THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 DECEMBER 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977837
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: December 7, 1970

Declassified in Part:?Sanitlzed Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP.79T009-36A009000060001-1
The President's Daily Brief
7 December 1970
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A009000060001-1
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
December 197.0
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Communists are renewing their efforts to drive
Lao government forces from the Bolovens Plateau.
(Page 1)
The Soviet naval task group is moving
(Page 2)
Fedayeen distrust of the government is
the quiet in Jordan. (Page 3)
toward Cuba.
disrupting
On Page 4, we discuss some possible effects of the
Polish- West German treaty, on Polish-Vatican rela-
tions.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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LAOS: Current Situation
Ban Nape
VIENTIANE
VIETNAM
Mu Gia
Pass
'Quang Khe
Dong Hai
Ban Karai
Pass
Demilitarized Zone
Quang Tri
oven no
Shou
Do Nang
SOUT
ong
Sedone
THAILAND
?Lao
Ngam
Tho tong
VIETNAM
Pak SongLar
?23 Site 22 ? ?
Bolovens
Site 2k 1
Plateau di
Site 38' LP"
ontum
CAMBODIA
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LAOS
Site 22, the last major government base on,the
eastern rim of the Bolovens Plateau, was attacked
on 5 December by a North Vietnamese force estimated
at one to three battalions. Heavy fighting at the
site persisted throughout the weekend but tapered
off this morning with the position still in govern-
ment hands, although enemy units remain nearby.
Enemy activity was also.reported during the weekend
around several smaller government sites, and one
camp was abandoned.
The Communist campaign in the eastern
Bolovens, which began during the summer.,
picked up again two weeks ago when the
enemy successfully attacked two key gov-
ernment bases, Sites 26 and 38. This
area of the,plateau commands the Se Kong
River and Route 16 which have taken on
increased importance for the Communists
this year?especially during-the present
dry season--as they try to expand their
infiltration complex through southern
Laos.
Communist activity, also appears to have stepped
up along the northern Bolovens. The three battalions
of government irregulars that have been sweeping to
the north of Pak Song reported contacts with the en-
emy over the weekend near Thateng.
There have been several reports of large
enemy forces moving into the area south-
west of Saravane. Recent enemy intercepts
indicate that most of the North Vietnamese
9th Regiment has moved,south from Muong
Phine in the last month and is now between
Thateng and Lao Ngam. Low-level reports
claim that these forces will attack Pak
Song in the near future, but they could
also strike at targets to the west along.
Route 16, perhaps around Khong Sedone
where the enemy appears to have been moving
large quantities of ammunition.
In northern Laos, government forces east of the
Plaine des Jarres are still moving toward Ban Ban
without significant resistance. On the Plaine's
western perimeter, no important fighting has been
reported in recent days.
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USSR-CUBA
The, Soviet navaLtask-:grOup composed of a.
guided-missile/frigatei.an F-class,dieseL/stbmarine;?
-
a_sUbmarine tender,_and an:oiler is/beaded toward
Cuha. The-latest position reportspIacethe.task:
group about ,180 nautical miles northof Haiti./
The two navalTU-95-reconnais-
sance aircraft that: flew to Cuba from the northwest-
ern. USSR on 3'December are still in ilavana
The Soviet ships 'are to far. at pea: to
reach either Havana:or Cienfuegos today,
as announced. by Havana ,Radio but they
co24d-arrive.on Tuesday.'
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JORDAN
The fedayeen have walked out of the Arab peace-
keeping committee as new clashes have erupted in
northern Jordan. The walkout by the representative
of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) oc-
curred on Saturday while the PLO Central Committee
charged separately that the Jordanian Army was pre-
paring to attack the fedayeen in the Inorthern cities
of Jarash and Irbid. There are press reports, how-
ever, that the fedayeen are asking the truce commit-
tee chairman, former Tunisian premier Bahi Ladgham,
to return to Jordan from a holiday.
The origin of the weekend clashes is not fully
clear. (
/ Intermittent
but heavy fighting continued in Jarash yesterday
until evening
This is the first time during the tenuous
truce that clashes between the fedayeen
and the army have continued into a second
day. Until now, the peacekeeping commit-
tee has been generally effective in cool-
ing off local incidents before they could
spread, but fedayeen indiscipline and dis-
trust of the Jordanian Army's intentions
have been growing, particularly with King
Husayn's absence. With the fedayeen out
of the truce mechanism, incidents could
well increase in number and in severity.
There are indications that today's fight-
ing may be heavier.
3
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POLAND VATICAN - WEST GERMANY
Bonn's Ostpolitik has ever-widening rami-
fications. The successful negotiation of
the Polish.- West German treaty opens the
possibility that Poland and the Vatican
can settle the vexing question of ecclesi-
astical administration of German territory
ceded to Poland following World War II.
The Vatican has held that in the absence
of a peace treaty it cannot give de jure
recognition to Polish church administra-
tion of dioceses in western Poland.; these
dioceses have been run by apostolic admin-
istrators who report directly. to Rome.
Within the past year, however, the Holy
See has indicated that an "international
agreement" between Poland. and West Germany
might be a sufficient precondition for it
to change its attitude. We think the
Vatican would require that the treaty be
ratified first, but two recent events sug-
gest a thaw in Polish-Vatican relations.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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