THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 JANUARY 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007911
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: January 7, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
January 7, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
January 7, 1975
Table of Contents
Israel-Syria-Lebanon: The Israelis are concerned
over Syrian-supported military activity in
Lebanon. (Page 1)
South Vietnam: The battle for the capital of Phuoc
Long Province may provide indications about the
conduct of both sides in future combat during
the dry season. (Page 3)
Venezuela-Ecuador: The two countries have called
for a special session of the OAS to discuss
economic and political aspects of the US trade
reform act. (Page 5)
Note:, Argentina (Page 6)
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ISRAEL-SYRIA-LEBANON
Israeli Defense Minister Peres yesterday al-
lowed publicly that Palestinian guerrillas in:Leb-
anon have been reinforced by Palestinian troops
from Syria armed with anti-tank and anti-aircraft
Missiles. Peres said Israel would view any Syrian
attempt to establish a "foothold" outside Syria
as "the start of a confrontation and the extension
Of aggression." Lebanese Prime Minister, Sulh
promptly issued a statement denying that non-
Lebanese troops had entered Lebanon or. that Pal-
estinian guerrillas in Lebanon had advanced weap-
ons such as missiles,
late last week, however, that he had noticed an
increase in activity by Saiqa (Syrian-controlled
fedayeen) forces in Lebanon. On January 1, he
received a report of missile-carrying vehicles
with ,Saiqa markings in southern Lebanon,and he
has other reports of Saiqa cargo vehicles in the
vicinity of Palestinian camps in Beirut.
(continued)
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The increased anti-aircraft fire directed at
Israeli aircraft during their December, attack on
Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut can be taken
as confirmation that there are now greater numbers
of SA-7 hand-held surface-to-air missiles and anti-
aircraft guns available to the Palestinians. These
weapons, particularly the SA-7s, are probably
manned by Saiqa forces, which operate them with
Syrian guidance. Saiqa forces have never been
known to have any source of supply other than Syria.
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Military Region 3
0 ,
O 25 50 Kilometers
MR 4
25
557073 1-75
50 Mile
SOUTH CHINA SEA
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SOUTH VIETNAM
North Vietnamese forces, supported
by heavy artillery and armor, yesterday
morning forced the remaining government
defenders to retreat from the capital of
Phuoc Long Province. The battle for this
remote government town may provide some
indication of future capabilities and
weaknesses of both sides as preparations
are made for additional combat during
the dry season.
The taking of Phuoc Binh can hardly be con-
sidered a major strategic victory for the commu-
nists. The North Vietnamese committed well in ex-
cess of a division to the fighting, and, despite
heavy armor and artillery support, they did not
easily win out over the government's outnumbered
local-force defenders. The fighting at Phuoc Binh
suggests that South Vietnamese regular army troops
will be more than able to hold their own in future
battles. The outcome of such battles may well rest
on the government's willingness or ability to .match -
North Vietnamese artillery and armor. This appears
to be the most important question in the minds of
many South Vietnamese commanders.
When the communist campaign began in early De-
cember, South Vietnamese commanders in Military Re-
gion 3 decided that they would not commit main-
force government units to the countryside in de-
fense of isolated towns and remote outposts. In
the Phuoc Binh fighting, South Vietnamese command-
ers were generally pessimistic about the govern-
ment's ability to hold the town without substantial
-
reinforcements. Territorial units in the city,
which were composed mostly of ethnic Montagnards,
were viewed by the South Vietnamese as poor fight-
ers. This ethnic bias also probably contributed
to the government's initial decision not to rein-
force the garrison, preferring to hold Vietnamese
strength for defending exclusively Vietnamese tar-
gets.
After the initial assaults, however, the gov-
ernment's attitude appears to have changed. The
Montagnards held off the initial attacks and in-
flicted heavy casualties on communist troops and
armor. By the third day of the assault, government
commanders at Bien Hoa decided to send reinforce-
ments. In addition, the government ordered in-
creased air strikes in the area. Air resupply to
(continued)
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the town initially was successful, but North Viet-
namese anti-aircraft defenses stiffened and forced
the South Vietnamese to drop supplies at such high
altitudes that most of them fell outside the town's
defenses.
By the sixth day, General Dong, the government
commander for the region, apparently decided that
the defense of Phuoc Binh was important and pro-
posed that President Thieu send additional rein-
forcements. His proposal, however, came too late,
and the loss of Phuoc Binh thus may have been more
of an example of South Vietnamese indecision than
North Vietnamese tenacity.
The Phuoc Binh attacks may set the pattern for
future North Vietnamese operations. The initial
assaults were conducted by local forces supported
by heavy artillery. When these proved unsuccess-
ful, main-force North Vietnamese units supported
by heavy artillery and armor were used.
The North Vietnamese also made considerable
use of their air defenses, forcing the South Viet-
namese to be cautious in using tactical air strikes
and helicopters to support and reinforce the be-
leaguered garrison. More ominously, there are as
yet unconfirmed indicators that the communists may
have brought the SA-2 missile system into southern
South Vietnam.
The Phuoc Binh campaign also has pointed out
how far along the communists are in reorganizing
their main-force units in the southern half of the
country into new divisional commands. In the prov-
inces around Saigon, two new divisions have come
into operation recently--the 3rd and 303rd, both
formed from forces already in the South.
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VENEZUELA-ECUADOR
Venezuela and Ecuador have called
for a special session of the OAS to dis-
cuss what Venezuelan President Perez
charges is the economic aggression and
political pressure represented by the
US trade reform act. Yesterday Peruvian
President Velasco charged that the act
has "coercive and discriminatory" terms
that threaten Latin American development.
He sent notes of support to his colleagues.
The call by Venezuela and Ecuador caps several
weeks of angry reaction--particularly in Venezuela--
to those provisions of the act that would deny US
tariff preferences to members of cartels that raise
prices on vital commodities. Perez believes such
provisions are aimed specifically at Venezuela and
other OPEC countries.
In his New Year's Day address to the nation,
Perez criticized the US for actions that "create
a climate of confrontation." In a public telegram
sent to Ecuadorean President Rodriguez on Saturday,
Perez stated that the "new dialogue" promised by
Secretary Kissinger with Latin America is inconsist-
ent with your decision to sign the trade bill.
Perez supports Rodriguez' decision not to at-
tend the meeting of foreign ministers of OAS coun-
tries in Buenos Aires in March, and there are in-
dications that Venezuela may also boycott the TTI-
incr.
Perez is in an emotional frame of mind, which
is being reflected in Venezuela's reaction to the
trade act. It is apparent that Venezuela is seek-
ing to unify Latin American countries in the OAS
to oppose the act as contrary to the interests of
all Latin American countries. At the same time,
Perez is trying to strengthen further his position
as a leader in the hemisphere.
The petroleum, finance, and foreign ministers
of the OPEC countries will hold a special session
in Algiers on January 24 to discuss "worldwide eco-
nomic strategy" on matters that will include the
US trade act.
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NOTE
Argentina's ambitious Minister of Social Wel-
fare Lopez Rega has gained a new position of domi-
nance over other government officials.
Lopez Rega now heads a newly structured presi-
dential secretariat that will "coordinate" all of
President Peron's audiences with ministers and
state secretaries. In addition, the head of the
presidential military household and several of his
aides have been replaced. Even before this new ap-
pointment, the papal nuncio said that Mrs. Peron
was completely under the dominance of Lopez Rega.
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