THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 5 MAY 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993283
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 5, 1972

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/06/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A010700050001-3
The President's Daily Brief
5 May 1972
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
5 May 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The situation has been fairly quiet on all major
South Vietnamese battlefronts, including the tense
Hue area, as both sides prepare for new military
action. (Page 1)
There is further evidence that some.North Vietnam-
ese forces that have been operating in Laos south-
west of the Plaine des Jarres are withdrawing.'
(Page 2)
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Italy's Christian Democrats are optimistic that
they will be able to form either a center-right or
center-left government following parliamentary
elections next week. (Page 6)
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The three major battlefronts are fairly quiet
as both sides prepare for further action. Hue was
somewhat calmer yesterday following some 36 hours
in which public order had largely collapsed in the
downtown area of the city. The new commander in the
northern provinces, General Truong, has told South
Vietnamese soldiers to return to their units or be
shot, and there are reports that he has sent armored
personnel carriers and military police into the
streets. President Thieu, after issuing a strong
statement in which he called for harsh local action
to deal with disorders in the cities, personally
visited Hue to confer with military commanders and
to help bolster morale.
US officials in Hue say that some press accounts
of the looting in the city were exaggerated. These
officials estimate that in recent days up to two
thirds of the city's population left for the south.
Vietnamese remaining in Hue are said to be extremely
apprehensive about the situation there.
There are now some 250,000 refugees at Da Nang,
and the number could soon reach a half million.
Route 1 between Hue and Da Nang remains open and
supports moderately heavy traffic.
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LAOS
GULF
OF
TONKIN
552990 5-72 CIA
MILES CAMBODIA
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LAOS
Radio direction-finding shows that the head-
quarters of the 312th Division, which entered Laos
last November to participate in the offensive to re-
capture the Plaine, has returned to North Vietnam.
It appears to be located between the Lao border and
Vinh. There is some evidence that one of the divi-
sion's regiments recently moved eastward from the
Plaine. Another is still north of Sam Thong, and
the third has not been located since it withdrew in
March from Skyline Ridge.
Last year only one regiment of the 312th
remained in Laos throughout the rainy sea-
son.
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KOREA
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WEST GERMANY
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ITALY
The latest polls indicate that the Christian
Democrats and the small center-right Liberal Party
they have been cultivating will lose some seats--
although fewer than they had feared--to the far right
in the parliamentary elections on 7 and 8 May. The
center-left parties previously allied with the Chris-
tian Democrats seem likely to hold their own, as do
the Communists. A large percentage of the electorate
is still undecided, however.
The Christian Democrats consider that they
will be able to form and dominate the next
government only by combining on the right
with the Liberals or on the left with the
Italian Socialist Party. At present they
are optimistic that they will emerge with
both options intact. Their proposed group-
ing with the Liberals and two smaller al-
lies would have had only a paper majority
in the just dissolved parliament, however,
and any significant loss of seats to the
far right would jeopardize one option.
While the four parties of the previous
center-Zeft government probably will re-
tain the combined strength to form a ma-
jority, the problems that have beset their
alliance will not be overcome by the new
election.
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NOTES
Jordan-USSR: The Soviets have agreed to re-
ceive King Husayn in Moscow but have requested that
he delay his trip for several months, according to
a source of the US Embassy in Amman. Husayn had
earlier hoped to obtain Soviet backing for his pro-
posal to federate the Israeli-held West Bank with
Jordan, and he probably hopes that a visit to Mos-
cow will give him some protection from the recurrent
attacks of other Arab states. The Soviets are
clearly concerned that the Egyptians and the feda-
veen would react badly to such a visit
the USSR
was concerned at the hasty and vitriolic Arab rejec-
tion of the King's West Bank proposal, and that this
adverse reaction made it difficult for the USSR to
support the plan.
Chile: President Allende's decision to submit
to congress today his bill to expropriate ITT in-
terests will have numerous political ramifications:
By leaving it up to the legislature to determine
how much, if any, compensation ITT should receive,
Allende will be able to avoid taking direct respon-
sibility himself. At the same time, he will put
the Christian Democrats--who are the largest opposi-
tion bloc and are committed to expropriation--on the
spot in view of allegations that ITT contacted mem-
bers of their outgoing Frei administration and US
officials in an effort to keep Allende from assuming
the presidency. Extremists in the present govern-
ment will undoubtedly seize on the bill to focus
new attention .on these allegations, which they be-
lieve Allende has so far treated too cautiously.
Turkey: Leftist terrorists are increasing .
their attacks in a last-ditch effort to gain the
release of three of their leaders scheduled to be
executed soon. Recent incidents include the hijack-
ing of a Turkish airliner, an abortive attempt to
kidnap the gendarmerie commander, and the bombing
of the Turkish Airways.off ice in Stockholm. Turk-
ish troops have been.put on alert-and all military
leaves have been canceled. Such distractions may
further delay Prime Minister-designate Urguplu's
efforts to form a government.
(continued)
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Ceylon: The military alert that began in mid-
March when the government feared a massive outbreak
of insurgency may be lifted early next week,
No uprising appears
likely in tne near tuture, but the possibility of
eventual strife cannot be ruled out. Ceylon's eco-
nomic situation is difficult, and the government is
unpopular. The authorities are freeing some 5,000
detainees thought to have been only marginally in-
volved in last year's insurrection, and some will
probably join the several hundred rebels currently
at large.
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