THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 26 MAY 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977474
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 26, 1970

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The President's Daily Brief
26 May 1970
46
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THE PRESIDENT S DAILY BRIEF
26 May 1970
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
A review of the situation in Cambodia appears on
Page 1.
Israel plans to continue sending patrols across the
Lebanese border against Arab terrorists.. (Page 4)
The first enemy infiltration groups in nearly six
weeks are beginning to move down the Laotian pan-
handle. (Page 5)
Laos may make a formal request for Thai military
assistance to defend its southern provinces. (Page 6)
Egypt
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Secretary General Thant is indignant over Egyptian
harassment of UN observer posts along the Suez Canal.
(Page 8)
Germans
(Page 9)
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CAMBODIA
The first-round in the struggle for Cam-
bodia is over. The Lon Nol government has
weathered a stormy first two months. What-
ever hopes the Communists may have had of
forcing it to seek a new accommodation or,
failing that, to bring the government down,
have been thwarted by US and South Viet-
namese operations. Before US and South
Vietnamese troops crossed into Cambodia,
the Communists had made considerable prog-
ress in efforts to expand their border
bases, to develop new infiltration routes
from the Gulf of Siam, and to cut Phnom
Penh's access to the south and east. Most
of these gains have now been lost.
In the south, South Vietnamese forces have
cleared the Communists from the towns they
had either captured or were threatening.
The enemy is now confined to a narrow belt
of territory between the South Vietnamese
and the Cambodians.
Two of the major roads leading south from
Phnom Penh are still not completely free
of enemy harassment, but the road to Kom-
pong Som (Sihanoukville) is open. Harassed-
from the rear and facing a number of the
better Cambodian units, as well as one-well-
trained Khmer Krom battalion, it seems un-
likely that the Communists can at this time
develop a threat to Phnom Penh from this
direction.
To the east of Phnom Penh, Route 1 is open
to the South Vietnamese border and the
threat to the Svay Rieng and Prey Veng
provincial capitals has been substantially
reduced. The Communists have been driven
from Kompong Cham city and what is left of
the Chup rubber plantation. The road to
the border has been opened by the South
Vietnamese.
Only in the sparsely populated and rugged
northeast have the Communists had their
own way. Almost all of the major popula-
tion centers are in their hands, as is the
Sekong-Mekong waterway. The Communists-
undoubtedly hope to develop this area into
a redoubt serviced by an extension of the
Laotian infiltration corridor.
(cOntinued)
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Although the military outlook for the Lon
Nol government has greatly 'improved the
Cambodians are a long way from being able
to deal with the Communists on their own.
If South Vietnamese troops are withdrawn,
it is highly unlikely that the Cambodians
could at any early date effectively take
their place. US and South Vietnamese
troops have given Phnom Penh a much needed
respite, and have created havoc with Commu-
nist plans, but the situation will still
retrogress if the Cambodians do not con-
tinue to get outside support.
The political struggle is also most diffi-
cult for Lon Nol and Sink Matak. The
war, with all of its mistakes and brutal-
ities,'is now coursing through Cambodian
villages and towns. The Eon 'Nol government
came into power on a wave of anti-Sihanouk
and anti-Vietnamese feeling. Sihanouk is
gone, but in addition to the 20,000-30,000
Vietnamese Communist troops on its terri-
tory, Phnom Penh now has some 30,000 South
Vietnamese troops to cope with. The Cam-
bodians despise the Vietnamese and the
ARVN's depredations in the Cambodian coun-
tryside have done nothing to heal old
wounds.
Lon Nol has worked himseZf into a tight
box and he knows it. He and Matak evi-
dently are still convinced that the US
will keep Cambodia from going under--even
if this means only acting as a restraining
influence on Saigon. In their eyes, the
alternative to faith in the US is a Cam-
bodia fought over and divided up by the
Vietnamese and the Thai. This is an old
Cambodian nightmare which could become
reality in short order.
The magnitude of the problems facing Cam-
bodia apparently are only now beginning
to sink in, and the support which Lon Nol
and Matak enjoy in Phnom Penh and else-
where has not yet been seriously eroded.
The grumbling that has already appeared in
Phnom Penh, however, will probably get
louder as the country begins to realize
how deep is its involvement with the war
and the Vietnamese.
(continued)?
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According to a press item from Hanoi, Sihanouk
arrived in the North Vietnamese capital yesterday.
This trip had been scheduled but its purposes are
nqt known. Both sides will use the occasion for
propaganda and possibly will discuss concrete meas-
ures for supporting Sihanouk's program to overthrow
the Lon Nol regime.
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ISRAEL-LEBANON
Israeli forces made three shallow penetrations
into Lebanese territory yesterday and plan to con-
tinue this type of activity until Arab terrorists
are driven back from the border. The largest Is-
raeli patrol in yesterday's action included four
tanks and 30 infantrymen. Gideon Rafael, director
general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, told Am-
bassador Barbour yesterday that the Israeli patrols
will continue until Lebanese authorities are able
to protect Israel's border settlements from fedayeen
attacks.
Meanwhile, yesterday's action probably has added
to the estimated 25,000 Lebanese citizens who had
evacuated their villages in southern Lebanon. These
refugees are demanding protection from Beirut and
their leaders are proposing a general strike to ex-
pose the government's failure to provide adequate
defense.
Recent events and the general disenchant-
ment with the Lebanese Army has encouraged
greater freedom of movement among the fed-
ayeen. They are' now moving into villages
vacated by the refugees and many of these
areas are adjacent to Lebanese military
installations. As the Israelis continue
to seek out fedayeen strongholds, this
proximity will increase the chance of a
clash between the Israeli and Lebanese
armies, a confrontation that Beirut has
been at some pains to avoid.
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NORTH VIETNAM
An intercepted message of 23 May indicates that
five groups will be moving into the infiltration
system between 25 May and 1 June. Three are of bat-
talion size; the other two are small and probably
contain special purpose personnel.
The numerical designator of one of the smaller
groups indicates that it is headed for COSVN. Re-
cent intercepts show that all COSVN-bound groups
have been halted in the Laotian panhandle, but Hanoi
may reason that some small movement toward the area
is still possible.
One of the battalion-sized groups has a desig-
nator suggesting assignment to southern Laos. This
destination is seldom seen, and it is not known
whether this group is a combat or support unit.
Several recent messages disclose that infiltration
stations in the panhandle have been ordered to take
precautions against a large-scale ground attack,
presumably from US and ARVN forces; this new battal-
ion may have been dispatched with such a contingency
in mind.
These enemy units represent the first in-
puts into the infiltration system detected
in nearly six weeks, but their movement
does not necessarily mean that Hanoi in-
tends to renew a heavier troop flow to the
south. The May count for infiltration now
stands at about 2,000, which equates with
the level last year for this period.
Recent heavy rains and bombings meanwhile are
complicating Communist logistic efforts in the Lao-
tian panhandle. Barring unusually severe weather,
however, the Communists probably will be able to
keep some routes open, at least for a while. They
are giving special attention to the central pan-
handle. At least one AAA, two transportation, and
five engineering battalions have been moved there
from the northern part of the panhandle.
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LAOS
The government evidently intends to request
Thai military assistance to help defend south Laos.
A Laotian request for Thai troops would
come at a time when Bangkok is preoccupied
with the situation in Cambodia, and is
considering the possibility of sending
advisers or medical teams to help the Lon
Nol government. The Thai Army is spread
thin, and it would be hard put to send
troops into Laos in the near future with-
out drawing on the full division now
serving in South Vietnam.
Although the Thai have long had some in-
terest in taking a direct role in the de-
fense of Laos, it is not likely that they
will act without some guarantee of US
logistic and political support.
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EGYPT-USSR
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UN-SUEZ
Egyptian air and artillery harassment of re-
maining UN observer posts along the Suez prompted
Secretary General Thant last week to send a sharply
worded protest note to Cairo. He warned that if
these attacks persisted, he would have to close the
affected posts. The American consulate in Jerusalem
has learned that one has already been shut down--the
seventh of the 18 posts along the canal to be closed
in the past year.
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WEST GERMANY - EAST GERMANY
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