THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 APRIL 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993270
• 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 28, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A-010600240001-3
The President's Daily Brief
28 April 1972
49
Top Secret
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
28 April 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
In the Vietnam fighting, North Vietnamese infantry
units have forced government defenders to withdraw
from Dong Ha and the Cua Viet River defense line.
(Page 2)
The North Vietnamese are disappointed with the re-
sults of their recent trade mission to Japan, in
particular their failure to secure credits. (Page 5)
Despite West German Chancellor Brandt's success in
defeating an opposition no-confidence motion, the
outcome of next week's Bundestag vote on the Eastern
treaties remains in doubt. (Page 7)
Student unrest in Cambodia has led to bloodshed and
may force the government to accept demands for di-
rect talks. (Page 8)
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CHINA
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SOUTH VIETNAM
Early today tank-led North Vietnamese units
forced government defenders to withdraw. from Dong
Ha and the Cua Viet River defense line. ARVN forces
are now attempting to establish a new defense line
several kilometers southeast of Dong Ha.
North Vietnamese infantry, supported by tanks
and artillery, are continuing to attack the outer
defenses of Nang Tri City. Enemy ground attacks
were preceded during the night of 26-27 April by
extensive shellings by 130-mm. guns and 122-mm.
rockets. By midnight on the 27th, North Vietnamese
forces were pressing hard against positions of the
South Vietnamese 3rd Division southwest of the city.
Intense artillery fire was being directed against
the La yang combat bases to the south. Government
defenders had been pushed back to within two miles
of the city. The extensive Communist build-up be-
fore the new assaults and the strong artillery sup-
port being given to North Vietnamese infantry units
suggest that the fighting may be heavy and sustained.
Flying weather, which has been poor in the
Quang Tri area, is now improving. Vir-
tually all of the enemy's major drives
during the current offensive have been
timed to coincide with poor local weather
conditions. This was true of the original
thrust across the DMZ, the drive down to-
ward An Loc, and the most recent assault
in Kontum Province. It appears that the
enemy may be deliberately holding up at-
tacks, even after forces are in place and
the battlefield is prepared, in order to
wait for bad weather and the protection
it affords from allied air attacks.
In the highlands, enemy progress down Route 14
tdward Kontum City remains slowed by the destruction
of a key bridge, and the government's newly organ-
ized defenses at Vo Dinh have not yet been tested.
The badly mauled 42nd ARVN Regiment is being re-
fitted in Kontum City, and the 47th has been flown
to Pleiku Province where it will regroup. Yester-
day, the first supply convoy moved through the re-
opened An Khe Pass on Route 19 toward the highlands.
If the pass can be kept open for a few days, it may
be possible to relieve some of the shortages that
have been developing in Kontum as a result of the
enemy's systematic interdiction of the main roads
leading into that province.
(continued)
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North of Saigon, there are some signs that the
Communists may be shifting some forces from Binh
Long to Phuoc Long Province.
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USSR-CHIHA
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JAPAN - NORTH VIETNAM
The Vietnamese are disappointed with the re-
sults of their recent trade mission to Japan, in
particular their failure to secure credits. As a
result of talks with Japanese Foreign Ministry of-
ficials who visited Hanoi in February, the Vietnam-
ese apparently came to Tokyo with the mistaken be-
lief that Japan was prepared to grant a $20-million
low-interest, long-term loan.
Hanoi also was prepared to post
trade officers in Tokyo as a step toward the ex-
change of permanent trade missions. No loan was
forthcoming, however, and the delegation left for
home ten days early.
The coincidence of the visit and the North
Vietnamese offensive probably caused the
Japanese to be more cautious at this time
and they are likely to maintain a conserv-
ative position on official aid to Hanoi
until the end of the war is in sight.
Despite the mission's meager results,
Hanoi remains anxious to upgrade its eco-
nomic and diplomatic contacts with non-
Communist countries and may give further
consideration to establishing an informal
trade office in Tokyo. The Vietnamese
did agree to consider a Japanese proposal
for regularized official contacts in
Paris or Vientiane.
Tokyo too is interested in building a
base for improved relations and is at-
tempting to secure a major role in Viet-
nam's postwar reconstruction. The gov-
ernment has relaxed its entry restrictions
for North Vietnamese in recent months and
is reported to have agreed tentatively to
the exchange of journalists and political
leaders.
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ISRAEL-LEBANON
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WEST GERMANY
Despite the government's success in defeating
opposition leader Barzel's no-confidence motion,
the outcome of next week's Bundestag vote on the
Eastern treaties remains in doubt. Apparently half
of the 26 coalition Free Democratic deputies chose
to vote instead of abstaining along with their Social
Democratic partners. Barzel obtained 247 votes--
two short of the needed absolute majority--in his
bid to oust Chancellor Brandt. An analysis of the
voting suggests that at least one of the opposition
deputies supported Brandt on this occasion. Ten
ballots in all were cast against Barzel and three
were blank.
This voting pattern will not necessarily
be repeated in the Bundestag vote on the
treaties. Nevertheless, Barzel's ability
to muster 247 votes serves notice on
Brandt that the government will have to
marshal its forces carefully. Brandt
will need only a simple majority on the
first Bundestag vote on 4 or 5 May--248
deputies if Barzel can repeat his tally--
but an absolute majority, or 249 votes,
will be necessary later in a second vote
if Brandt is to override the almost cer-
tain rejection of the treaties by the
upper house Bundesrat in mid-month.
Brandt's cause was most likely aided sig-
nificantly by the announcement on the eve
of the vote that West German and East Ger-
man negotiators had reached agreement on
a general traffic treaty and that East
Germany had agreed to permit East Germans
to visit West Germany on "urgent family
matters" without age limitation.
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CAMBODIA
Military police fired on students at Phnom
Penh's law school yesterday, killing one and wound-
ing 20, thus marking the first time blood has been
shed in the current controversy between the students
and the government. As a result of the shooting,
large numbers of students have congregated at Phnom
Penh's Independence Monument and are demanding that
government officials open direct talks with the stu-
dents. The government has made no effort to dis-
perse the students, and the military police appear
to be under orders to avoid further use of force.
Lon Nol evidently is still trying to cope
with the disturbances with a minimum of
force. With the referendum on the new
constitution coming up on Sunday, he may
find it expedient to open talks with the
students, or even to postpone the refer-
endum until a compromise is worked out.
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NOTES
USSR - North Vietnam:
North Vietnam: Vietnamese Communist spokesmen
in Paris have announced that Le Duc Tho of the Hanoi
politburo will be returning to Paris soon. The
French have issued Tho a visa, and, according to a
New China News Agency report, he arrived in Peking
yesterday, presumably for consultation with Chinese
leaders before continuing on to Paris. He may stop
over in Moscow as well.
USSR-
USSR:
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