THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 JANUARY 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993705
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: January 2, 1973

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011500010001-8
The President's Daily Brief
2 January 1973
L5
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of ED. 1'652
exemption category 513(l),(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-RDP79T00936A011500010001-8
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
2 January 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Communists have begun a new offensive in north-
ern Laos against Route 13, the only road between
Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Defenders of Bouam
Long--assisted by effective air support--are hold-
ing their ground against continued nightly shell-
ings by the Communists. (Page 1)
Malta
/ (Page 2)
The Bangladesh Government has increased the number
of security personnel around US installations in
Dacca, but has not guaranteed that demonstrations
Will stop. (Page 3)
Israeli air strikes on Syrian Army posts and Syrian
shelling of the Golan Heights during the past week
have heightened tension along the border. (Page 3)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
The Communists have begun a new offensive in
the north. Enemy units on 30 December drove a
1,000-man Lao Army force from Sala Phou Khoun
located at the junction of Routes 7 and 13. Pathet
Lao and dissident neutralists carried the brunt of
the fighting although they were supported by a
small North Vietnamese artillery unit.
Intercepted messages suggest that the Commu-
nists will soon move both north and south against
hamlets along Route 13 which is the only road be-
tween Vientiane and Luang Prabang. The government
has already sent two irregular battalions from
Luang Prabang toward Sala Phou Khoun.
The Communists occupied villages along
Route 13 in 197a and 1972, but supply
problems and poor organization prevented
them from mounting a serious threat to
either Luang Prabang or to the govern-
ment's logistic center at Vang Vieng.
The North Vietnamese have continued their
nightly shellings and ground assaults against Bouam
Long, the government base north of the Plaine des
Jarres, but the irregular defenders--assisted by
effective air support--are holding their ground.
So far, the Communists do not appear to have
launched an all-out effort. Only three of the
seven battalions surrounding the base have been
detected in the fighting.
1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
MALTA
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
Bangladesh: On 31 December. the USIS center
in Mymensingh, a?district capital, was bombed and
sacked. On the following day the USIS library in
Dacca was unsuccessfully assaulted by 200 to 300
students. Ostensibly, these latest attacks on US
property in Bangladesh are in protest against US
policy in Vietnam.. We believe, however, that the
attacks have, been stimulated by inflammatory rhetoric
of ruling Awami League politicians, who are engaged
in an election campaign and are blaming the US for
the country's many serious difficulties. Privately,
Bangladesh officials have acted correctly toward US
representatives, but they say that Prime Minister
Mujib would "have difficulty" apologizing in public
because of the tense political situation. The gov-
ernment has increased the number of security personnel.
around US installations in Dacca, but has not guar-
anteed that demonstrations will be called off. In
dispersing the demonstrators on 1 January, police
fired on the crowd and killed two students.
Israel-Syria: Israeli air strikes on Syrian
Army posts and Syrian shelling of the Golan Heights
during the past week have heightened tension along
the border. Israel has closed the area to civilian
traffic and alerted its troops for further action.
We expect new Israeli air strikes if the Syrians
should Shell the heights again.
USSR-Cuba: The Soviet naval combatants that
arrived in Cuba in early December are still in Cuban
ports. The group includes a cruiser, a destroyer,
a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and a
diesel-powered submarine.(
Egypt: Demonstrations at Cairo University
this weekend against the arrest of student protesters
are a further embarrassment to the Sadat government.
Sadat remains determined to discourage protests, but
his inability to resolve the nationls difficulties
only fosters continuing criticism.
(continued)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Australia: The Communist-led Seamen and Water-
side Workers' Unions voted today to continue the
boycott of US flagships that are carrying supplies
to South Vietnam until a settlement is reached be-
tween the United States and?Hanoi. Prime Minister .
Whitlam has yet to comment on the 'strike, but there
is some doubt as to how far or how long the ban
can be enforced. The ban appears to be as much a
left-wing political test of the new Labor govern-
ment as of the US,
4
MR THF PRF.SMENT ONLY
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Top Secret
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