THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 14 SEPTEMBER 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993519
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 14, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/15 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011100130001-9
The President's Daily Brief
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14 September 1972
45
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r
Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I ),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
14 September 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
South Vietnamese forces trying to retake the citadel
in Quang Tri City are encountering intense resistance
from Communist infantry and artillery. (Page 1)
An Israeli official says Tel Aviv intends to focus
"unremitting pressure" on Syria in order to halt
Arab terrorist activities./
I (Page 2)
Ambassador Tasca estimates that Greek Prime Minister
Papadopoulos has less than a 50-50 chance of remain-
ing in office much longer. (Page 3)
Indonesia
China to assess
prospects for normalizing relations. (Page 4)
The Soviets
(Page 5)
Cambodian forces trying to reopen Route 5 have not
met any strong resistance since their drive began
on Monday. (Page 6)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
VIETNAM
Government forces trying to retake the citadel
in Quang Tri City are encountering intense resistance
from Communist infantry and artillery. Several hun-
dred South Vietnamese Marines in the citadel are
holding positions near the eastern and southern walls,
despite heavy artillery and mortar barrages. Sev-
eral Marine battalions are moving closer to the cit-.
adel on three sides.
Government forces operating near Fire Support
Base Ross in Quang Nam Province engaged the Commu-
nists in several skirmishes. In the Tien Phuoc area
of Quang Tin Province, enemy pressure forced South
Vietnamese forces to withdraw farther to the east
from the district town.
In the delta, there has been a sharp increase
in Communist activity, mostly directed against small
outposts in the provinces that border on the U Minh
Forest. In Chuong Thien Province, more than a dozen
outposts were attacked, and communications have been
lost with half of them. Enemy gunners also shelled
a number of outposts in Kien Giang Province, and a
few have fallen to the Communists.
1
FOR THE .PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
ISRAEL - ARAB STATES
Israeli Minister of Police Hillel has told US
Embassy officials in Tel Aviv that Israel intends
to focus "unremitting pressure" on Syria in order
to halt Arab terrorist activities. Hillel said
that Syria had provided the principal base and sup-
port for terrorist activities abroad and that the
situation "must be made so painful" for Damascus
that it will force an end to terrorist activities.
He said that Israel intended to put the entire onus
on Syria for terrorist actions regardless of where
they originate. He added that the Israeli air
strikes of 8 September were not an example of the
kind of pressure Israel has in mind, "since they
did not hurt Syria." The Israeli action, Hillel
said, would be "much more drastic."
Israeli officials' public statements also in-
dicate that Tel Aviv has declared "open season" on
the fedayeen and on the host Arab states supporting
them. Israeli Chief of Staff Elazar has spoken in
terms of mounting a "continuous war" and Prime Min-
ister Golda Meir told the Knesset that Israel will
strike at the terrorists "everywhere our hand can
reach."
Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft have continued
daily flights over southern Lebanon and Syria since
their attacks of 8 and 9 September. An Israeli
military spokesman has denied Syrian claims that an
Israeli aircraft was shot down yesterday.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
GREECE
Ambassador Tasca estimates that Prime Minister
Papadopoulos has less than a 50-50 chance Of remain-
ing in office much longer. He cites Papadopoulos'
erratic management of the government, his failure
to curtail corruption among his associates, and his
mistakes in handling Greece's recent confrontation
with Cyprus as the primary causes of dissatisfaction.
Military officers at all levels no longer believe
Papadopoulos is the only man who can run the govern-
ment--a, widely held view until now. Papadopoulos'.
fall.is not likely to change things very much. The
government will remain in the hands of the military
and' it will continue to be pro-US and pro-NATO.
What is less certain, is who will replace Papadopoulos.
If someone like his estranged former associate,
Dimitrius.Stamatelopoulos, comes in, Greece may
again move toward parliamentary.government. On the
other hand, figures such as Deputy Prime Minister
Pattakos or, armed forces chief Angelis, both of
whom are authoritarian personalities, -would preside
over a regime even more rigid than that of Papado-
poulos.. The ambassador does not rule out the pos-
sibility of a take-over by some unknown officer
with a strong. ideological bias, but says the em-'
bassy has no leads in this direction.
Stamatelopoulos, once a prestigious member
of the Revolutionary Council and 'a close
military colleague of Papadopoulos, re-
signed a few years ago in pique over the
Zack of direction of the regime. Since
then, he has been a frequent critic of
the government. Papadopoulos, however,
has never seriously attempted to repri-
mand him. Although Stamatelopoulos is a
strong personality and a Zogidal choice,
we have seen no evidence that he has the
necessary military backing to take over
the government. Nevertheless.,1
_the situation is increasingty
unstable. 25X1
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
INDONESIA-CHINA
Suharto had
stated earlier that Djakarta should not be left be-
hind as other countries move on the China question.
The Chinese, in recent contacts with the Indo-
nesians at the United Nations, have indicated that
they are prepared to consider normalization once
Sino-Japanese relations are established. In the
meantime, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has ordered
that all possible assistance be given merchants in?
Hong Kong wishing to do business with Indonesia.
The new soundings seem likely to go
reasonably well, but the normalization
process is expected to be slow. The
Indonesian Army remains reluctant to re-
store ties and many other Indonesian
quarters hold strong anti-Chinese feel-
ings. Like the Chinese, the Indonesians
want the first steps to be made through
trade.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
USSR
Satellite photography of the cosmonaut train-
ing center at Star Village near Moscow shows sev-
eral large buildings under construction.
/ We expect com-
plex future missions that will involve
large space stations operating in earth
orbit. There are currently about 50 cos-
monauts in training. The US had roughly
the same number of astronauts in training
at the peak of the Apollo program.
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CAMBODIA
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5 *4 AI
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTE
Cambodia: Government forces trying to,reopen
Route 5, the land route for rice shipments from
Battambang Province to Phnom Penh, have not encoun-
tered any strong resistance since their drive began
on Monday. By yesterday the 11 battalions moving
up the highway from Kompong Chhnang City were some
nine miles south of the enemy-controlled town of
Ponley. The other column of four battalions pro-
ceeding down Route 5 from Pursat has reoccupied the
small town of Trapeang,Chan and is now about three
miles from Ponley.
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Top Secret
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