THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 6 APRIL 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993790
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 6, 1973

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010004-4
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The President's Daily Brief
, 6 April 1973
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Exempt from general
declassification scheduk of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B(I),(2).(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of C.entral Intelligence
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010004-4
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
6 April 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The North Vietnamese are continuing their construc-
tion on the Khe Sanh airfield in northern South
Vietnam and may be ready to fly transports into the
field. (Page 2)
India apparently is attempting to persuade Bangla-
desh that the two countries must move to break the
stalemate that is blocking a normalization of rela-
tions on the subcontinent. (Page 3)
France's new cabinet announced last evening reflects
Pompidou's increased personal strength after the
parliamentary election last month. (Page 4)
Many West Germans are increasingly skeptical that
Brandt's Ostpolitik has done much to bridge the
gap with East Germany. (Page 5)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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CAMBOD IA
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VIETNAM
The North Vietnamese are continuing their con-
struction on the Khe Sanh airfield in northern South
Vietnam.
about 2,800 feet of the main runway is usable.
In addition, the North Vietnamese are reconstructing
an abandoned parallel runway, and approximately
4,200 feet of this runway is ready for use.
The North Vietnamese apparently intend to
use the airstrips for transports. The
limited length of the runways and the
rugged terrain make the fields unsuitable
for jet fighters. /
No North Vietnamese aircraft have been de-
tected flying into Khe Sanh, but a recent
intercept discloses plans to fly aircraft
there on April 6 and 7 to pick up per-
sonnel and transport them to Hanoi.
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INDIA
P. N. Haksar, a special envoy from Prime Minis-
ter Gandhi, visited Dacca this week. His mission
was to try to persuade the Bengalis to drop their
insistence that Pakistan recognize Bangladesh prior
to any prisoner exchanges or discussion of war
crimes trials.
India apparently is attempting to persuade
Bangladesh that the two countries must
take the initiative to break the deadlock
that is preventing a normalization of re-
lations on the subcontinent. New Delhi
believes such a normalization would re-
move a major obstacle to the improvement
of its relations with Peking and Washing-
ton.
The Indians believe that unless Dacca
adopts a more flexible position on the
return of the 90,000 Pakistani POWs held
in India, President Bhutto will find it
extremely difficult to make any moves to-
ward the release of most of several hun-
dred thousand Pakistani-held Bengalis or
formal recognition of Bangladesh.
The Indians are also concerned over
charges that they are holding the Paki-
stani POWs illegally, and they are anx-
ious to demonstrate that they are not re-
sponsible for the diplomatic stalemate.
But they are still reluctant to jeopard-
ize their good relations with Dacca by
pushing the Bengalis too hard.
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010004-4
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FRANC
The new cabinet announced last evening reflects
Pompidou's increased personal strength after last
month's parliamentary election. Over half of the
22 cabinet positions went to Gaullists; major posts
are held by men close to the President. The Inde-
pendent Republicans, the Gaullists' major partner,
gained only one cabinet post--hardly commensurate
with the strength they showed at the polls.
Giscard d'Estaing, the Independent Republicans'
leader, retained the Ministry of Economics and
Finance. Pompidou reportedly made the post con-
ditional on his resignation as president of his
party. Loss of this post may damage Giscard's
chances in the presidential race in 1976.
The major new faces are Michel Jobert as Foreign
Minister and Robert Galley as Defense Minister.
As former head of the presidential staff, Jobert
is one of Pompidou's closest working associates.
He is a foreign affairs specialist but is untested
in the political arena. Galley is also primarily
a technician who has been close to the President.
Conspicuous by his absence is Jean Lecanuet, head
of the centrist faction that cooperated with the
government in the second round of the elections.
Lecanuet declined a cabinet post, possibly waiting
to see if Pompidou acts on the promised reforms,
or to see if Premier Messmer is replaced soon.
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NOTES
West Germany: The West German press is widely
critical of a government report on the state of re-
lations with East Germany, charging that it glosses
over the lack of progress in many fields. The press
treatment reflects the growing skepticism of many
West Germans that Brandt's Ostpolitik has done much
to bridge the gap with East Germany. Although rati-
fication of the inter-German treaty next month re-
mains assured, public disenchantment with Ostpolitik
could pose a problem for Brandt with party conserva-
tives as well as his Free Democratic coalition part-
ners. The failure of the opposition Christian Demo-
crats to pull themselves together since their deci-
sive defeat last November, however, diminishes the
immediate threat to Brandt..
International Wheat: The International Wheat
Council, an association of major wheat producing
and importing countries, has estimated that world
wheat production in 1972/73 will be five percent be
low the previous year's record of 319 million tons.
The Council predicts that stocks of wheat held by
the major exporters as of August 1 this year will
be the smallest in 20 years. Major exporters have
indicated that they will not permit stocks to fall
any lower. Thus, import demand in the year ending
June 30, 1974 will have to be met from 1973/74 pro-
duction.
China-US: Continental Oil Company has been
asked to participate in the Canton Trade Fair that
starts on April 15. This is the first known invita-
tion to a US oil firm to take part in the fair.
The Chinese have also contacted other US firms in
an apparent desire to acquire US technology.
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Top Secret
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