THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 APRIL 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993791
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 7, 1973

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936011600010005-3
The President's Daily Brief
7 April 1973
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Exempt from general
declassification scheduk of E.O. 11652
exemption category 513( I ),(2).(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19: CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010005-3
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
7 April 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
France has provided Libya with air-to-air missiles.
(Page 1)
Cambodian forces have made limited progress in
clearing Route 1 above Neak Luong, and additional
troops have been sent to help clear the Mekong sup-
ply route. (Page 2)
The Laotian Government has provided the detailed
Communist proposals on the military aspects of the
Lao peace agreement. (Page 3)
South Vietnam's regional military commander is still
pressing for approval of an operation to break the
siege of Tonle Cham. (Page 4)
In Australia, the election of a.leftist senator as
chairman of a key parliamentary committee will com-
plicate Canberra's relations with the US. (Page 6)
The Turkish parliament finally succeeded in elect-
ing a new president, retired admiral Fahri Koruturk.
(Page 6)
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Matra Air-to-Air Missiles
Length
Weight
Maximum speed
1 Range
Guidance
10.8 ft
430 lbs
Mach 3.0
about 10 nm
infrared and
semiactive
radar homing
about 8 ft
175 lbs
unknown
6.5 nm
infrared
554291 4-73
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LIBYA
According to the French military counselor
in Tripoli, France has provided Libya with Matra
R530 air-to-air missiles. The counselor added
that Libya probably would receive the more advanced
Matra R550 missile soon.
On April 3, a trained aviation official ob-
served that two Mirages on alert at Uqba bin Nafi
Airbase near Tripoli were armed with Matra R530s.
According to the source, Libyan ground crews are
being trained to handle the Matra R530.
Until now, Libyan Mirages were believed
to have been armed only with 30-mm.
cannons. The Mach-3 Matra R530, which
has a range of about 10 nm, will sig-
nificantly improve the capabilities of
the Libyan Air Force and acquisition of
the Matra R550, France's newest air-to-
air missile, will improve them more.
The R550 is scheduled to replace the
US-built Sidewinder on French inter-
ceptors during 1973.
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FGR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CAMBODIA
Government forces have made limited progress
in clearing Route 1 between Phnom Penh and Neak
Luong, regaining control over a three-mile section
of the highway just west of that town. Three more
government battalions have been added to the effort
to regain control of the east bank of the Mekong
River above Neak Luong.
An 18-vessel convoy is scheduled to move up
the river from South Vietnam today. If it does not
meet heavy resistance, it should arrive in Phnom
Penh Sunday. Eight of the vessels are carrying
petroleum supplies.
There are now indications that the Communists
may be preparing for some dramatic actions in or
near Phnom Penh. Intercepts show that reconnais-
sance elements of the North Vietnamese 367th Sapper
Group are now located about ten miles east of the
capital.
The 367th has been involved in major
sapper attacks in the Phnom Penh area in
the past, most recently on October 7,
1972.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
The Laotian Government has given the US Embassy
the detailed Communist proposals on the military
aspects of the Lao peace agreement. The Communists
demand that formation of a new government be held
in abeyance until agreement is reached on the mili-
tary questions. The proposals call for:
--a formal demarcation line that would give
the Communists control of some areas presently
occupied by the government.
--a prohibition on the integration of irregular
forces into the Lao Army and the dismantling
of all irregular bases, including enclaves
such as Bouam Long.
--the closure of refugee settlements and the
return of the refugees within 30 days to their
places of origin.
--the establishment of only six permanent lo-
cations for teams of the Joint Military Com-
mission, none of which is near either the
infiltration corridor to South Vietnam or the
North Vietnamese border.
--no expanded role for the International Con-
trol Commission.
--the withdrawal of all "foreign" troops in
three phases to be completed within 60 days
of the formation of a new government.
These are clearly maximum positions.
Despite the many details covered, the
proposals fail to address several con-
tentious points. They contain no pro-
cedures, for example, for the accounting
of US personnel missing in Laos or for
the replacement of war materiel.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SOUTH VIETNAM
South Vietnam's commander for the region around
Saigon, General Minh, is still pressing for approval
of an extensive military operation to break the Com-
munist siege of Tonle Cham. This calls for extensive
air strikes and an assault by an artillery-supported
infantry division.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
AUSTRALIA
The election of a leftist Labor senator, John WheeZ-
don, as chairman of the ,parliamentary committee on
foreign affairs and defense will complicate US-
Australian relations. WheeZdon is a sharp critic
of US Indochina policy and US installations in Aus-
tralia. His committee can be expected to become a
focus of opposition to the construction of a US-
sponsored OMEGA navigational aid station in Aus-
tralia. Prime Minister Whitlam and Defense Minister
Barnard both favor the project, but they may now
have trouble getting it past Wheeldon's committee
and other left-wing roadblocks in parliament.
Although the Prime Minister can still count on the
support of a majority of Labor parliamentarians on
most important questions, WheeZdon's victory points
up the difficulties Whitlam has in enforcing disci-
pline on the party's left wing.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
Turkey: Fahri Koruturk was elected president
yesterday, ending a 25-day deadlock. The 70-year-
old senator and retired admiral was elected as a
compromise candidate on the 15th ballot. Koruturk
was commander of the navy when the military took
power in May 1960, although he was not a member of
the coup group. Koruturk retired from the navy
shortly after the coup, served for four years as
Turkey's ambassador in Moscow, and was appointed
to the Senate by former president Sunay in 1968.
India-Bangladesh-Pakistan: P. N. Haksar, Prime
Minister Gandhi's special envoy to Bangladesh, ap-
parently failed to persuade Dacca to drop its demand
that Pakistan recognize Bangladesh before the re-
lease of any of the 90,000 Pakistani POWs held in
India. Following talks with Haksar, Bangladesh For-
eign Minister Hossain said yesterday that Dacca
still plans to bring some of the prisoners to trial
for war crimes.
Terrorism: The North Atlantic Council meeting
this week confirmed that while member states think
measures should be taken against terrorism, they are
unwilling to do anything collectively. The foreign
ministers of the European Community, who talked
about terrorism last month, were similarly leery of
taking meaningful collective action lest they anger
the Arab states and draw the fire of the fedayeen.
EC-USSR: The EC Commission has approved the
sale to the Soviet Union of 200,000 metric tons of
butter from community stockpiles. The community
paid $2,244 per ton for the butter and the sale
price of $400 per ton represents a loss of nearly
$370 million. The EC's growing butter stocks, now
over 400,000 tons, seemed likely to exceed storage
capacity by the end of the year, and the Commission
argued that it was cheaper to sell butter at give-
away prices than to stockpile it. This will fur-
ther arouse the critics of the common agricultural
policy but may help the Commission reduce the butter-
support level in the coming year.
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Top Secret
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