THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 9 DECEMBER 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993020
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: December 9, 1971

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The President's Daily Brief
9 December 1971
4 6
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FOR THE PRESIDENT (ONLY
THE PRESIDENT S DAILY BRIEF
9 December 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The defense of East Pakistan is crumbling as Indian
troops advance on nearly all fronts. (Page 1)
The North Vietnamese 320th Division appears to be
headed for the central highlands in South Vietnam.
(Page 3)
On Page 4 we note the latest reports of Lon Nol's
resistance to pressure, to give up personal direc-
tion of military, affairs, and appraise the Commu-
nists' military threat to Phnom Penh.
FOR THE P_RESIDENT (ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
INDIA-PAKISTAN
The defense of East Pakistan is crumbling as
Indian troops advance on nearly all fronts. The
town of Comilla was captured yesterday, and the
Comilla military cantonment is under siege. When
that falls, of the three major army bases in East
Pakistan--Comilla, Jessore, and Dacca--only Dacca
will remain in government hands.
The most immediate threat to the capital ap-
pears to be developing from the east. Indian troops,
according to New Delhi, have reached the Meghna
River at several points, including the ferry crossing
at Daudkandi only 22 miles from Dacca. The drive
may now face a major hurdle, however, if the Paki-
stanis can dig in and hold at the Meghna--a wide and
difficult ?river to cross. This thrust, and a paral-
lel drive into Feni to the south, have cut off two
Pakistani brigades in the Chittagong District. For
the present, the Mukti Bahini apparently have been
assigned the primary task of eliminating resistance
in this area with the help of Indian air strikes on
the port of Chittagong.
Government forces in the northeast could be cut
off from Dacca by the Indian offensive moving from
Akhaura toward Mymensingh. In the extreme northwest
corner of the province the Pakistani forces are fall-
ing back under increasingly heavy attacks from the
Mukti Bahini. Farther south, the Indian drive that
took Jessore is fanning out in an apparent effort
to isolate the entire southwestern quadrant of the
province from the capital.
Western correspondents have observed the civil
population greeting the Indian forces as liberators.
The Mukti Bahini continue active both in open en-
gagements with West Pakistani troops and behind the
lines. Most of the rural areas of East Pakistan
have been in guerrilla hands for several weeks.
How long. Pakistani resistance will con-
tinue depends on whether the West Paki-
stani forces are giving up as their posts
are taken or are falling back in rela-
tively good order toward a few, urban cen-
ters, primarily Dacca, for a last-ditch
defense. Despite some reports of deser-
tions, there have been no indications yet
that discipline is collapsing or that large
numbers of Pakistani soldiers are surren-
dering. On the other hand, the major water-
courses and Indian cuts in lines of commu-
nication will make any regrouping difficult.
(continued)
1
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
On the West Pakistani front, the Pakistanis con-
tinue to press in the Chhamb area and also say they
have taken Poonch. The Indians claim the capture of
two towns northwest of Poonch, and say they have pen-
etrated about six miles into West Pakistan near.
Sialkot. Farther south, the Indians also claim
broad gains in Sind Province, but they are beginning
to encounter opposition as they reach the more popu-
lous areas. : the
Pakistani Army is about to launch a major ground of-
fensive in the Punjab area.
2
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
I NDOCH INA
Intercepts indicate that the North Vietnamese
320th Infantry Division, which began moving south-
ward in November, is en route to South Vietnam. On
2 December, the 320th established communications
with the Communist B-3 Front in South Vietnam's
central highlands, which is a good indication that
the division is going to this area. Two days later
a forward element of the division headquarters was
located in Laos near the Ban Karai Pass.
If, as is usual, the 320th moves through
North Vietnam by truck and through Laos
by foot, all three of its subordinate
regiments should arrive in the highZands
by early January. This would be the first
full infantry division to operate in the
highlands in recent years, and its pres-
ence would nearly double the number of
Communist combat forces available to pro-
tect infiltration routes and base camps
in the tri-border area. At the same time,
the Communist capability for launching
large attacks into central South Vietnam
would of course be substantially enhanced.
There are tenuous signs that a second North
Vietnamese infantry division--the 324B--is also
going south. During November, the 324B followed
some of the same communications procedures as did
the 320th.
3
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CAMBODIA
Sink Matak, Chief of State Cheng Heng, and
several senior officers from the army general staff
met with Prime Minister Lon Nol on Tuesday to pro-
pose reforms in the direction of military affairs,
including a reaffirmation of the general staff's
role in making and implementing decisions. Accord-
ing to the US Embassy, Lon Nol flatly dismissed the
proposals and refused to relinquish personal direc-
tion of military affairs. He blamed the army's re-
cent setbacks on inadequate South Vietnamese and US
assistance.
The political imbroglio could hardly come
at a worse time. We reported in yester-
day's President's Daily Brief that the
North Vietnamese units are digging in
along an arc about 15 miles north and west
of Phnom Penh. We now have intercepts in-
dicating that the headquarters of the NVA
101D Regiment has moved eastward and is
within ten miles of the city. It seems
likely that the 101D is moving against
Cambodian positions near Phnom Baset. At
last report, one Cambodian battalion there
was in light contact with the enemy. The
loss of Phnom Baset would further constrict
the Cambodians' room for maneuver north-
west of the city and would mean another
breach of the city's outer defensive per-
imeter.
With as many as 6,000 main force fighting
men for the first time within striking
distance of the city, the Communists can
exercise options that were not open to
them just six weeks ago. At this juncture,
it seems likely that they will try to keep
the capital's troops on the defensive and
to undermine the confidence of the city's
4
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
population and the government's leaders.
This will almost certainly entail more at-
tacks on Phnom Penh's periphery, though it
could also bring some action in the city
itself. The Cambodians are being whipsawed
between the Phnom Penh and Route 6 fronts,
and something is going to have to give.
There are additional signs that the Commu-
nists will ?soon renew their Route 6 offen-
sive. With Cambodian morale low at Tang
Kouk and Skoun, another serious defeat is
a distinct possibility.
The Communists could mount a dramatic
frontal assault with the objective of cap-
turing Phnom Penh. But we doubt that the
Communists believe that they are strong
enough to overcome the force currently ar-
rayed against them-45,000 Cambodian troops
backed with allied air support. The enemy
would also have to anticipate that South
Vietnamese forces would come to help in
the defense of the capital.
5
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTE
Communist China: An accumulation of evidence
from satellite photography leads us to believe that
a large industrial complex at Feng-chou in east-
central China manufactures liquid propellant rocket
engines, and possibly missile airframes as well.
This would be the second such plant in China. The
Feng-chou plant is equipped to test multi-stage sys-
tems of various sizes. We have already identified
several multi-stage missiles in China.
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Top Secret
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