THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 JUNE 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993333
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 2, 1972

Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79100936A010800020001-5
The President's Daily Brief
2 June 1972
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
2 June 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
On Page 1 we discuss the extensive and favorable
reactions in Moscow to the President's visit.
The situation on the major South Vietnamese battle-
fields is essentially unchanged. On North Vietnam
we note signs of concern over the possibility of
allied commando raids?
(Page 2)
In Cambodia, Lon Nol's campaign is picking up steam
as the presidential election approaches. (Page 3)
The Iraq Petroleum Company has been nationalized.
(Page 4)
At Annex
North Vietnam
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SOVIET UNION
. TASS announced yesterday that General Secretary
Brezhnev has reported the results of the summit
meetings to top Soviet party and government organi-
zations and that: they have "wholly approved the'im7
portant work" carried-out by the Soviet side.
This formal endorsement caps the extraordinarily
extensive and favorable coverage' the Soviet media
have given to President Nixon's visit. Lead edito-
rials in the major newspapers on 30 and 31 May hail
the summit- as a major success for Moscow's foreign
policy. The editorials'are particularly approving
of US treatment of the USSR as an equal, and they
affirm that furtherimprovement in Soviet-American
relations is advantageous to Moscow. The press has
also carried numerous photographs and texts of sum-
mit documents.
This is further proof that the summit suc-
cess was extremely important to Soviet
leaders. This applies particularly, of
course, to party chief Brezhnev, who is
reaping the Zion's share of the public
credit.
Although not all the summit-related docu-
ments have been published in full, never
before has so much information on Soviet
and US strategic weapons and their deploy-
ment been disclosed to the Soviet public.
By the same token, the significance of
front-page photos of the President and
the Soviet leaders talking, signing, and
celebrating together cannot have been
lost on the Soviet people.
Despite these displays of satisfaction, the
Soviet leaders remain realists.
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VIETNAM
South Vietnamese troops are still trying to
clear a few pockets of Communist troops from the
northern and eastern parts of Kontum City. None
of the North Vietnamese units around the city has
shown signs of withdrawing despite the heavy losses
they have suffered. At Hue, intercepted messages
have referred with increasing frequency to an im-
minent attack, but at last word Communist forces
were still holding their fire.
Recent North Vietnamese intercepts have shown
concern about the possibility of allied commando
raids against prison camps and military installa-
tions in North Vietnam. A message of 29 May, for
instance, warned units near Hanoi that allied forces
were preparing "helicopters to land troops" which
would attempt to "free prisoners" and "capture
cadre." Periodically since the Son Tay raid in
November 1970, the North Vietnamese have tried to
increase the alertness of their home defense forces
against a new raid of this kind.
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CAMBODIA
Eon Nol's presidential campaign is gather-
ing steam,. and he now is seekingto defeat
In Tam, his chief opponent, by.a substan-
tial margin.
. As the campaign enters its final days before
the balloting on Sunday, civilian.and military-ele-
ments-of:the:government have Organized numerous-ral-
lies-for Lon Nol in Phnom Penh, and some of the more
popular' cabinet'ministers have been flying to provin-
cial-centers-to speak for the President. Lon Nol
himself has Campaigned in Kompong Cham, In Tam's:
home province.: The.government-has also published
favorable highlights of a recent-examination of Lon
Nol by ai team of US medical experts in order to
counter opposition claims that his health has deteri-
orated.:
Some of Lon Nol's supporters have also been en-
gaging in heavy-handed campaign tactics. The gover-
nors of several provinces, for example, have refused
to allow any-canvassing for In Tam. Soldiers cam-
paigning for the President reportedly have threat-
ened those-who would vote for In Tam with reprisals;
in a few cases, they have roughed up civilians who
refused to accept Lon-Nol leaflets; Military 'com-
manders, meanwhile, are putting heavy pressure on
their troops-to ensure that they vote for Lon Nol.
Although such measures have stirred up some resent-
ment among.the voters, there is no evidence that
they will cause any. substantial defections from Lon
Nol.
With Lon Nol 's political steamroller running in
high gear, In Tam now appears to be on the defensive.
Some of his partisans apparently are beginning to
waver and are reluctantly professing that wartime
conditions demand that Lon Nol continue in power.
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IRAQ
The government has announced nationalization
of the Iraq Petroleum Company, a consortium of US,
British, Dutch, and French interests. The Syrian
Government followed suit today with the announcement
that it was nationalizing the company's pipeline
that transits Syria.
Baghdad warned the company earlier this
month that action would be forthcoming if
it failed to meet a series of demands in-
cluding increased production in the north-
ern oilfields and agreement on a long-term
production program.
The, company produces almost all of Iraq's
oil, which last year amounted to 1.7 miZ-
Zion barrels per day and about 3.5 percent
of the world total. Although most of the
oil has been exported to Western Europe,
disruption of the supply would not seri-
ousZy, affect that area at this time be-
cause there are alternative supplies avail-
able. All of the companies that partici-
pate in the consortium have substantial
production elsewhere, and, with the excep-
tion of the French firm, would have only
short-term problems from the loss .of Iraqi
oil.
Iraq will have difficulty producing and
marketing its :oil. at the 1971 level with-
out the company's cooperation. The govern-
ment depends on oil revenues--about $950
million last year--for. about 60 percent of
its income.
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NOTES
USSR: A Soviet Foreign Ministry official told
a US Embassy officer Wednesday night that the USSR
will not attend the UN conference on the environment
opening in Stockholm on Monday. His statement was
foreshadowed by decisions of the Poles, Czechs, and
Hungarians not to attend because East Germany has
been denied full participatory status equivalent to
that of West Germany.
China:
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NORTH VIETNAM
(continued)
Al
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Although there have been reports of congestion
on the Chinese rail lines, intercepts indicate con-
tinued movement of traffic toward the border cross-
ing point at P'ing-hsiang. Furthermore, photography
of the yards at P'ing-hsiang on 22 May showed the
yards operating at typical levels.
? By far the heaviest concentration of air strikes
has been south of Hanoi, where the primary targets
have included rail yards, sidings, and bridges. Over
250 pieces of rolling stock have been
destroyed or damaged. The damage to
bridges and rail yards has effectively stopped the
through movement of trains from Hanoi into the south-
ern North Vietnamese panhandle.
In recent weeks, road travel has been maintained
at a high level in the North Vietnamese panhandle,
with large convoys reported along Route-lA and its
feeder roads. Trucks traditionally have been em-
ployed'to move goods from the north. and.coastal re-
gions inland toward Laos. The enemy may have expe-
rienced some difficulty, however, in making the
transition from rail to road. Intercepts from the
VinhHarea have indicated a shortage of experienced
drivers to handle the increased burden on the road
systeM,. According to a message of 29 May, however,.
truck convoys carrying about 600 men would move south
each day until 4 June.
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