THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 17 APRIL 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993799
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 17, 1973

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010013-4
The President's Daily. Brief
17 April 1973
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o ret
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Exempt from general
declassification scheduk of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( l),(2).(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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LATE ITEM
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
17 April 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Cambodia. (Page 1)
South Vietnam-
Thailand
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(Page 2) 25X1
China. (Page 3)
Salyut-2, the unmanned Soviet space station, may
have exploded in space. (Page 4)
The Soviets appear to be transporting tanks and
other equipment of the Moroccan expeditionary force
to Syria. (Page 5)
Soviet media are preparing the atmosphere for Brezh-
nev's forthcoming visit to the US. (Page 6)
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CAMBODIA
1
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SOUTH VIETNAM
Several recent intercepts indicate the Commu-
nists are planning attacks in northern South Viet-
nam in an attempt to force the government to keep
Marine and Airborne units committed to the Quang
Tri battlefront. The messages show that the Commu-
nists hope to complete plans by April 19 to seize
eleven unidentified objectives in the area.
The Communists apparently think Saigon
might divert its first Zine units now in
the area to other parts of South Vietnam.
It seems unlikely, however, that Saigon
would weaken its northern defense Zine
by sending all of these units elsewhere
until it is sure that local forces can
contain the current threat in Quang Tri
Province.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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THAILAND-CHINA
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USSR
Radar tracking on April 14 indicated that Sal-
yut-2, the unmanned space station orbited by the
Soviets on April 3, was tumbling in orbit, appar-
ently out of control. The next day, US radars de-
tected about 30 fragments in the orbit of the space
station, indicating that the vehicle may have ex-
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Preparations for the launch of a Soyuz
spacecraft to transport cosmonauts to the
Salyut were under way late last week. No
additional preparatory activity has been
noted, however, since April 14. The space
support ships in the Atlantic and Pacific
have not been detected returning to port,
but a delay of a few days while the So-
viets assess the nature of the failure
would be expected. The Soviets might
still launch the Soyuz to perform some
type of solo mission.
The Salyut-2 space station was expected
to be manned by at least two separate
teams of cosmonauts for extended missions
of about four weeks. A combined Soyuz-
Salyut mission scheduled for last summer
also ended in failure when the space sta-
tion failed to achieve orbit.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011600010013-4
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Soviet Alligator-Class LST.
?
42g
:?
7"1:01
KU
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ATLANTIC OCEAN
PORT
AUSTRIA
HUNGARY
FRANCE
ROMANIA
ITALY
YUGOSLAVIA
BULGARIA
SPAIN
Corsica
Balearic
Islands
Sardinia
ALB NIA
?
/
IYUk,n.?" 71
*Oran
TUNISIA
1105Pon,
BLACK SEA
TURKEY
USSR
. SYRIA
, N:Lat
alCi%
' irartus
CYPRUS'? LEBANON
MOROCCO
0 250
NAUTICAL MILES
317 4-73 CIA
ALGERIA
LIBYA'
EGYPT
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USSR-MOROCCO-SYRIA
Two Soviet LSTs. made 'a port call in Oran,
Algeria, from April 13 to 15 and currently are en
route to the eastern Mediterranean in the company
of a destroyer.
The two landing craft are now carrying
armored vehicles and trucks on deck.
These ships may be involved in transport-
ing:MorOccan military equipment to Syria'.
Hassan's expeditionary force is designed
to demonstrate his commitment to the Arab
cause, to distract popular attention from
problems at home, and--perhaps most im-
portant--to employ military troublemakers
far away.
The sealift could provide the Soviets
with a cheap opportunity to improve their
generally poor relations with Morocco.
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NOTE
USSR: During recent weeks, Soviet media have
been stressing the improved state of relations with
the US. Existing differences have been given low-
key treatment or have even been perfunctorily dis-
missed. The Soviets are probably beginning prepara-
tions for Brezhnev's forthcoming visit to the US.
In addition, the Paris Agreements have made it eas-
ier for Moscow to project a positive image of rela-
tions with Washington.
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Top Secret
?
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