THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 24 MARCH 1966

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968221
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: March 24, 1966

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400090001-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
24 MARCH 1966
TOIE)-S-EG-f;R-E-I
23
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DAILY BRIEF
24 MARCH 1966
1. South Vietnam
2. North Vietnam
There was further antigovernment.
agitation today in the Hue - Da Nang area,
but it was less frenetic than yesterday's.
In Hue, "struggle groups,". apparently
still enjoying free access to. the local
radio, broadcast bitter attacks on the
Saigon government and threatened to top-
ple it unless they get their way.
Premier Ky has sent another emis-
sary to Hue to "persuade" the reluctant
General Thi to leave his old corps area.
The emissary will offer Thi "anything he
wants"--including command of another
corps area--if only he will leave. Thi
seems disposed to sit tight in hopes
that events will turn in his favor.
Saigon remains calm, despite stories
of attempts to stir up a general strike.
There are also reports that the Buddhists
?are working hard on the students, other
religious groups, and even the montagnards.
The Buddhists want more open support for
their present course of action. So far,
a number of students and the Catholics
have declined to become involved.
Le Duan, powerful first secretary
of the North Vietnamese Communist Party,
is in Peking for a short visit. There
are rumors in both Peking and Moscow
that he will head Hanoi's delegation to
the Soviet party congress. There is as
?yet no confirmation.
From Hanoi's point of view he would
be an apt choice. By sending a delega-
tion at all, Hanoi would be living up to
the commitment given Shelepin in January.
By choosing Le Duan, a stiff, pro-Peking
man, Hanoi would be trying to reassure
the Chinese that their interests would
not be overlooked.
So far, only the slavish Albanian
and New Zealand parties have followed
Peking in refusing to attend.
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3. NATO
Paris is miffed over the absence
of "relevant replies" to its notes on
the alliance's future and appears to be
trying to press the 14 into taking the
initiative in bilateral talks.
The French representative to NATO,
who spent an hour with De Gaulle on Tues-
day, has told a US official that a fur-
ther communication setting deadlines for
specific action is already drafted. He
was evasive on the dates for eviction of
integrated commands and US installations,
but said action to remove French person-
nel and end the commitment of French
forces would occur between July and Sep-
tember,
We doubt press suggestions that
Salazar may be considering withdrawing
Portugal from NATO or making the US
leave its Azores bases. The bases are
his trump card, and he is unlikely to
play it until he needs our help worse ,
than now.
We have received no official com-
ment on the President's speech of yes-
terday. The West German press welcomed
the reaffirmation of the American com-
mitment to European defense and viewed
the avoidance of harsh words as a will-
ingness to be patient with De Gaulle.
The French press was divided into
predictable pro- and anti-Gaullist stands,
although all seemed to believe a compro-
mise was now out of the question. TASS
carried only selected quotes without
comment.
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4. Indonesia
5. Communist China
6. West Africa
Military and civilian leaders are
still trying to organize a new govern-
ment--and Sukarno is still grasping for
ways to influence its coloration and to
keep up the appearance of being Indonesia's
supreme authority. An army spokesman
said today "we are not isolating the
president. We just want him to think
about things in quiet and solitude." To
create the proper atmosphere for medita-
tion, the army has limited him to one
telephone and is deciding who can see
him.
Liberian President Tubman is try-
ing to calm down the uproar stemming
from the Ghana coup. He says that the
feuding presidents of. Guinea and .Ivory
Coast have agreed to meet next month
with him and,Alopefully, ace African
mediator Haile Selassie.
In the present West African atmos-
phere a wild word or two from either
Toure or HouPhouet could scuttle this
plan, but the mere fact they have told
Tubman--who does have their confidence--
that they will be there may lay to rest
the current "war" scare.
Nkrumah, incidentally, is still in
Conakry(
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7. France
The French may have to postpone
their Pacific nuclear tests, scheduled
to begin in July. There have been rumors
of this around Paris lately, and yester-
day the foreign office confirmed that
"some difficulties" had arisen, and Pom-
pidou himself was chairing a meeting on
the subject. /
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8. Dominican Republic Former rebel leader Caamano, in
London, is still making noises about re-
turning to the Dominican Republic soon.
which bode no good for the fragile
political peace. He might try to reas-
sociate himself with the aura of the
"constitutionalist" cause by showing up
for the expected celebrations on 24 Ap-
ril--the first anniversary of the revolt.
By then, Bosch will probably, have made
an announcement about his candidacy.
Should he say he will not run, Caamano
might then put his hat in the ring.
9. Colombia
With about 90 percent of the re-
turns from Sunday's congressional elec-
tion now in, the governing National
Front appears to have just missed the
two-thirds majority required for effec-
tive control of congress. Much tension
and political maneuvering are likely be-
tween now and the I May presidential
election, although the National Front's
showing seems strong enough to deter
the military from intervening.
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