Miles 46an Na pdiAT 0,40U I-C)NG Cha Tam Bleung Cam Thong OPhou Pha Sai Ridge recaptured b 'rregulars /ry ? Oce. ong Tieng ha Khoo 04- ?473hone Se' IBan So 52 Trail %._'_? -0" / 552466 1-72 CIA Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY LAOS Yesterday an irregular unit recaptured, without resistance, the last helicopter landing pad on the eastern end of Skyline Ridge. Most of the govern- ment units involved in the week-long struggle for the ridge now have been pulled back into the Long Tieng valley, leaving two battalions holding the ridge. Two fresh irregular battalions moved into Long Tieng yesterday, and additional reinforcements are scheduled to follow in the next few days. The North Vietnamese decision to abandon the last position suggests that casualties and supply difficulties had finally inca- pacitated their units. The North Vietnam- ese apparently did not choose to throw in fresh troops from the six other infantry regiments in the Long Tieng area. Their strategy may have been to tie down and de- plete the government's best units--the four irregular battalions that bore most of the fighting suffered over 25 percent casualties?while improving their own lines of communication and shifting men and supplies into position for a new as- sault. With enemy units now deployed south and west of the valley, new attacks could be directed either at the ridge or against Long Tieng itself. 2 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 c) FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY WARSAW PACT On the eve of today's political summit meeting in Prague, several East European states have inten- sified their propaganda attacks on China. Soviet criticism of the Chinese has, of course, been run- ning at a high level since the Indo-Pakistani con- flict and the UN General Assembly session. Polish and East German articles in the past week specifi- cally attack Peking's "splitting activities" in the socialist world and its "diplomatic maneuvers" in the Balkans. Warsaw and Pankow seem to be fronting for Moscow on this issue, and Bucharest is the unspecified but obvious target. The Ro- manians, who have been subjected to this kind of performance before, will strongly resist any efforts to push through a reso- lution condemning Peking and will seek to confine the meeting to questions of Euro- pean security. FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14: CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 - 34 -- MEDITERRANEAN' SEA 35 --Armistice line, 1949 and 1950 'AM Israeli-occupied territory 33 32 -- Tel Aviv- * Yaf o Ashdd.d. ? Asheelon? Haifa Beirut Sidon/Jo Az Zahranil Al Qunayt rah Tiberias. %It s Beersheba' Alsraeli airstrike 'Daraa *Amman -JORDAN . Al Karak 36 ilumaYr STATUTE MILES ?34- 30 ?33- -32- 552464 1-72 CIA Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY ISRAEL-SYRIA The Israelis are justifying their air strike yesterday against a ?fedayeen camp north of Daraa in Syria as retaliation for recently increased fed- ayeen activity in the Golan Heights. They also charge that the character of this activity, indicates cooperation between the Syrian Army and the feda- yeen, implying that Israeli counteractions may not spare Syrian Army units and bases. The increased terrorism in the Golan Heights area reflects the recent shift of fedayeen operations from Lebanon to other areas along the Israeli border. The shift is the result of Israel's recent raids into Lebanon and its threat to occupy Leb- anese territory unZess fedayeen activity from there ceased. 4 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY NOTES USSR: Vietnam: Egypt.: The. government yesterday took tougher measures to quell an-upsurge of student .unrest.- Se.7. curity forces clashed with a small?group of rioting students in one of Cairo's main squares and used force to confine-demonstrations.in other areas of the city. One of the primary causes of this latest. upsurge apparently was the arrest of a number of protesters during earlier demonstrations Another was the government's action in sending. the students out one'day early on.a scheduled two-week recess. Thergovernment.hopes that the recess and the stu- dents' failure to, generate any visible local sup- port.will cool them down. 5 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010300220001-8