THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 19 APRIL 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993254
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 19, 1972

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The President's Daily Brief
19 April 1972
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
19 April 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The ground situation remains relatively quiet through-
out most of South Vietnam, while US naval ships oper-
ating off North Vietnam are encountering increased
harassment. (Page 1)
The Soviets are emphasizing the need for the negotia-
tions in Paris to resume(
/ (Page 2)
In Laos, North Vietnamese units are continuing to
harass irregular positions near Long Tieng(
/ (Page 3)
A Syrian official claims his government is opposed
to a friendship treaty with the USSR, but implies
that pressure for such a treaty may be hard to re-
sist. (Page 4)
Criticism of President Lanusse appears to have in-
creased within the Argentine air force and navy.
(Page 5)
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NORTH
VIE TNA
108 110
Demilitarized Zone
Hue
.ne
7IUA SHIER
togne
.1_
OUANG NAM
MR 1
THAILAND
PLEIKU
PPM);
BON
Tonle
Sap
OAR LA C
Afelrong
Q11 ANG
DUC
KliAN
PICIA
DUO NINH
THUAN
LAM ?ONG
LONG
CHARM
BINH
TOY
KIEN
PHONG
KIEN
TUONG
?10
Gulf of
Thailand
104
552881 4-72
KIEN
GIANG
K n
LONG
BA XUYE
MR 4
PHUOC
TUY
MR 3
Capital Special Zone
176 178
MR 2
South
China
Sea
SOUTH VIETNAM
170
MILES
16-
14-
12-
10-
110
? ? .
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VIETNAM
Communist military activity remains light in
nearly all parts of South Vietnam, but enemy forces
are continuing to prepare for heavier fighting. In
QuangTri Province, photography supports other evi-
dence that the North.Vietnamese have moved additional
tanks and artillery into forward positions. In adja-
cent Thua Thienl_intercepts suggest that.COmmunist;
units, while still keeping pressure on Fire Support
Base Bastogne west of Hue, may be marking time until
tanks that are currently being held up by 'fuel short-
ages can move in from the west. In the central high-
lands:, refitting and resupply activity apparently
has drawn one North Vietnamese regiment away from
government positions on Rocket Ridge. Farther south,
Communist units appear to be repositioning around
An Loc, but fighting there and in the delta has
stabilized for the time being.
In North Vietnam, Communist-shorelpatteries and
gunboats are becoming more aggressive in challenging
US ships operating off their coast. Gunfire that
hit the US destroyer Buchanan off.Vinh earlier this
week caused extensive damage and A number of casual-
ties Another destroyer in the same area has been
the target of rocket fire, and on Monday a US de-
stroyer sank a motor torpedo boat that approached
it south of Vinh..
1
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USSR-VIETNAM-US
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In fact, recent Soviet press coverage of Viet-
nam has stressed the necessity for a negotiated
settlement. The TASS statement on 17 April that
protested the bombings also asserted that the "only
path for resolving the problems of Indochina was
that of negotiations, without attempts at black-
mail and dictation." The Soviets have also carried
the New York Times editorial of 16 April which
stated that the time had come to resume exploratory
talks.
Not since the fall of 1970 have official
Soviet statements on Vietnam contained
such a forthright .endorsementof negotia-
tions.
In contrast to the low-key Soviet cover-
age of a meeting in Moscow with the North
Vietnamese charg?
IHanoi's
version stressed the USSR's commitment
to support the Vietnamese on all fronts.
A similar difference was noted between
Moscow's and Hanoi's coverage of the meet-
ings the North Vietnamese ambassador had
on 13 April with Premier Kosygin and So-
viet Defense Minister Grechko.
2
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LAOS: Plaine des Janes Area
??
\r
N?
AREA OF
MAIN MAP
V ntiane
Boiam Longo
Recaptured by
government
14 April
Sala Phou
Khoun
Ban Ban
uong
Soui
Elements of
335th Regt
redeploying
?
Xieng
Khouangville 72
Sam 'T
Enemy shelling continues
Long Tien
?Ban So
C3)
0
fo
1.0 20 M i es
552877 4-72 CIA
Kilometers
0 Government-held location
0 Communist-held location'
. ? .
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
The North Vietnamese are still harassing gov-
ernment positions on Skyline Ridge and in the Long
Tieng valley, and they have thwarted recent govern-
ment attempts to regain control of the three un-
occupied strongpoints on the ridge. They have not,
however, launched any major attacks in nearly three
weeks, and communications intelligence suggests that
they may be starting to pull some of their forces
back into wet season defensive positions.
Elements of the 335th Regiment, which partici-
pated in the campaign against Long Tieng throughout
the dry season, have recently moved back to the high
ground southwest of the Plaine des Jarres. Head-
quarters elements of the 209th and 165th regiments
have moved from Skyline Ridge to the Sam Thong area,
although this could be only a tactical shift. The
North Vietnamese have also pulled some heavy weapons,
particularly antiaircraft guns, back to fortified
positions on the southern periphery of the Plaine.
West of the Plaine des Jarres, Lao Army troops
are strengthening their hold on Sala Phou Khoun,
which they recaptured on 14 April. The Pathet Lao
"Patriotic Neutralist" forces that had previously
controlled the town apparently are retreating east-
ward.
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SYRIA-USSR
A Syrian Foreign Ministry official told the
Italian diplomat who represents US interests in
Damascus that the Syrian Government is opposed in
principle to concluding a friendship treaty with
Moscow. He claimed, however, that the recent USSR-
Iraq agreement had strengthened the position of
those within the Syrian Government who favored such
a treaty and asked, somewhat cryptically, that the
"West" do more to help. He said that ?the govern-
ment would prefer to remain nonaligned and is highly
critical of the Iraqi treaty on the grounds that it
represents a further erosion of "Arab independence."
These statements may be little more than
Damascus' way of saying that such a pact
is inevitable. They also probably were
meant to reassure the US that a friend-
ship treaty with the USSR need not inter-
fere with the currently improved relations
between Washington and Damascus.
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ARGENTINA
Criticism of President Lanusse
faced
and navy in recent days.
I sur-
in both the air force
The dissension appears to result as much
from Lanusse's potential candidacy in
the 1973 elections as from the tense
security situation. Most of the discon-
tented officers still appear to favor
elections, but they fear that Lanusse
would do no better in dealing with Argen-
tina's serious economic and social prob-
lems as an elected president than he is
currently doing as a virtual dictator.
Military rumblings are likely to continue,
but for now senior army officers appear
content to adopt a wait-and-see attitude
and malcontents in the navy and air force
can do little without army support.
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Egypt 25X1
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
India-Pakistan:
NOTES
Prime Minister Gandhi has proposed to Pres-
ident Bhutto that preparatory talks begin in Islama-
bad on 25 April, with a view to a summit meeting in
early May. The Indian team is to be headed by D. P.
Dhar, chairman of the Policy Planning Commission,
and Pakistani negotiators may be announced shortly.
In view of Bhutto's receptivity so far, Indian offi-
cials seem optimistic over the prospects for a suc-
cessful meeting and may now be prepared to accept
some kind of tacit, rather than explicit, agreement
by Bhutto to maintain the status quo in Kashmir.
USSR-Egypt:
Egypt7USSR:
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Top Secret
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