THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 4 SEPTEMBER 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993501
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 4, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100040001-9
The President's Daily Brief
4 September 1972
5
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100040001-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100040001-9
Exempt from general
declanification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 513(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100040001-9
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
4 September 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The South Vietnamese advance into the Qua Son Valley
appears to be making progress. (Page 1)
Vang Pao's offensive in north Laos has suffered some
sharp setbacks. (Page 2)
Greek
(i-'age, )
The Libyan effort to recruit Arab volunteers for the
Palestinian resistance movement is assessed on Page 5.
The Soviets have tacitly accepted free trade arrange-
ments
(page 6)
,FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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SOUTH
VIETNAM
SOUTH
CHINA
553543 9-72
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
VIETNAM
The. South Vietnamese advance into the Que. Son
Valley appears to be making progress. Government
forces now control most of Qte Son district town
and are trying to drive out the few remaining Com-
munist troops,. To the west, South Vietnamese forces
report. that they,, have moved to ,within a few hundred
yards of Fire Support Base Ross, which fell_to the
enemy two weeks ago. A prisoner from the North Viet-
namese 711th Division, which has been largely re-
sponsible for this enemy campaign, claims that his
unit, the 270th Regiment, has suffered heavy losses
and has received no replacements since the fighting
in this area began. According to other prisoners
the 711th Division is currently engaged
in -a major resupply effort, indicating that the Com-
munists intend to continue the fighting in this sec-
tor.,
South Vietnamese Marines clashed frequently
with the Communists in both the northern and south-
ern outskirts of Quang Tri City over the weekend.
Communist gunners poured about 3,000 artillery and
mortar rounds into government positions throughout
Quang Tri Province on Saturday and Sunday, but the
shellings caused only light casualties.
In the central highlands, the Communists
launched their heaviest attack in more than two
months. A South Vietnamese Ranger outpost 20 miles
west of Pleiku City was attacked and partially oc-
cupied by the enemy on Saturday. Late reporting
indicates the outpost was overrun early this morn-
ing-
In other parts of the country, military activ-
ity over the weekend was light, consisting largely
of harassing attacks against government positions
along Route 13 in Binh Long Province and against
isolated outposts in the Mekong Delta.
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LAOS: PLAINE DES JARRES AREA
? Government-held location
? Communist-held location
A Highpoint
j-?
Bouam Longo
Irregular task force
pushed back
71
Nang .
Pet
01'
Irregular task force
l'ha Tam Bleunn
-- Irregular task force
52 '44"ge
Long Tieng
553544 9-72 CIA
? .?
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
The government's offensive in north Laos has
suffered some sharp setbacks. The most serious oc-
curred north of the Plaine des Jarres, where heavy
North Vietnamese ground attacks and shellings have
dispersed the 2,500-man irregular task force that
had been operating in the area. Thus far, some 600
to 700 troops from this force have worked their way
to other irregular positions near the Plaine's west-
ern edge; most have been evacuated for medical treat-
ment.
Northeast of the Plaine, the irregular task
force from Bouam Long that had been advancing to-
ward Communist supply lines near Nong Pet has also
encountered stiff opposition. Three of its battal-
ions pulled back on Friday in the face of heavy Com-
munist attacks. At last report, however, the task
force commanders indicated that they were still de-
termined to move toward their objectives. Inter-
cepts indicate that elements of the North Vietnamese
866th and 335th independent regiments most likely
are responsible for the enemy pressure both north
and northeast of the Plaine.
The other three task forces participating in
Vang Pao's campaign continue to report relatively
light contact with Communist forces in their respec-
tive sectors west, southwest, and south of the Plaine,
and their positions remain essentially unchanged.
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CH1NA-LAOS
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
GREECE
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LIBYA-FEDAYEEN
Last June, ColonelQadhafi announced a joint
Libyan,-Fatah effort to recruit Arab volunteers .for
he Palestinian resistance movement. Since then,
there has been a steady rise in the number of peo-
ple answering the Libyan leader s-call for 4 popu-
lar crusade againstIerael/
Fatah? leader Yasir Arafat recently
claimed that 8,000 volunteers were now in Libya.
The volunteers' motives are mixed. Those
from Lebanon are mostly unemployed Syrian
expatriate laborers who welcome an oppor-
tunity to earn a living, especially the
$150 a month that each recruit is said to
be receiving. Those from the Persian Gulf
are largely Palestinian refugees whose res-
idence permits were about to expire. Others,
from conservative countries such as Yemen
(Sana) and Saudi Arabia, appear to be gen-
uinely moved by pan-Arab slogans of unity
and defeating the "Zionist invaders."
Qadhafi, for his part, apparently is con-
vinced that this project is essential if
the struggle against Israel is to continue.
Moreover, he contends that Libya must ap-
peal to the Arab masses over the heads of
their national leaders, who he fears are
seeking a peaceful solution to the Arab-
Israeli impasse. Although clearly annoyed
with Qadhafi, most Arab leaders find it
necessary publicly to support the Libyan
initiative rather than risk censure for
being soft on Israel.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR-EC
Moscow has tacitly accepted free trade arrange-
? ments between the expanding Common Market and three
of the principal European neutral states.
The Soviets do not appear to have gone as far
in approving a Finnish arrangement with the EC.
Despite these signs of a more realistic
attitude in Moscow, the political impli-
cations of an expanding European Community
continue to trouble the Soviets. To slow
EC growth, the USSR would like to see en-
try into the Community defeated in one of
the upcoming Scandinavian referenda on
accession, and Soviet propaganda is zero-
ing in on the close Norwegian contest.
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Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100040001-9