THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 3 MAY 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993279
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 3, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010700030001-5
The President's Daily Brief
3 May 1972
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Top Secret
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
3 May 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The military situation in South Vietnam is discussed
on Page 1.
Indian Defense Minister Ram has said publicly that
India will conduct underground nuclear tests when
it develops the technology. (Page 5)
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Enemy advances
DEMILITARIZED
ZONE
GULF OF.7'ONKIN
552973 5-72 CIA
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VIETNAM
While the threat to Hue from the north continues
to grow, aerial reconnaissance shows substantial
numbers of men and armored vehicles moving east to-
ward Hue from the A Shau Valley. In addition, an
intercept indicates that enemy forces are deploying
around Fire Base Birmingham and are ready to shell
the base. Birmingham is the only remaining South
Vietnamese position on Route 547,, the key road west
of Hue.
Within the city, the situation is reported to
be chaotic. Three quarters of the city's civil
servants are said to be fleeing, and refugees are
jamming Route 1 to the south.
In the central provinces, Qui Nhon and Kontum
cities were shelled yesterday. South Vietnamese
forces abandoned another position along Route 14,
leaving only one base mirth of Kontum in friendly
hands;
Government troops on the outskirts of
the city are bracing for the attack which
they expect at any time. These forces
include regular army, airborne, ranger,
and territorial forces; the government's
ability to coordinate and control such
diverse elements will be an important
factor in defending the city.
Communist forces are still making headway in
the coastal areas of Binh Dinh Province. Landing
Zone English, the last government position in the
northern third of the province, came under heavy
attack on 2 May, and government forces have begun
withdrawing. About 400 South Vietnamese soldiers
and some territorial forces had been concentrated
there after having been driven from the province's
three northern district capitals by the advancing
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Communists.
unless South Korean troops
operating farther south in the province help out,
the entire province could fall by mid-May.
2
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SOUTH VIETNAM
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JAPAN-CHINA
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INDIA
Indian Defense Minister Ram told Parliament on
2 May that India will conduct underground nuclear
tests when it develops the technology. He also
said that developments in the international situa-
tion did not warrant a change in India's policy of
utilizing nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.
Ram is the
highest level Indian official to date to
make such a statement publicly, but his
remarks give no in ormation on the timing
o such a test.
There has been recent discussion in India
about development of nuclear explosives
for peaceful purposes. A test might be
intended for such objectives and probably
would be so labeled. If the Indians con-
duct a test, however, for whatever pur-
pose, it would have a major political and
psychological impact on India's neighbors
and the world community, even though the
military ramifications would remain mini-
mal for some time to come.
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Chinese
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NOTES
China:
West Germany: The Brandt government and the
Christian Democratic opposition are still trying
this morning to reach an agreement permitting the
opposition to acquiesce in the ratification of the
Eastern treaties. Negotiators are attempting to
draft a declaration expressing the CDU position
that the treaties do not preclude Germany's right
of self-determination or a final peace treaty. The
Bundestag steering committee, also convened this
morning, is awaiting the outcome of the talks be-
fore rescheduling the treaty debate.
Cuba: In his May Day speech Fidel Castro an-
nounced that this week he will begin a two-month
tour to Guinea, Algeria, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary,
Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and, finally,
the Soviet Union. He both praised Soviet support
for Cuba and condemned US "international diplomacy"--
suggesting that the idea of a secret US-Soviet deal
on Cuba still haunts him. Castro warned that any
interference with Cuban warships operating against
exile vessels on the high seas could bring reprisals
against Guantanamo. A US-Cuban rapprochement is not
possible under present circumstances, he concluded.
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Top Secret
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