THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 10 JANUARY 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007643
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: January 10, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
FOR .THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THAILAND
The arrival of Prime Minister Tanaka, combined
with a surfacing of anti-US feeling, has brought stu-
dents back into the streets of Bangkok. Some 10,000
students held a mid-morning rally yesterday to pro-
test Japanese economic "imperialism."
During the course of the demonstration, some
3,000 students broke away from the main body to
march on the US Embassy. The students protested CIA
interference in Thai internal ?affairs ?and demanded
that Ambassador Kintner leave the country. They dis-
persed later in the evening following assurances from
the prime minister's office that government officials
would meet with student leaders.
According to a Bangkok press report, several
hundred other students threw three plastic bombs at
a Japanese department store and a trade office in
the vicinity of Tanaka's hotel.
Until now, Thai students have been preoccupied
with domestic affairs, and anti-US sentiment has not
been a major student issue. Student leaders have
seized on the recent CIA letter episode to galvanize
public opinion and are pressing the government to
take a hard line with the US over the incident.
Given the Sanya government's sensitivity to student
political pressure, some type of formal protest may
be forthcoming.
2
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
Major NVA Withdrawals from Laos
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555051 1-74 CIA
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THAILAND
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
LAOS
Major elements of the North Vietnamese 316th
Infantry Division returned to North Vietnam in De-
cember, according to recently available communica-
tions intelligence. This is the first significant
withdrawal of North Vietnamese combat units from
northern Laos since the February 1973 cease-fire.
The moves suggest that Hanoi is satisfied with the
effectiveness of the cease-fire in the north and
that it anticipates no early resumption of major
hostilities there.
Division headquarters and two of the division's
three regiments_apparently have been moving toward
the border for several months. The headquarters
and one of the regiments have spent the better part
of the past seven years in Laos. The other regiment
arrived in late 1972 to reinforce combat-weary North
Vietnamese units in the Plaine des Jarres area dur-
ing the closing days of the war.
The withdrawals involve an estimated 2,500-
3,000 troops. The third regiment of the 316th Di-
vision and two other infantry regiments remain in
position to defend the strategic Plaine des Jarres
region. There are no indications that these forces
are contemplating early withdrawal.
3
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
rt to recapture
555053 1:74 CIA.
.4
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25X1
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
SOUTH VIETNAM
Government forces in the central highlands are
reported to have begun a new effort to recapture a
border outpost in Pleiku Province lost to the Com-
munists last September. The attack plan of the
regional commander, General Toan, includes the move-
ment of two government regiments from Quang Duc
Province to serve as reserves. Withdrawal of these
units would leave the remaining government regiment
in Quang Duc more vulnerable to Communist attack.
A North Vietnamese regiment was detected moving into
Quang Duc on January 6, possibly to coincide with
the government withdrawals. There have been no
other indications, however, that the Communists are
preparing for new attacks in the area.
Toan's present operation is the latest in the
seesaw battle that Communist and South Vietnamese
forces have been conducting in the central highlands
since the signing of the cease-fire agreement last
January. Communist attacks on government positions
in Kontum, Pleiku, and Quang Duc provinces last year
netted some territory that the government has par-
tially regained. The failure last week to retake
two border outposts in Quang Duc may have encouraged
Toa n to try somewhere else.
This type of action is likely to be character-
istic of military activity in the highlands for the
foreseeable future. Such local skirmishing in the
highlands is not likely to escalate into full-scale
combat, but retaliatory attacks by one side or the
other could spill over into other areas and promote
a general increase in military activity in the coming
months.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/22 : CIA-RDP79T00936A011900010033-9
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
UK
The impasse continues between the unions and the
government over? demands for increased pay.
A spokesman for the miners' executive committee
said yesterday that the miners were not interested
in "any more abortive meetings." The executive Com-
mittee meets today to decide what to do. The miners'
ban on overtime is likely to continue, and union
leftists may push for more militant action. Already
there have been localized walkouts, and some miners
are calling for a shorter work week.
Coal production in Britain has now dropped by
about 40 percent, and nearly a million workers are
unemployed because of the energy crisis. The govern-
ment's resolve to stand firm in the pay dispute with
the railway workers could bring on wildcat. strikes
which would add to unemployment and fuel shortages.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
NOTES
International Monetary Developments: The dol-
lar's? surge came to an abrupt halt on European money
markets yesterday. The sizable gains of Monday and
Tuesday evaporated as the dollar fell to its level
of January 4. Bonn's announcement that it was re-
moving all foreign exchange controls--introduced in
1972 to slow the flow of dollars into West Germany--
was largely responsible for the shift out of dollars.
Other factors in the reversal included signs of some
improvement in Europe's oil situation, a reduction
in Libya's previously reported posted oil price, and
intervention by both the German and Japanese central
banks.
Bolivia: By forcing into exile Paz Estenssoro,
head of the country's largest political party, Pres-
ident Banzer has deprived dissidents of their strong-
est potential rallying point. Paz had a falling out
with Banzer last November and ordered his party to
withdraw from the cabinet. Paz may be able to re-
tain control of the party, as he has during previous
periods of exile. In any event, he will be looking
for a chance to start plotting against Banzer.
Brazil-Chile: Brazil has agreed to provide a
$50 million loan to Chile-.-considerably less than
the $200 million that was being discussed in the
weeks following Allende's demise. There is report-
edly a clear understanding that the loan will be
used for the purchase of Brazilian goods and serv-
ices. The Brazilians may hope that future aid to
Chile by the US and other countries will lessen the
need for more extensive help from Brazil.
6
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Top Secret
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