THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 MAY 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993318
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 25, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010700230001-3
The President's Daily Brief
?25 May 1972
27
Top Secret
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
25 May 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
On Page 1 we discuss the military situation in
South Vietnam and some signs that the Communists
may be losing their earlier optimism.
Iraq
Soviet
Pakistan
Chinese
(Page 3)
(Page 4)
Announcement that Bangladesh intends to begin war
crimes trials in July could disrupt plans for the
Indo-Pakistani summit meetings. (Page 5)
Efforts to find a compromise solution to the im-
passe between the UK and Rhodesia have been dealt
a heavy blow. (Page 6)
FOR mg PRESIDENT ONLY
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104
Demilitarized Zone
ang In
142t
Gulf of
Thailand
104
Capital Special Zone
18
110
MR 2
South
China
Sea
SOUTH VIETNAM
190
MILES
16-
14-
12-
10--
553135 5-72 CIA
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VIETNAM
The three battalions of South Vietnamese ma-
rines operating behind enemy lines in Quang Tri
Province since 23 May have caused heavy Communist
losses in troops, equipment, and foodstuffs. The
South Vietnamese are now moving back toward friendly
lines.
Intercepted Communist messages reveal that
allied, air strikes and the hot weather in Quang Tri
are causing increasing morale problems among Com-
munist units there. One message characterizes the
strikes as "terrible" and reports having "difficul-
ties" in keeping units up to strength.
The South Vietnamese units that had been making
perceptible progress toward the relief of An Loc in
recent days are now encountering stiffened enemy
resistance. One government strongpoint along the
relief route is said to have been isolated by the
Communists, while sharp clashes just south of An
Loc have stopped the lead elements of the relief
force.
The main Communist headquarters in southern
South Vietnam has been forced to admit to its cadres
that the "desperate" South Vietnamese defense of An
Loc and South Vietnamese counterattacks in the north
have disrupted Communist plans
however
the Communists still intend to capture An Loc and to
defeat the South Vietnamese units attempting to re-
lieve the town.
(continued)
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U.S.S.R.
TURKEY
.Tabriz
CASPIAN
Astara SEA
.Ashkhabad
Rasht?
Meshed.
*Teheran
Hamadan' .Qom
Khorramabad..
AFGHANISTAN
JORDAN
.Isfahan
IRAN
?Kerman
.Shiraz
NEUTRAL
ZONE
PAKISTAN
PERSIAN
SAUDI ARABIA
. '
BAHRAIN
.*Rlyadh
TR IAL
5 TES
GULF OF OMAN
55313.4 5.72.CIA, ?
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USSR-IRAQ
3
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PAKISTAN-CHINA
4
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SOUTH ASIA
Bangladesh has announced that it intends to
begin war crimes trials in July. The Bangladesh
home minister said that investigations of some 100
Pakistani Army officers had been completed and that
other investigations are under way.
India has said that it is willing to give
the Dacca government custody of prisoners
against whom there are well-documented
cases. President Bhutto, on the other
hand, has publicly emphasized that if any
prisoners are turned over to Dacca for
trial, the prospects for his summit talks
with Prime Minister Gandhi, now expected
to begin late in June, would be seriously
jeopardized. The Indians may stall in
announcing specific plans for handing over
prisoners to Bangladesh in hopes of avoid-
ing a Pakistani cancellation of the meeting.
5
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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UK-RHODESIA
The Pearce Commission that has been looking
into the acceptability of the UK-Rhodesian agree-
ment concluded last November has decided that the
people of Rhodesia "as a whole" reject the accord.
The commission's negative finding ap-
parently puts an end to the efforts of
London and Salisbury to reach a face-
saving compromise. Rhodesian Prime
Minister Smith has denounced the report
but London has reluctantly accepted its
conclusion. Foreign Secretary Douglas-
Home told Parliament that the UK would
continue its economic sanctions against
Rhodesia. Prime Minister Heath, how-
ever, can expect opposition from many
in his own party when authorization for
the sanctions comes up for renewal this
fall.
Black African leaders have reacted fa-
vorably to the report and some African
states may now press for a meeting of
the UN Security Council on Rhodesia in
an effort to increase pressure on the
Smith government.
The Rhodesian Government shows no interest
in negotiating further. The ruling Rho-
desian Front Party will move to place
tighter controls on blacks. Salisbury
is also likely to resume the piecemeal
eviction of Africans from white-designated
lands and ban, or sharply restrict, the
activities of the ?African National Con-
gress, which Zed the fight against the
settlement during the Pearce Commission
hearings.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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