THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 12 JUNE 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993349
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 12, 1972

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The President's Daily Brief
12 June 1972
47
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
12 June 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Military action in South Vietnam over the weekend
was concentrated in the northern provinces and in
the delta. The difficulties being encountered by
the North Vietnamese during the current offensive
in the South may be causing some Communist offi-
cials to take a more cautious line about the out-
come .of the offensive. (Page 1)
Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko's visit to France
is to focus on a review of the Moscow summit and
on European matters. (Page 3)
Bangladesh
Pakistan
any negolations. (rage qi
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Demilitarized Zone
any Tri
Da Nang
oi?An mR 1
Gulf of
Thailand
104
196
Capital Special Zone
. South
China
Sea
SOUTH VIETNAM
190
MILES
12-
10-
553226 6-72
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
VIETNAM
Most of the military action in South Vietnam
over the weekend occurred at the northern and south-
ern ends of the country.
A number of enemy artillery attacks and ground
engagements took place around Hue and along Route 1
north of the 'city. Da Nang and Hoi An were also hit
by artillery, and the enemy is active near Quang
Ngai City. The five-battalion South Vietnamese Ma-
rine foray into southern Quang Tri Province ended on
schedule after three days. The enemy
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and appar- 2bAl
ently-suffered little damage.
Fighting was also widespread in the Mekong
Delta, Communist forces attacked Tuyen Binh dis-
trict town in: Kien Tuong,Province on lO June' and
fighting is continuing between the town and the Cam-
bodian border. The provincial capital,. Moc Hoa, and
three nearby ranger bases have been .shelled or have
come under ground attack, causing 2,000 of MOc Hoa's
15,000 residents to flee south. The enemy also over-
ran outposts in Dinh Tuong, Kien Hoa, Kieng Giang,
and Bac Lieu provinces, launched. ground assaults
against-district:headquarters in Ba Xuyen and An
Xuyen provinces, and shelled the provincial capital
of Bac Lieu.
The situation was relatively quiet around An
Loc and Kontum- over the weekend, but enemy forces
have been detected moving closer to Yontum again,
Communications intelligence indicates that the head-
quarters of the North Vietnamese 320th Division is.
moving toward the northern edge of the City, and the
2nd Division headquarters is moving in from the
east. US pilots have reported enemy supply activity
north and west of Kontum
US pilots attacking-power plants and railroad
bridges in North Vietnam report encountering bal-
loons suspended in clusters over target areas. Ex-
plosive charges. attached to the balloons are deto-
nated from the ground when aircraft come near.,
Hanoi may be using the balloons to help
conserve antiaircraft ammunition and sur-
face-to-air missiles.
(continued)
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Two reports concerning shipping into Haiphong
are not borne out by currently available evidence.
On Saturday, Radio Hanoi stated that a ship carrying
medical supplies from Japan had berthed in Haiphong,
whereas we have no information indicating any vessel
has transited the minefields since their activation.
.A Japanese press report the same day stated that the
Yasnomorsk, a Soviet freighter under charter to
North Vietnam, had left Osaka and was scheduled to
arrive in Haiphong. on 20 June.
It appears that word may have been passed
from the southern battlefields to both
Hanoi and its representatives abroad warn-
ing that the current offensive is not go-
ing so well as originally expected.
the Viet
Cong's chief negotiator in Paris, Madame Binh, re-
cently said that the bombing of North Vietnam was
disturbing, that Saigon's troops were fighting more
effectively than expected, and that the people of
South Vietnam were not supporting the Communists by?
remaining in the "liberated areas" but instead were
moving closer to majOr government population centers.
Another North Vietnamese official in Paris
echoed her remarks and blamed the overesti-
mation of popular support for the campaign on re-
ports from the Communists' southern command indicat-
ing the people would support the revolution once
the offensive began.
These comments come on the heels of reports
that the Communists' top southern command, COSVN,
is displeased over the inability of the Viet Cong's
political apparatus to generate "popular uprisings"
throughout the country. Since mid-May, COSVN has
issued several directives chastising its subordi-
nate commands for failing to rally the people to
support the revolution by revolting against the gov-
ernment. The latest directive, disseminated in
early June, criticizes in fairly, harsh terms the
shortcomings of the Viet Cong apparatus and specifi-
cally warns the cadre not to rely solely on the mil-
itary aspect of the offensive to accomplish their
objectives.
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USSR-FRANCE
Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko today begins a
four-day official visit to France that is likely to
focus on-a review of the Moscow summit and on Euro-
pean matters. Gromyko is to meet with President
Pompidou, Prime Minister Chaban-Delmas, and Foreign
Minister Schumann. A French Foreign Ministry offi-
cial has said that the visit will be largely devoted
to substantive consultations on such matters as the
planned Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE), mutual and balanced force reductions,
and inter-German relations. The Middle East and
Vietnam will receive less -attention.
For his part, Gromyko is likely to push
hard for more rapid movement toward a
CSCE and should find the French rather
receptive on this score. Gromyko is aware
of French opposition to force reductions
and may well be inclined to let Paris
raise the question. Gromyko surely will
press for quicker French recognition of
East Germany, but Paris is likely to
stress continued Four-Power consultations.
The Soviets are also likely to seek French
views on West European integration, a sub-
ject on which Moscow is having difficulty
in formulating tactics.
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BANGLADESH-PAKISTAN
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NOTE
Yugoslavia-USSR: President Tito's visit to
Moscow, which ended Saturday, apparently continued
the trend toward improved Soviet-Yugoslav relations
without changes in the basic positions of either
country. The Soviet reception was cordial, and
party chief Brezhnev doled out honors for the aging
Yugoslav leader with an open hand; Tito's, and in-
deed the general Yugoslav reaction, was warmly re-
ceptive. Both sides approved in principle an in-
crease in their political contacts and economic co-
operation. In international affairs, the communi-
que focused on areas of agreement, ignoring or art-
fully veiling existing differences.
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Top Secret
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