THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 16 MAY 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993301
• 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 16, 1972

Declassified in Pa-rt - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010700140001-3
The President's Daily Brief
16 May 1972
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
16 May 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
the military situation in South Vietnam con- 25X1
tinues to be relatively stable
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The West German Christian Democrats' executive com-
mittee has cleared the way for Bundestag ratifica-
tion of the Eastern treaties tomorrow. (Page 3)
At Annex, we discuss the Chilean military's views
on ousting President Allende.
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VIETNAM
? Soviet military leaders are still carrying out
their travel plans. Of the nine top-ranking mili-
tary leaders in the USSR, five are currently outside
the country. Latestto leave is Marshal Yakubovsky,
the Warsaw Pact commander, who arrived in Budapest
yesterday on a visit scheduled to last "a few days."
Politically, Moscow is attempting to convey the
impression that Soviet aid for the Vietnamese Commu-
nists will continue. The Soviet press has announced
that the Viet Cong's "ambassador" in the USSR had a
"warm and friendly" talk yesterday with Deputy Pre-
mier Novikov, the Soviet official responsible for
overseeing the USSR's foreign aid program.
The military situation in South Vietnam con-
tinues to be relatively stable. South Vietnamese
Marines reoccupied Fire Support Base Bastogne west
of Hue yesterday without opposition. There were
light enemy probes around Kontum City and moderate
pressure on An Loc, but no major new enemy initia-
tives. Throughout the country, the Communists ap-
pear to be primarily engaged in attempting to re-
supply and reposition their forces for future offen-
sive operations.
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CHINA
Equipment observed since early this year in
satellite photography of the Wu-chai missile launch
complex appears to be part of a launch stand similar
to the one at Shuang-cheng-tzu. That launch stand,
previously associated only with a large, gantry-
served launch facility, was used last September for
the first developmental launch of an ICBM-size booster.
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NOTES
West Germany: The Christian Democrats' execu-
tive committee voted 27 to 1 yesterday to support
the all-Bundestag resolution setting forth the uni-
lateral West German interpretation of the Eastern
treaties. The party's parliamentary deputies are
meeting today and are expected to follow suit. This
clears the way for Bundestag ratification of the
Eastern treaties by a substantial majority tomorrow.
It also presages passage of the treaties in the
Bundesrat on Friday. This would leave only the
formality of President Heinemann's signature to
complete the ratification process.
USSR-Syria: Soviet Defense Minister Grechko's
visit to Syria last week resulted in agreement on
unspecified measures "in the field of military co-
operation," according to TASS.
Grechko has been in Egypt
since Sunday and is scheduled to return to Moscow
tomorrow.
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CHILE: WILL THE MILITARY BRAKE ALLENDE?
The continuing contest between Allende and his
opposition has focused attention on the role of the
Chilean military. The weight of our information is
that most military officers remain reluctant to get
involved in an effort to oust the Allende government.
Although many officers are dissatisfied and a few
of them hope something will happen to justify a coup
attempt, the predominant attitude is that stiffening
political opposition may make a military move un-
necessary.
The Chilean armed forces traditionally have
kept aloof from politics.
The prevailing view is that a constitutional
president is sacrosanct, whatever his drawbacks, and
that Allende is not directly accountable for many
of the excesses of his political supporters.
Al
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Serious civil disorders could well prompt mili-
tary intervention, particularly if the government
were obliged to call on the armed forces to help re-
store order. Rightist groups are arming themselves
and talking about a showdown with their leftist
counterparts. Some clashes have already taken place
in the countryside, where leftist-inspired farm
seizures have caused unrest for many months. Some
rightists are doubtless seeking to stimulate suffi-
cient violence to provoke military action against
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the government. The problem, of course, is that no
one can foresee the outcome, and rightist-inspired
violence could backfire, providing the pro-govern-
ment extremists with an excuse for even greater
armed militance.
If the military should ultimately ,feel compelled
to intervene to restore order, it would be in keeping
with Chilean military tradition for the armed forces
to stop short of an out-and-out overthrow of the gov-
ernment. Military leaders might exert pressure on
Allende to moderate government policies and to ac-
quiesce in the disarming of his militant supporters.
In these circumstances, Allende would probably pre-
fer to make such concessions than to lose everything,
and the military would not have to take responsibil-
ity for violating the constitution or for running
the government.
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