THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 16 SEPTEMBER 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993523
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 16, 1972

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The President's Daily Brief
16 September 1972
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category SB( 1),(2),(3) ,
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
16 September 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
An Israeli armored column entered southern Lebanon
this morning in an anti-fedayeen operation. (Page 1)
Moscow, anxious to recoup its position in the Middle
East, has offered to conclude a "defense agreement"
with Lebanon. (Page 2)
South Vietnamese Marines appear to have gained con-
trol of the citadel in Quang Tri City. (Page 3)
In Chile
(Page 4)
Croatian extremists still control the hijacked Swed-
ish jet. (Page .5)
Negotiations between India and Pakistan remain stale-
mated. (Page 6)
Soviet
Cuba
(Page ?7)
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ISRAEL-LEBANON
An Israeli armored force entered southern Leba-
non early this morning in what an Israeli spokesman
described as a "combing" operation for fedayeen.
The Israeli force included tanks, and half-tracks,
and was supported by aircraft. The spokesman said
they, were searching for 100 Saiqa terrorists re-
ported to be in the area. He would not indicate
when the Israeli force planned to withdraw. There
have been some exchanges between the Lebanese Army
and the Israeli force, but the extent of this is
not known.
The operation centered in the Bint-Jbeil area
of south-central Lebanon. some five miles inside
the border.
Israeli aircraft bombed Fatah-Saiqa head-
quarters in Nabatie, some 25 miles inside Lebanon.
The US Embassy in Beirut has reported that the Is-
raelis were blowing up houses in their operation.
The Israeli action follows a clash with Leba-
nese-based fedayeen near Mount Hermon in southeast-
ern Lebanon on Thursday in which two Israeli sol-
diers were killed. The fedayeen said the Israelis
were also bombing in this area.
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USSR-LEBANON
Moscow has offered to conclude a "defense agree-
ment" with Lebanon and to "dispatch the Soviet fleet
to Beirut," in order to counter the recent Israeli
"aggression." Lebanese Foreign Minister Abouhamad
informed Ambassador Buffum about the offer yester-
day, adding that it was made by Soviet Ambassador
Azimov during a meeting with President Franjiyah on
Wednesday. Abouhamad refused to discuss the details
of the offer, but did state that he thought that it
would serve primarily as a symbol of the Soviet in-
terest in Lebanon.
Moscow's offer is a fresh demonstration
of its continuing effort to recoup its
position in the Middle East. The talk
of a formal "defense agreement" and of
"dispatching the Soviet fleet," however,
may well be an overstatement of Soviet
intentions.
Ambassador Buffum doubts--and so do we--
that Beirut will accept any major Soviet
tie. The Lebanese traditionally have
been cautious of the Soviets and are
keenly aware of how Egypt's close ties
with Moscow went sour.
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553601 9-72
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VIETNAM
South Vietnamese Marines appear to have gained
control of the citadel in Quang Tri City. At least
two Marine battalions are inside the citadel, and an
enemy command post for defense of the fortress has
been overrun. Fighting outside the citadel was less
intense, although the Communists have continued their
artillery attacks against Marine and Ranger positions
in the city's southern and northern sectors. If the
South Vietnamese have indeed taken the citadel, it
will be a significant boost to their morale.
Action was light yesterday in the other four
provinces of Military Region 1, although the Commu-
nists are still trying to expand their newly won
footholds in the coastal lowlands. Enemy messages
indicate that a command unit that normally operates
in the Da Nang area has moved closer to the district-
capital of Tien Phuoc in Quang Tin Province. This
is the first time the Viet Cong's Da Narig command
headquarters has been located this far south. The
move closely follows indications that the Communists
have brought in additional artillery and armor units
to reinforce the 711th Division already in the area.
In the southern half of the country, fighting
picked up somewhat in the An Loc area, where gov-
ernment troops are trying to recapture the city's
airport, near Quan Loi. Several sharp engagements
have been fought in this sector in recent days, and
there are indications that the enemy may soon offer
more determined resistance. Sharp contacts also
continued in the delta, with enemy forces maintain-
ing pressure against government outposts close to
supply and infiltration corridors.
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CHILE
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SWEDEN-YUGOSLAVIA
The Swedish jet being hijacked by Croatian ex-
tremists left Malmo airport in southern Sweden this
morning after the plane's passengers were released..
The Swedish Government acceded to the hijackers' de-
mand for the release of a number of convicted Yugo-
slav terrorists, including the two men who killed
Yugoslav Ambassador Rolovic in 1971. The press is
reporting that the passengers were released after
the hijackers were paid a ransom of $104,000.
The hijackers' intended destination is uncertain.
They are reported to have asked for weather reports
for several cities south of Malmo and they may head
for North Africa. The hijacking, the first in Swed-
ish history, could have serious implications for
Swedish-Yugoslav relations.
The hijacking is part of a pattern of in-
creasingly frequent ustashi--the Croatian
word for "terrorist"--attacks over the
last 18 months. Croat separatists have
taken new heart from the upsurge in Cro-
ation nationalism in 1971 and from the
knowledge that the time left for Tito to
act as a stabilizing influence is at best
limited./
Anti-terrorism feelings in Yugoslavia,
from Tito down to the man in the street,
are running high. If Belgrade is not sat-
isfied with the outcome of this incident,
it is likely to take matters into its own
hands. (
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INDIA-PAKISTAN
The stalemate continues. The two sides had
agreed late last month to withdraw their forces from
all occupied territory except Kashmir by 15 Septem-
ber, but now the Indians are insisting that the
cease-fire line in Kashmir must first be delineated.
New Delhi may in-
tentionally be delaying the withdrawals in an effort
to pressure Pakistan into recognizing Bangladesh.
President Bhutto continues to insist that he
cannot recognize the Dacca government until after a
meeting between Pakistani and Bengali officials.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Mujib, for his part, has
publicly reiterated that recognition must take place
before any such a meeting.
This particular impasse could be solved./
Bhutto and Mujib may eventually agree to
such an arrangement. A major obstacle to
improved relations would remain, however,
if Mujib continues to insist on Bangla-
desh's right to try as war criminals some
of the more than 90,000 Pakistani prison-
ers being held in India.
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NOTES
Fedayeen-Israel:
USSR-Cuba:
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Top Secret
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