THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 APRIL 1972

Document Type:

FOIA [1]

Collection:

President's Daily Brief 1969-1977 [2]

Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):

0005993264

Release Decision:

RIPPUB

Original Classification:

Document Page Count:

Document Creation Date:

August 14, 2016

Document Release Date:

August 24, 2016

Sequence Number:

Case Number:

Publication Date:

April 25, 1972

File:

Attachment	Size
DOC_0005993264.pdf [3]	182.01 KB

Body:

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 The President's Daily Brief 25 April 1972 4 6 ?T-erfserrer Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T-00936A010600210001-6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 April 1972 PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS The Communist drive in the central highlands of South Vietnam is reported on Page 1. Student unrest has flared up in Cambodia where a draft constitution will be put to a referendum next Sunday. (Page 2) FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 25X1 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 KONTUM PROVINCE Enemy shelling 552920 4-72 CIA Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 25X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY SOUTH VIETNAM The Communists are maintaining heavy pressure on government forces in Kontum Province. Infantry and tank units yesterday overran government posi- tions at Dak To as well as the command post of the South Vietnamese 22nd Division at Tan Canh. At last report these enemy forces were moving south along Route 14. The attacks scattered most of the division and breached the government's lines north of Kontum city.- Enemy gunners.shelled the city yesterday. The South Vietnamese 23rd Division, which nor- mally operates farther south in MR-2, has assumed control of government operations in Kontum Province Several Ranger and airborne battalions are manning fallback positions south of. Dak To. All remaining artillery support bases on Rocket Ridge have been abandoned and are now held by. the North Vietnamese. According to delayed reports, the Communists ambushed a large South Vietnamese convoy on Route 21 in the southern part of MR-2. This is the alternate route that has been used to resupply the highland provinces of Kontum and Pleiku since Route 19, the primary supply line, was blocked two weeks ago. Closure of Route 21 would effectively halt the over- land movement of men and materiel to the highlands. Meanwhile, the military situation in the prov- inces near the Demilitarized Zone and in the An Loc region north of Saigon remains relatively unchanged. No enemy ground attacks took place against An Loc yesterday, and clearing weather there late in the day permitted the allies to increase air strikes in support of a new effort by the South Vietnamese 21st Division to move north toward An Loc along Route 13. 1 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY CAMBOD IA Student unrest:has flared up in Phnom, Penh fol- lowing an attempt by the government to muzzle,criti- cism of the draft constitution that will be put to a' referendum next Sunday. A small number of armed stu- dents have occupied part of the law school at Phnom Penh and refused to allow military police in to ar- rest.an activist leader. Student criticism will have very little ef- fect on the vote on the constitution, which is likely to be endorsed by a majority. The recrudescence of student opposition, however, is politically embarrassing to President Lon Nol, whose decisions to produce a new consti- tution and to schedule presidential and leg- islative elections were substantially influ- enced by a desire to keep the students neu- tralized. Lon NoZ does not seem inclined to get tough with the students in the present standoff. Should he cancel the arrest order, the students will have won another victory, and they will probably be more assertive in the future. FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY WEST GERMANY 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 3 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Soviets 25X1 25 X1 -S. ? Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY USSR 4 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 25X1 _ ? Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010600210001-6