THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 15 AUGUST 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977626
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: August 15, 1970

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The President's Daily Brief
15 August 1970
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A008600140001-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A008600140001-7
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
15 August 1970
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Cambodian developments are discussed on Page 1.
A lull in the Laos fighting may reflect a desire to
keep things quiet while the possibility of peace talks
is explored. (Page 2)
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/ (Page 4)
Panama says the US must vacate Rio Hato airfield by
23 August when the present agreement expires. (Page 5).
Korean President Pak takes the propaganda initiative
on the reunification issue. (Page 6)
Chou En-lai's intention to visit Southern Yemen sig-
nals China's enhanced interest in the Middle East.
(Page 7)
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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CAMBODIA: Current Situation
THAILAND
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Communist-controlled area
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99696 8-70 CI4
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
CAMBODIA
Government troops attempting to clear a section
of the road between Siem Reap city and its airport
on 13 August clashed with a small enemy force. At
last report the road was still blocked, and travelers
were stranded at the airport. To the west, a govern-
ment battalion was attacked near the town of Kralanh
but no details on the fighting are available. Cam-
bodian commanders continue to report that enemy troops
are heading into the Kralanh area. Statements by a
North Vietnamese prisoner indicate that some of the
enemy troops deployed there have been newly infil-
trated from North Vietnam.
The Cambodian regional military commander re-
ported yesterday that the road between Kralanh and
Oddar Meanchey Province is now controlled by the en-
emy. He added that government forces in Oddar Mean-
chey have only about a month's supplies on hand and
will have to be resupplied from Thailand.
1
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Laos
CHINA
CHINA
22?
NORT
BURMA
VIETNAM
THAILAND
GULF
OF
Communist-controlled territory
Contested territory
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VIETNAM
THAILAND
99695 8-70 CIA_
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CAMBODIA
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
The relatively low level of recent North
Vietnamese and Pathet Lao military activity
may have been prompted in part by a desire
to keep things quiet while the possibility
of peace talks is being explored. Diffi-
culty in mounting attacks and moving sup-
plies in extremely poor weather are un-
doubtedly contributing factors. Government
forces, which usually take the offensive
during this time of year, have not been
very active.
In the north, government forces sweeping
areas to the north and west of the royal
capital of Luang Prabang have had few con-
tacts with the enemy. Southwest of the
Plaine des Jarres, the Communists have
staged several spoiling attacks on forward
positions as they continue to frustrate
government efforts to retake territory
south of the Plgine. Government casualties
have been high. The North Vietnamese forces
involved, however, have not sought to occupy
these positions, and enemy units in this
sector are considerably under strength as
a result of ground clashes and heavy bombing.
In the panhandle, last month's occasionally
heavy fighting along Route 23 south of Muong
Phine has been slowed by heavy rains. Far-
ther south, Communist forces succeeded in
eliminating the last government outpost near
Saravane on 13 August, but otherwise this
region has been relatively quiet for several
weeks.
Along the eastern edge of the Bolovens Pla-
teau, Communist units continue to launch
mortar attacks and probe government posi-
tions. For the time being, however, the
Communists appear satisfied to maintain
their foothold on the plateau. They have
not made extensive logistic use of the Se
Kong River, strengthening earlier indica-
tions that Attopeu and Saravane were cap-
tured largely for their political impact.
(continued).
2
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
In the far south, the Communists have yet
to fulfill their propaganda threats against
the towns along the road and river routes
leading to Cambodia. Government patrols
around Paksong have found no evidence of
major enemy forces, and in the Khong Island
area the Communist forces seem to have dis-
ersed recentZy.
the Communists' chief activity
region is to organize support bases
treme southwestern Laos for Cambodian oper-
ations.
in this
in ex-
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SYRIA
4
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US Asked to Leave Rio Hato
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
PANAMA
? The, Panamanian ambassador advised State yester-
day that the .US would have to vacate the 19,120-acre
Rio Hato airfield and training area by 23 August,.
when the present agreement expires. The ambassador
indicated that a low-key announcement to this effect
will be released in Panama shortly. He held out,
however, the possibility of negotiating a new base
agreement some time in the future.
Last year Torrijos promised General Westmoreland
that the base agreement would be extended without
conditions, but recently he has been demanding a quid
pro quo.
Torrijos, convinced that he will not be
able to obtain sufficient concessions from
the US to protect his popular image, and
looking ahead to possible Canal treaty ne-
gotiations in the future, seems to be using
the base issue to test US resolve and at
the same time demonstrate his toughness in
dealing with the "gringos."
5
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
KOREA
South Korean President Pak, in his Independence
Day speech yesterday, called on the North Koreans to
renounce their policy of Communizing all of Korea by
force so that the country can move toward reunifica-
tion. In a departure from former South Korean policy,
Pak said his government would no longer oppose North
Korean participation in the UN debate of the Korean
question providing Pyongyong accepted the competence
of the UN to deal with the question.
Pak 's condemnation of the North Korean
leadership for causing the continued ten-
sion in Korea and his demand that it rec-
ognize the competence of the UN--something
Pyongyang has never been willing to do--
indicates that Pak 's intention is to gain
a propaganda advantage rather than to ad-
vance materially the cause of unification.
Pak has been aware for some time that
Seoul's intrasigent position on contact
with the North has had less propaganda ap-
peal than Pyongyang's ostensibly more flex-
ible approach.
The North Koreans have been proposing a
step-by-step program Leading to eventual
North-South elections and the creation of
a single government. Their proposal is in
Line with Pyongyang's switch last year to
less militant tactics after the guerrilla
teams infiltrated into South Korea failed
in their effort to foment insurgency.
Basic to the North's proposals, of course,
is the withdrawal of US forces from Korea.
6
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
COMMUNIST CHINA
Chou En-Zai 's acceptance in principle of
an invitation to visit Southern Yemen under-
lines the movement of Chinese diplomacy into
amore active phase and emphasizes Peking's
interest in the Middle East. This area has
received increasing Chinese attention in
recent weeks, largely in hopes of countering
Soviet influence in the region. The visit--
which would be Chou's first to a non-Commu-
nist country since the cultural revolution--
will almost certainly not take place before
the conclusion of the upcoming National
People's Congress and the celebration of Na-
tional Day on 1 October. Chou may combine
visits to other countries, such as Pakistan,
Nepal, and Romania, with this trip. The
last Chinese leader to make a swing of sev-
eral countries outside the Communist world
was former head of state Liu Shao-chi in
1966, before the infamous cultural revolu-
tion.
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/
Top Secret
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