THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 30 JUNE 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993383
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 30, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010800270001-8
The President's Daily Brief
30 June 1972
416
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010800270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010800270001-8
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
30 June 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The South Vietnamese counteroffensive into Quang
Tri Province is encountering only moderate resist-
ance; two government marine brigades have advanced
to a point northeast of Quang Tri City, and two ma-
rine battalions have been airlifted into positions
east of the city. (Page 1)
Hanoi's propagandists are giving unusually heavy
coverage to the need for strengthening North Viet-
nam's military structure and the party's control
over it. (Page 2)
The EC summit and monetary policies will be the key.
topics when Chancellor Brandt and President Pompidou
confer in Bonn next week. (Page 3)
Moscow
Syria
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Demilitarized Zone
lang Tri
My'h defense line
Capital Special Zone
Gulf of
Thailand
104
553298 6-72
South
China
Sea
SOUTH VIETNAM
MILES
190
12-
10--
ICI
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
VIETNAM
The government's counteroffensive into Quang
Tri Province is encountering only moderate enemy.
resistance. Two South Vietnamese Marine brigades
have advanced from the My Chanh defense line to a
point northeast of Quang Tri City, while two marine
battalions have been airlifted into positions east
of the city. The airborne units operating west of
Route 1 have made less progress, but are reported'
to have killed several hundred enemy troops..
Intercepted Communist messages indicate the
enemy is uncertain about the objectives of the gov-
ernment drive but call for a variety of measures to
counter it. Subordinate units were ordered to "pre-
pare for battle," and one North Vietnamese artillery
regiment directed its units to shell the invading
forces. The 304th Division, moreover, noted that
it had already begun to engage the government troops.
One element of the division reported, however, that
the "enemy has the capability to attack and occupy
Quang Tri," and this unit indicated that it might
even receive orders for a "partial" withdrawal.
Communist units have often been slow to
react to South Vietnamese offensive
thrusts, but, as in the past, their re-
sistance is expected to stiffen once they
have determined the best way to counter
the current drive. In spite of heavy
losses in recent months, the Communists
still have a substantial force of infantry,
along with artillery and armor, in the
area.
Farther south, there are signs that the North
Vietnamese 2nd Division may be returning from Kontum
Province to its former base area in Quang Ngai after
an absence of nearly two years. The division head-
quarters has been tentatively located by recent
radio direction-finding in ?an area some 15 miles
southwest of Quang Ngai City. Such a move would
indicate that the 2nd Division has been retargeted
and will soon operate in the coastal lowlands of
Military Region 1.
The withdrawal of the 2nd Division from the
Kontum City area suggests that the Communists do
not intend to launch another large-scale attack
against the city in the near future.
Most
Communist forces in this area sustained heavy casual-
ties in fighting near the city and have withdrawn to
refit and resupply.
1
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NORTH VIETNAM
Propagandists in Hanoi are giving unusually
heavy coverage to the need for strengthening the
country's military structure and the party's con-
trol-over it. Recent articles in the army news-
paper have stressedthat the patty network must be
developed within the army even under combat condi-
tions. Strengthening the party's leadership in
every field--particularly in the armed forces?is:
,"a decisive factor for victory," Hanoi's domestic
radio service has broadcast a long directive in
the same vein prepared by the army's political de-
partment.
The regime's sudden preoccupation with
such organizational problems is almost
certainly related to the current military
situation both in the north and the south.
The toll on the manpower and morale of
Communist units, and the resulting pres-
sure on the party's lines of command and
control have given new urgency to the re-
cruitment of party cadres who can fill
positions of authority in the army. The
regime's current emphasis on the need for
such cadres reinforces other evidence from
the Communists themselves--such as inter-
cepted messages from units in combat--
that they are concerned over attrition of
their battlefield strength.
The heavy propaganda play on this point
may also reflect new official efforts to
shore up discipline within the army. Re-
curring rumors of a cease-fire or some
change on the political front could be
causing confusion and ferment within the
military, and a reassertion of the party's
control would be useful in keeping sol--
diers' and cadres' reaction in check.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
WEST GERMANY - FRANCE
The EC summit and monetary policies will be the key
topics when Chancellor Brandt and President Pompidou
confer in Bonn on 3-4 July. National elections are
approaching in both West Germany and France, and
both leaders appear eager to assure a successful
European summit this fall. To this end, they now
appear willing to postpone a decision on the creation
of an EC political secretariat, an issue that has
been clouding summit prospects.
Brandt and Pompidou may have greater difficulty agree-
ing on what to do about the problems generated by
the weakness of the dollar in European money markets
and by the British pound float. The French want
more monetary policy coordination and see an urgent
need for a European monetary union as a way of en-
abling Europe to fend off the encroachment of Ameri-
can economic power. Brandt, however, is expected to
resist French demands for establishment of a European
monetary zone, and to insist that any agreement on
monetary matters not be harmful to the EC's relations
with the US.
Some of the German-French differences in the monetary
field may well have been narrowed by Bonn's decision
yesterday to tighten controls over the inflow of
capital as Paris has been demanding.
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USSR-SYRIA
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010800270001-8