THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 5 APRIL 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993230
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 5, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A01 0600040001-5
The President's Daily Brief
5 April 1972
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
5 April 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The battle in northern South Vietnam has stabilized
for the moment along the Cua Viet River, but farther
south there are new enemy attacks (Page. 1)
President Lon Nol's political moves have mollified
unruly Cambodian students, but at the price of
alienating former prime minister Sink Matak.
(Page 4)
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DEMILITARIZED
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GULF OF TONKIN
Cluang Tri
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The North Vietnamese continue to shell the South
Vietnamese strongpoints south of the DMZ at Dong Ha,
Quang Tri, and Fire Support Base Pedro. South Viet-
namese reinforcements are beginning to arrive and
are helping to maintain a defensive line roughly
along the Cua Viet River. The seasoned reinforce-
ments may have a stabilizing influence on the South
Vietnamese 3rd Division, the newest of the govern-
ment's divisions, which has borne the brunt of the
fighting thus far. The Communists have been taking
advantage of bad weather to ship large quantities of
supplies south on Route 1 through the DMZ, but clouds
are lifting today allowing more allied interdiction
from the air.
The loss of Fire Base Anne yesterday has opened
a corridor which the North Vietnamese may use to
by-pass Quang Tri city and to move farther south to-
ward Hue. Two North Vietnamese regiments are al-
ready planning attacks on Fire Base Nancy and other
outposts between Quang Tri city and Hue, according
to intercepted messages. Prisoners, and a map taken
from the body of a North Vietnamese officer, indi-
cate that the taking of Quang Tri and Hue cities are
two goals of the current campaign.
the Communists hope to cut off both
Quang Tri and Thua Thien provinces from the south
and destroy South Vietnamese forces remaining there.
Farther south, two additional Communist regi-
ments have moved from Cambodia into Tay Ninh Prov-
ince. Moreover, the enemy's three-division force
in Cambodia north of Tay Ninh Province may be aug-
mented with another, as yet unidentified North Viet-
namese division. Communications from this unit have.
been noted in Laos over the past few months, but
radio direction finding now shows one of its regi-
ments in eastern Cambodia opposite Tay Ninh Province.
Preliminary reports indicate that An Loc, the
capital of Binh Long Province, and nearby Loc Ninh
town are being assaulted by enemy ground forces to-
day. An airstrip east of An Loc is said to be under
enemy control, and the main route from Saigon to
the An Loc - Loc Ninh area is believed to be blocked.
(continued)
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24th Regt.
t Ind. Regt.
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6th Regt.
BINH
LONG
VINH RA CH GIA
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VIETNAM
While North Vietnamese propagandists por-
tray the current offensive in standard
terms as a "people's war," Communist doc-
uments and briefings suggest there has
been a major change in Hanoi's approach
to the struggle.
Communist briefings in late March focused on
using "main-force punches" to overextend the allies
throughout South Vietnam while preparing for follow-up
political agitation and local force activity.
cadres in MR-3 were
told that the "city struggle" would come after con-
trol of the countryside had been assured.
A series of documents captured recently in the
western highlands paints an-even more specific pic-
ture of a phased buildup of main-force pressure,
followed by a growth in political agitation and ter-
rorism. There is a clear suggestion in the docu-
ments that the Communists intend to use main forces
to establish territorial control in Kontum and
Pleiku provinces by the end of the year. The scale
of their attacks in northern South Vietnam suggests
that they are following.the same strategy in that
area.
Such heavy reliance on main-force strength
is a distinct departure from traditional
Communist strategy and tactics. Moreover,
the indications that regular enemy units
may try to seize and hold certain stretches
of territory conflict with the orthodox
Communist line that territorial control
must come through a people's revolution.
Hanoi may have decided that North Vietnam-
ese forces, fighting a purely conventional
war with territorial control or siege of
urban areas as occasional objectives, must
play a bigger role from now on.
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CAMBODIA
President Lon Nol told Ambassador Swank yester-
day that a new constitution providing for a strong
executive will be submitted to a limited referendum
about 20 April. Lon Nol intends to hold presiden-
tial elections in late May, after which a new gov-
ernment will be formed. He was evasive on whether
a vice president would be elected, and said that
legislative elections may take place in mid-summer.
There is already a report that the timing
has slipped, but student leaders evidently
have accepted Lon Nol's several promises
and have suspended their strike. With
Sink Matak, their bete noir, out of the
government and with Lon Nol committed to
a new constitution, they can claim a
significant, if limited, victory.
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USSR
(continued)
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NOTE
Romania-Egypt: Presidents Ceausescu and Sadat
talked past one another during an exchange of toasts
in Cairo on Sunday, holding to their disparate views
on the Middle East. By stressing the "integrity and
sovereignty of all states," which by implication in-
cludes Israel, Ceausescu showed an unwillingness to
curry favor with his Arab host. In his reply, Sadat
scarcely mentioned Romania, referred flatteringly to
the USSR as the "leader of the socialist states,"
and dwelt almost entirely on Egypt's view of the
Middle East situation. Nevertheless, simply by be-
ing received in Cairo after a long tour of Africa,
Ceausescu succeeded in underlining Romania's inde-
pendent stance.
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CHINA?
Al
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