THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 24 MARCH 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993779
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 24, 1973

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011500010074-8
The President's Daily Brief
24 March 1973
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declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 58( 1),12),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
24 March 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
It appears that the North Vietnamese 308th Divi-
sion has gone home from South Vietnam. President
Thieu plans an amnesty for some political prisoners.
(Page 1)
Iraq
(Page 2)
Egypt is "cooling" its relations with the US.
(Page 3)
The EC Commission has taken a step away from the
high farm support prices to which the US has long
objected. (Page 4)
President Allende was not prepared for the sudden
resignation of Chile's cabinet, and will have dif-
ficulty organizing a new one. (Page 5) .
Prospects for China's winter grain crops appear
favorable. (Page 6)
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VIETNAM
Recently available communications-intelligence
indicates that the headquarters and parts of three
regitlents of the North Vietnamese 308th Division
have moved from Quang Tri Province into North Viet-
nam. Intercepts locate these units in Ha Tinh
Province, about 150 miles north of the Demilitarized.
Zone. The division's, headquarters has been in Ha
Tinh since January.
The 308th is the first regular army di-
vision known to have returned to North
Vietnam since the Communist spring of-
fensive a year ago. There are still
elements of four North Vietnamese divi-
sions in Quang Tri.
About 300 political prisoners will be amnestied
next Monday,
Nearly half of those to be freed were
chosen from a list submitted by a leader of the An
Quang Buddhists.
Thieu would like to improve relations
with the An Quang Buddhists. The amnesty
would follow his attendance earlier this
month at the funeral of an An Quang
leader--a gesture which was well-received.
Nevertheless, the An Quang sect has a
number of serious grievances against the
government, and their suspicions of Thieu
will not be significantly lessened by his
act of clemency atone.
Former presidential candidate Truong Dinh Dzu
and former Lower House deputy Tran Ngoc Chau are
also among those to be released next week.
Neither has a political base in South
Vietnam, but their cases have been widely
and sympathetically publicized in the
Western press. Thieu is reported to have
said that Chau will have a choice of going
to North Vietnam or staying in the South
under restrictions.
The amnesties on Monday probably are in-
tended to detract attention from the Com-
munist campaign for the release of all
civilian detainees. The release of such
a small number of civilians will not deter
the Communists, who are demanding freedom
for tens of thousands of political pris-
oners.
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USSR-IRAQ
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EGYPT
Presidential adviser Hafiz Ismail yesterday
angrily rejected US Interests Chief Greene's con-
tention that Arab governments should not support
Palestinian terrorists. Among other things, Is-
mail said:
--Egypt will not bow to the US "ultimatum"
and turn away from the Palestinians.
--The US has "let Egypt down repeatedly" and
is now rejecting a solution in terms of UN
Security Council Resolution 242.
--For now, Egypt will be able to live with
another downturn in relations with the US.
Henceforth, Greene should contact the Egyp-
tian Government through the Foreign Ministry,
rather than through Ismail's office.
The Egyptian press in recent days has focused
on alleged US promises of more fighter aircraft for
Israel. Press charges have also been leveled that
the "spy plane" incident off Libya on Wednesday is
further proof of "US-Israel collusion."
Such a propaganda campaign is designed
to increase distrust of the US and seems
aimed at ensuring that such topics will
be discussed at coming meetings of the
Arab League and the-Arab chiefs of staff.
The net result of all this will be to
mute Egypt's recent emphasis on diplomacy.
Nevertheless, Egypt would still react
with interest to any US initiative aimed
at resolving the impasse in the Middle
East.
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
The modest increase proposed this week by the
EC Commission for 1973-74 farm prices is a step to-
ward less dependence on high support prices to which
the US has long objected. The proposals are in-
tended to encourage livestock over grain production
and to restore the common prices disrupted by recent
changes in exchange rates.
The proposals may face tough going next month
in the Council despite increasing sentiment in the
EC for holding down food prices and farm program
costs. Italy opposes any increase in EC prices,
while France is under farmer pressures to get higher
dairy prices than the Commission has proposed. West
German Agricultural Minister Ertl has said privately
he could accept the proposals, although German farm-
ers have bitterly denounced them.
-Beyond the immediate debate on prices, the Com-
mission also intends to get the Council to review
the entire Common Agricultural Policy later this
year. It wants eventually to substitute direct in-
come payments to farmers for part of the support
they now receive through market prices.?
EC Farm Commissioner Lardinois told US officials
this week that over the longer term, he could fore-
see the Community abolishing measures that currently
restrict some US agricultural exports. He noted,
however, this would have to be a gradual process:
Lardinois also mentioned that the Commission is
thinking about guaranteeing outsiders access to the
EC market.
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CHILE
President Allende 's cabinet reorganization will
be difficult. The major complications will be the
divisive struggle within his Popular Unity coalition
and the political role of the armed forces.
The struggle between the Communists and the radical
wing of the Socialists probably brought on the cab-
inet's sudden offer to resign on March 22, before
Allende had completed plans for the reorganization
of the government. The small parties that had
served as a buffer between the two large parties
were nearly wiped out in the elections, providing
a further complication.
Military participation in the cabinet has most
recently provided this buffer, but the continuation
of the military in this role is itself now a con-
troversial issue. The armed forces are divided
over remaining in the government. Radical Social-
ists reportedly are pressing for the ouster of the
military as their price for remaining in the cabinet,
while the Communists would like the officers to
stay, for a time at least. Neither the Communists
nor Allende will permit the coalition to disinte-
grate over the issue.
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NOTES
China: Prospects for the winter grain crops
appear generally favorable, contrary to recent
press reports. As is customary in China following
a poor harvest, winter grain acreage was increased
substantially last year, and weather conditions
since then have been favorable in most parts of the
country. A successful harvest still depends on
continuation of good weather during the unstable
spring and on only limited loss, to insects
USSR-Somalia:
International Oil: The Organization of Petro-
leum Exporting .Countries (OPEC), representing the
Persian Gulf. states, Libya, and Nigeria, is seeking
increased payments from Western oil companies to
compensate for the devaluation of the US dollar.
Agreements signed last year between the companies
and the producers entitle the above OPEC states
to increased payments of only six percent. OPEC
will press for the full, ten percent of the devalued
dollar and will probably get it. Such a four-
percent increase in per barrel prices will result
in a very small hike in retail prices of refined.
products in those countries that devalued,
Uruguay: Military leaders last night pre-
empted broadcasting on radio and television to
denounce the government's ."moral deterioration"
and congressional obstruction of the armed forces'
economic recovery plans. This move appears to be
a step toward removal of some of the military's'
sharpest critics and possibly the closing of con-
gress'. President .Bordaberry could easily be forced
from office in the turmoil,
key generals have already decided that
Bordaberry must go, but have not yet been able to
agree among themselves on a successor.
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