THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 8 SEPTEMBER 1973

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05993926
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: October 23, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 19, 2023
• Case Number: F-2023-01075
• Publication Date: September 8, 1973

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The President's Daily Brief
8 September 1973
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Exempt from general
declauilication uhedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
8 September 1973
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Cambodia,
(Page 1)
The North Vietnamese are building roads in Laos that
will enable them to resupply their forces in South
Vietnam and Cambodia virtually without regard to the
weather. (Page 2)
EC political directors, in preparation for President
Nixon's visit to Europe, made some progress this week
toward a draft declaration on US-EC relations.
(Page 3)
A number of reports have been received from Chile
indicating the possibility of an early military
coup attempt. (Page 4)
Libya has laid a minefield outside its territorial
waters. (Page 5)
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CAMBOD IA
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North Vietnamese Building New Road
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INDOCHINA
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intercepted mes-
sages from engineer units show that construction of
a new, high-speed, all-weather road south through
the Laotian panhandle is progressing at more than a
dozen sites. Since March, about one third of the
total mileage between the two entry points in North
Vietnam and the probable end-point in Cambodia has
been constructed.
The widespread construction suggests that,
far from abandoning the Ho Chi Minh trail,
the North Vietnamese may be preparing for
another substantial dry-season logistical
campaign. Supply shipments would not only
augment or replace existing military stores,
but would probably contain nonmilitary
supplies for Communist-held areas. The
road will not be sufficiently complete to
carry traffic before the first of the
year, however.
Like the new north-south routes along the west-
ern border of South Vietnam, the Laos corridor is
a two-lane road and well drained for speedy travel
and year-long use.
When completed, the two systems will give
the Communists increased flexibility and
mobility for their widely scattered mili-
tary forces in Indochina. Links will
probably be developed between the two
corridors. This means that during the
Laotian rainy season the south would be
accessible via the route through western
South Vietnam; during the winter rainy
period in Vietnam the Laotian panhandle
corridor would be open.
Once the roads are operational, Hanoi
will probably give first priority to
improving the lines of communication
among the major military strongholds for
easier unit rotation and replacement of
troops and equipment.
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - US
Representatives of the member states of the
European Communities met in Copenhagen this week
at the working level. According to the US Embassy
in Denmark, they made progress toward an agreed
draft declaration on US-EC relations, calling for
close links between the two.
The draft will be presented to the EC for-
eign ministers, who will begin their meet-
ing next Monday. If it is approved, EC
Council President Andersen will want to
discuss the paper with Secretary Kissinger,
possibly at the UN in New York.
There is no certainty, however, that the draft
will be approved by the ministers. Danish and West
German officials have implied that French Foreign
Minister Jobert may not be as "businesslike" as his
subordinates. The French have emphasized that their
price for going even this far is an understanding
that there would be no permanent machinery created
between the EC and the US.
Arrangements for President Nixon's visit
to Europe apparently went no further than
an "exchange of views."
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CHILE
A number of reports have been received from
Chile indicating the possibility of an early mili-
tary coup attempt.
unrest centers in the navy, whose per-
sonnel have been on edge about the imminent naming
of a new service chief. Navy men plotting to over-
throw the government now claim army and air force
support.
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There is no evidence of a coordinated tri-
service coup plan. Army generals. in
fact, lately have been talking
of ways of building
snterservsce unity with a view to increas-
ing the military's influence on the gov-
ernment. Should hotheads in the navy act
in the belief they will automatically
receive support from the other services,
they could find themselves isolated.
There are also indications that naval officers
could be planning joint anti-government actions with
militant civilian opponents of the regime. The far-
rightist Fatherland and Freedom Movement has been
blocking roads and provoking clashes with the na-
tional police, adding to the tension caused by con-
tinuing strikes and opposition political moves.
President Allende
earlier this week
said he
believed the armed forces will ask for his resigna-
tion if he does not change his economic and polit-
ical policies. He raised the prospect of an "armed
confrontation" between his followers and the mili-
tary. Allende said his supporters do not have
enough weapons to prevail in such an event and that
it would do no good to try to distribute more arms
now, since the military would not permit it. He
concluded that the only solution is a "political
one."
Allende seemed to be trying to convince
that the situation is se-
rious and requires cautious handling, and
that some tactical political retreats may
be in order. He is worried about the
sustained opposition pressures against
him and, especially, about the intentions
of the military.
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NOTE
Libya: Libya announced on September 4 that a
minefield has been laid in the Mediterranean north-
west of Tripoli. It covers approximately 300 square
miles and is outside Libya's proclaimed 12-mile
territorial limit. Other minefields were laid in
June by the Egyptian naval contingent in Libya;
these were �northeast of Tripoli, but within Libya's
territorial claim.
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To ecret
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