THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 6 JANUARY 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005974210
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: January 6, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
The President's Daily Brief
?Top?Seer& 6 January 1968
23
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2 50X1
DAILY BRIEF
6 JANUARY 1968
1. North Vietnam
2. Dominican
Republic
3. Yemen
Two camouflaged sites on the coast
south of Thanh Hoa appear to be for
coastal defense missiles. What looks
like the tail of one missile is visible
in 19 December low-altitude photography.
Preliminary examination of the photog-
raphy suggests the missile involved is
the SS-N-2, a naval cruise missile de-
signed by the Soviets for use aboard
missile patrol boats. The missile has
a range of about 20 miles and flies
just under sonic speed.
Each of the sites has six revetted
positions and what appear to be launch
rails can be seen in some of the re-
vetments.
Current and past photography of
the coast is being searched for addf-
tional evidence.
Dominican Communists are planning
to stir up trouble around the University
of Santo Domingo next week. The Com-
munists hope to provoke the government
into closing the university, which
would give them a pretext for nation-
wide agitation. In recent months
Dominican security forces have been
doing fairly well in handling such de-
monstrations, but there is always the
danger that the police will overreact.
Claiming (mistakenly) that royalist
military success is due to help from
foreign mercenaries, the republicans
want to invoke their joint defense pact
with Egypt. Nasir has just extracted
his troops from the Yemen mess and we
doubt he will be interested in getting
embroiled again.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2 50X1
4. Communist China
5. United Kingdom
There now seems little doubt that
the British are going to accelerate
their withdrawal from Southeast Asia
and the Persian Gulf. A senior
Ministry of Defense official told the
US Embassy that the Ministry was trying
to hold at mid-1972 for both areas, but
that there was strong pressure to get
out by 1971.
The official also noted that the
F-111 contract was under fire from
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jenkins
who has disliked the aircraft since
his days as aviation minister. Healey
is working on a possible fall-back
which would reduce the order from 50
to 35 planes.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2 50X1
6. Czechoslovakia
7. Israel
Novotny is out as head of the
Czechoslovak party, although he ap-
parently remains president of the re-
public. The much-criticized Novotny
was replaced by Alexander Dubcek, who
has been chief of the Slovak branch of
the party since 1963.
We expect further changes; there
is a good probability that a new regime
will emerge representing a coalition of
the moderate and reform factions which
brought Novotny down. It remains to be
seen how well a new leadership team
can cope with Czechoslovakia's myriad
social and economic problems.
Dubcek is something of an unknown
quantity. The Slovaks are a minority
group and no Slovak has ever held the
top party job in Czechoslovakia. We
note however, that Slovak leaders have
been in the vanguard of the opposition
to Novotny.
The full outlines of what is tak-
ing place in Prague are far from clear.
At the moment, we do not anticipate
any basic shifts in Czech relations
with Moscow, but there may be some
moderation in attitudes toward the
West--Germany in particular.
Tension along the Israeli-Jordanian
border is rising again. There have been
three fire fights this week. The
Israelis appear to be starting these
incidents in retaliation for Arab ter-
rorist activities.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
Top Secret 50X1
16
6 January 1968
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2,1
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
6 January 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
-2-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Communist Commentary on Trinh Statement and
Rusk's Press Conference: Communist propaganda is
still treading warily in treating Trinh's statement
and Secretary Rusk's comments on it. The Soviet
and Hungarian press have reported both statements
straight with little comment. Most of the other
Communist countries have been silent so far.
Only the Czechs have Claimed that the US has re-
jected the North Vietnamese offer to hold talks. A
5 January Prague broadcast alleged that the US re-
acted to Trinh's statement in a "completely negative
fashion." It charged that the "US is demanding an
assurance from Hanoi that the other side would not
_use the cessation of bombing to improve its military
position." While acknowledging that Secretary Rusk
used "a cautious formulation to give the appearance
of not fully rejecting the offer," the Czechs com-
plained that he did not say how long the US wants
to investigate the proposal for opening talks.
For the most part, the Communists appear to be
biding their time and waiting for a cue from Hanoi
before issuing any authoritative comment.
* * *
No Date Yet for Opening of Liberation Front
Press Office in Paris: The Liberation Front re-
presentative in North Vietnam, who has been in
Paris for the past two weeks, has again claimed
that the Front will establish a press office there
"in a few months." No precise date for the opening
was given nor were the individuals to staff it
named.
* * *
Ho in Unusual Spurt of Public Appearances:
Within e pas wo wee s o i Min as ma .e four
separate public appearances. During this time he
-4-
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
has addressed an anniversary meeting, attended a
Council of Ministers meeting and met with a visit-
ing delegation
During the preceding ten months,
the 77-year-old Ho had been almost completely out
of the public picture; there were persistent re-
ports that he was ill and out of Hanoi.
His current high visibility strongly suggests
that the regime is taking advantage of a period
when Ho is in Hanoi and in apparent good health to
discredit earlier reports of his illness. In refer-
ring to his appearance at the 25 December anniver-
sary meeting, the Hanoi press claimed Ho looked
"strong and healthy."
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report.
-5-
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700200001-2