THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 APRIL 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014775
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 18, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
April 18, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category ,513( 1),12).(3)
declassified onIV on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
4 I
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
April 18, 1975
Table of Contents
South Vietnam: The government's position on the
Xuan Loc battlefront is deteriorating rapidly,
and the threat is shifting to Bien Hoa. (Page 1)
Cambodia: A number of military and civilian lead-
ers made eleventh-hour escapes from Phnom Penh.
where the communist take-over is proceeding.
(Page 2)
Syria-Israel:
Portugal: Admiral Coutinho has promised that elec-
tions will be held but says the Armed Forces
Movement will not be a "prisoner of the re-
sults." (Page 5)
Zambia:
(Page 9)
Libya-Egypt: Tension flared again this week with
both governments publicly threatening to sever
diplomatic relations. (Page 11)
Laos: Pathet Lao forces have become increasingly
aggressive near a strategic crossroads town
100 miles north of Vientiane. (Page 13)
Notes: Yugoslavia; Cyprus (Page 14)
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PHNOM
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VIETNAM
Phan
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AIGON
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The government's position on the
Xuan Loc battlefront is deteriorating
rapidly and the threat is quickly shift-
ing to Bien Hoa.
Two communist sapper regiments reportedly are
approaching Bien Hoa from the north and northeast,
and South Vietnamese commanders believe there are
at least six other communist regiments now close -
enough to attack the city and hearby airbase in a
matter of hours. Most of the combat support air-
craft at Bien Hoa have already been transferred to
Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airbase, but Bien Hoa remains
an important facility for aircraft maintenance and
munitions supply.
With a large share of Saigon's forces being
chewed up at Xuan Loc, the government appears to
have insufficient fighting units remaining to stop
the communist thrust toward Saigon from the east.
Although South Vietnamese units in the delta
provinces have been fighting well and have success-
fully repulsed communist efforts to sever Route 4,
a key highway to Saigon, the developing situation
looks grim. The communists have massed a substan-
tial force--more than three divisions--in Dinh
Tuong and Long An provinces just southwest of Sai-
gon. With such a large force in position, the com-
munists soon may try to overpower the two govern-
ment divisions defending the road, isolate other
South Vietnamese units south of Dinh Tuong, and be-
gin a major drive against the capital.
Press reports say that communist sappers at-
tacked the government's communications center at
Phu Lam in Saigon's southwestern suburbs last night,
but were driven off by South Vietnamese ground forces
and helicopter gunships.
The South Vietnamese have decided to evacuate
their last enclave in Military Region 2, Phan Thiet,
which came under heavy communist tank and infantry
attack early today. The abandonment of Phan Thiet
will open coastal Route 1 for communist forces to
move south into the provinces east of Saigon. The
North Vietnamese began heavy tank and infantry at-
tacks against Phan Thiet early today. A communist
onslaught in this area would encounter little re-
sistance from government troops still regrouping
along the coast at Ham Tan. The communists then
could move quickly on to Vung Tau--the last remain-
ing important port on the eastern coast.
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Kompong
Chhnang.
Ko
Kut
Koh
Kongeu
Koimpong
PHNOM
PENH
;Takeo
Koh Rongis
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SOUTH
VIETMAM
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Kampot
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557695 4-75
CAMBODIA
Miles
0 50
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CAMBODIA
A number of leading Cambodian mili-
tary and some civilian leaders, including
former Supreme Council president General
Sak Sutsakhan, made eleventh-hour escapes
from Phnom Penh. Former prime minister
Long Boret, Republican Party strongman
Sink Matak, and former president Lon
NoZ's younger brother, Lon Non, are
among those who remain in the capital,
presumably in communist hands.
Long Boret and his family were left behind by
helicopters making a dramatic last-minute departure
from Phnom Penh's stadium. Lon Non played a part
in arranging the surrender and was reportedly taken
into custody by the communists. Sink Matak appar-
ently made no effort to escape.
The communist take-over appeared to be pro-
ceeding in an orderly fashion, although press re-
ports early this morning claim that large numbers
of Cambodians were attempting to leave Phnom Penh.
The French ambassador in Bangkok reported that
more than a thousand Cambodians have sought refuge
in the French embassy in Phnom Penh. An exodus of
large numbers from the capital could be part of an
earlier reported communist plan to move people into
the countryside to ease the strain on supplies in
Phnom Penh.
An insurgent radio message intercepted yester-
day directed that all foreigners, including Americans,
were to be kept together. UN officials in Phnom Penh
report that the communists are keeping the hotel where
most Westerners were staying as a neutral zone.
Some newsmen are still managing to file stories
from the capital, but the communists will probably
clamp down on external communications as they con-
solidate their control.
So far, there has been no formal announcement
of a new regime in Phnom Penh. An earlier inter-
cepted message had indicated that the insurgent
leadership would not enter the capital until the
(continued)
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occupation was complete. Prince Sihanouk told re-
porters in Peking yesterday that he would return
to Cambodia "maybe in a'couple of days, maybe in a
couple of weeks."
The situation outside Phnom Penh remains con-
fused. The government garrisons at Kompong Speu
and Kompong Cham have surrendered, but government
commanders at Kompong Som, Kompong Chhnang, Kompong
Thom, and a number of towns in the northwest claim
they will fight as long as possible.
We have received no word on the status of the
isolated enclaves of Kampot, Takeo, and Svay Rieng,
but they would appear to have little choice but to
surrender. Communist units near Prey Veng yesterday
were cautioned to be 'gentle in every way possible"
during the occupation of that town.
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SYRIA?ISRAEL
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PORTUGAL
Admiral Antonio Rosa Coutinho, rap-
idly emerging as a dominant member of
the 28-man Revolutionary Council, prom-
ised on Tuesday that elections will be
held, but that the Armed Forces Movement
will not allow itself to be a "prisoner
of the results,"
In an hour-long televised interview, Coutinho
tried to counter widespread suspicion that the Move-
ment might cancel or delay the elections out of fear
that the results would show that the poeple do not
support the Movement's policies. Coutinho said that
elections must be held. He added, however, that the
elections will not affect the Movement's decision to
move toward socialism and stay in power for at least
the next three years.
Coutinho, a 49-year-old career navy officer who
served until recently as head of the governing junta
in Angola, has appeared more and more frequently as
a Movement spokesman. This week he was appointed
executive director of the Revolutionary Council, a
powerful position that includes authority to spend
up to $400,000 without government approval.
Cou-
tinho will soon be named armed forces cruet ot staff,
a position now held by President Costa Gomes
Socialist leader Mario Soares has _
identified Coutinho as the leader of the leftist
socialist faction within the Revolutionary Council.
Soares believes that this is the most important
group in the Council and that it is slightly larger
than Prime Minister Goncalves' pro-communist faction.
Coutinho is frequently mentioned as the leading con-
tender to replace Prime Minister Goncalves should
he falter.
He is now in charge of the inquiry into the
March 11 coup attempt. The preliminary results of
the investigation are to be published next week.
Some civilians may be implicated, and members of the
moderate Socialist and Popular Democratic parties
fear that disclosures just before elections will
hurt them at the polls.
(continued)
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Coutinho created a stir last week by calling
for the establishment of a new political party--
described as a "civilian Armed Forces Movement"--
to which the Movement could gradually transfer some
of its powers. Coutinho openly admits his distaste
for Soares, whom he sees as too conservative, but
he even more strongly opposes the influence the
communists now enjoy in the government. His pro-
posed new party would fall ideologically somewhere
between the Socialists and the communists and, in
his view, eliminate bickering and fighting among the
parties.
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(continued)
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ZAMBIA
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LIBYA-EGYPT
The gradually building tension be-
tween Libya and Egypt flared up this week
with both sides publicly threatening to
sever diplomatic relations.
The Libyans, apparently infuriated by President
Sadat's recent public characterization of President
Qadhafi as "insane," issued a formal protest to the
Egyptian ambassador on Wednesday, charging Sadat
with "flagrant intervention in Libyan affairs." The
message warned that Qadhafi and the Revolutionary
Command Council were firmly united and that Sadat's
"campaign" to drive a wedge between them could lead
to a break in relations.
The Libyan protest note drew a quick message
from Cairo rejecting the Libyan note and holding
the Libyan leadership directly responsible for the
safety of the resident Egyptian community of 200,000
persons.
US officials in Tripoli believe many Lib-
yans are eager to go on an anti-Egyptian rampage
that could quickly get out of control. Qadhafi,
however, will move cautiously with regard to resi-
dent Egyptians, without whom Libyan schools, hos-
pitals, and the economy itself could not function.
In such a highly charged atmosphere, it is
problematical whether practical economic and polit-
ical considerations will constrain the two sides.
(continued)
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Resentment of Egypt is one of the few issues ?that
can firmly unite the Libyan leadership and its peo-
ple and fuel their most irrational tendencies.
Having been rebuffed repeatedly in his attempts at
reconciliation with Sadat, Qadhafi now probably
feels only the barest need for restraint.
Sadat's recent outbursts against Qadhafi prob-
ably stem from a genuine fear that the Libyan is
willing and able to conduct subversive operations
in Egypt. In periods such as the present, when
Sadat and his policies are under attack in the Arab
world, he feels vulnerable to subversion by Libya
and fearful that other Arabs will join forces with
Libya in an attempt to upset his negotiating strategy.
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Northern Laos
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Statute Miles
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LAOS
Pathet Lao forces have be-
come increasingly aggressive in the Sala
Phou Khoun area of northern Laos. Sala
Phou Khoun is a strategic crossroads
town located at the junction of routes
4/7 and 13, approximately 100 miles north
of Vientiane. It has been controlled
by the non-communists since the Febru-
ary 1973 cease-fire in Laos.
Pathet Lao forces
launched a series of attacks earlier this week,
forcing the non-communists to abandon all their po-
sitions east of the town. Attacks, allegedly in-
volving at least two tanks, artillery, and ground
forces, were also reported against the non-commu-
nists' command headquarters at Sala Phou Khoun it-
self. Fighting in the area subsided yesterday,
however, with the non-communists still in control
of the junction and nearby positions along Route 13.
senior non-communist mili-
tary leaders will almost certainly interpret the
actions at Sala Phou Khoun as an indication that
the Pathet Lao have been emboldened by communist
battlefield successes in Cambodia and South Vietnam
into adopting a more militant posture in Laos.
There is no evidence at this point, however, that
the incidents at Sala Phou Khoun represent anything
more than the kind of localized skirmishing that
has periodically punctuated the two-year-old cease-
fire.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma, for his part,
does not appear to be overly concerned with develop-
ments at Sala Phou Khoun.
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NOTES
Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash is facing
his first serious challenge in the continuing debate
over a constitution for the Turkish sector of Cyprus.
He is reportedly being challenged by four oppo-
sition groups who have been working together in the
constituent assembly to curb the powers of the pres-
idency which Denktash is expected to assume. He has
also encountered resistance within his own cabinet.
Denktash still enjoys Ankara's support, but he prob-
ably faces increased political oppositiop from the
formerly cohesive Turkish Cypriot community now that
the threat from the Greek Cypriots has so diminished.
This could lead Denktash to assume a tougher stance
in the intercommunal talks in an effort to restore
his popularity. He could still be overruled, how-
ever, by Ankara.
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Top Secret
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