THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 16 MARCH 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005974331
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: March 16, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 The President's Daily Brief Top Secret 16 March 1968 23 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 DAILY BRIEF 16 MARCH 1968 1. South Vietnam 2. Czechoslovakia 3. Soviet Union Two of Novotny's staunchest sup- porters--the secret police chief and the prosecutor general--were ousted yesterday. The premier of Slovakia and a number of other big guns have also resigned. The defense minister could go at any time. In sum, the liberals are well on their way toward sweeping the conservatives out. Lt. Gen. Janko, who committed sui- cide in Prague on Thursday, was deeply involved in marshaling military support for Novotny. Janko's sui- cide to mounting political pressures which were put on him by the liberals after Novotny was ousted. 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 FrIV4 -50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 A Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 4. Poland 5. Uruguay There were more violent student- police clashes in Poznan yesterday, and students in Warsaw and Krakow have gone on strike. Active support from other segments of the population is not materializing, however. At least some of the workers and other elements are sympathetic to the students but are afraid to act, knowing that continuing unrest will only benefit the party hard- liners. A leftist weekly in Montevideo this week published a letter signed by two national leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ask- ing support for H. Rap Brown and the Negro liberation movement. The letter asks for support which demonstrates the "international links" of the "strug- gle against racism, capitalism and im- perialism." The letter says, "no doubt that Brown will be sentenced to five to ten years. This should be protested along with the killing at Orangeburg. The type of protest is up to you; we sug- gest as objectives the US Embassy, USIS, and American installations and busi- nesses." "With cooperation of the people of the world, this enemy of humanity will be destroyed." 6. Guatemala Terrorism in Guatemala City is ex- pected to rise in coming weeks. 7. Colombia More violence is expected lire too. In �Bogota and other major cities, terror- ist bombings and harassing activities are planned in hopes of disrupting the con- gressional elections tomorrow. Chances for this are not good. 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 8. Philippines 9. Nigeria The Philippine civic action group (Philcag) in South Vietnam has become embroiled in a maneuver by opponents of President Marcos. A coalition of opposition senators, in attacking the pro-Marcos leadership in the senate, has proposed that the Philcag engineer- ing unit be replaced by a medical out- fit. The current fi heaviest of the war hting is the 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Top Secret FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY Special Daily Report on North Vietnam Top Se7gt 50X1 16 March 1968 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 � UA-1 Special Daily Report on North Vietnam for the President's Eyes Only 16 March 1968 I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION Swedish Red Cross Official to North Vietnam: The secretary general of the Swedish Red Cross, Olaf Stroh, will visit North Vietnam soon to discuss pos- sibilities for Swedish aid to the civilian popula- tion there and in Viet Cong - controlled areas in South Vietnam. Stroh's trip, if carried off, would mark the first visit of a Western Red Cross official to Hanoi since thebombing of the North began. * * * * * * II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL ATTITUDES ON THE WAR More from Hanoi on US Domestic Criticism: Hanoi is continuing to give unusually detailed propaganda treatment to current domestic criticism of US policy 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 � UA-1 in Vietnam. The most recent statements contend that there is a growing body of popular opinion spear- headed by such "influential" senators as Morse, Fill- bright, McCarthy, and Robert Kennedy:opposing the war--particularly the commitment of more men and ma- terial. One broadcast described the "fierce interroga- tion" Secretary Rusk was subjected to as he attempted to "defend US policy" at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings. It quoted statements by mem- bers of the committee rejecting Rusk's defense of the US position. Another broadcast ridiculed President Johnson's plea on 12 March for perseverance in the war and pointed out that many senators as well as former members of the administration were now in op- position to US policy. An editorial in the New York Times questioning the right of the administration to follow the path of escalation in a war which is not supported by the people formed a key portion of this broadcast. Hanoi's army paper, in an article broadcast on 14 March, offered the most detailed comment to date on the issue of sending more troops to Vietnam. It reported much of the speculation in the US press about the number of troops to be sent and the meas- ures the US would take in order to obtain them. The paper also claimed that the mere fact that the US felt compelled to send more troops to the war was an admission its policy had failed. It also spoke of the deep division in the US Government created by the troop issue and warned that even 200,000 more troops for Vietnam would not save the US position, but merely provide additional targets for Communist forces which will ultimately triumph. Despite the fulsome treatment given these mat- ters, Hanoi has yet to comment on the outcome of the primary election in New Hampshire. * * * US Deserter's Statement Reported: The Viet Cong radio Thursday broadcast what it claimed was a state- ment by a Negro noncommissioned officer of the First -2- 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 � Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 ;Juyx1 Infantry Division who it said deserted early last month. The statement criticized US policy in Viet- nam and appealed to US servicemen to "avoid a use- less death by refraining from participating in any military operation, by refusing to go into battle, by demanding to be sent back to the US." 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/08/14 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005900220001-8