THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 6 APRIL 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005974367
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: April 6, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
The President's Daily Brief
----Ts-St.c..ze,L 6 April 1968
23
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
DAILY BRIEF
BAPRIL; 1968
1. Vietnam
While military activity in South
Vietnam remains relatively light, we
have gotten scattered and very tenu-
ous indications in intercepts that
the Communists are modifying their
tactics. Specifically:
--At least one artillery unit near
the Demilitarized Zone was ordered on
3 April to suspend firing.
These fragments may reflect noth-
ing but local tactical situations, but
they may also be related to the cur-
rent peace proposals.
* * *
In Saigon, meanwhile,/
/the pros-
pect of negotiations has brought Thieu
and Ky closer together than ever be-
fore./
The South
Vietnamese are totally unprepared for
negotiations, however
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
6 APRIL 1968
Japan
Correction to Item 3
Foreign Minister Miki told Ambas-
sador Johnson today that press reports
of the ministerial mission to Washing-
ton were erroneous.
Miki says that he and Sato have
agreed they will not make any moves on
this score until they have had further
talks with the ambassador.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
? 50X1
50X1 '
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
. South Korea
3. Japan
4. Cambodia
Leaders in both South Korea and
Japan are worried that the US may pull
back from its involvement in the Far
East.
Japanese Prime Minister Sato is
also worried--so much so that his gov-
ernment announced today that it would
"soon" send a cabinet-level emissary
to the US. The Japanese still tend to
believe that the President's renuncia-
tion of his candidacy must be a confes-
sion of responsibility for a mistaken
policy in Vietnam, and they feel left
out on a limb by the policy shift they
see in his 31 March proposal.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
5. Panama
6. Czechoslovakia
7. Soviet Union
Just before the Supreme Court ruled
against Robles, Arias talked
about signs that his al- 50X1
lies in the oligarchy were deserting him.
He acknowledged he had been talking with
"leftists" and said they seemed to be
the only people who might help him "fight
the National Guard and if necessary the
US which was supporting the Guard." He
said he would go into the hills rather
than compromise with Robles.
50X1
50X1
Arias may have 50X1
been talking for effect but that he
sounded sincere. There is supposed to
be .a demonstration at Arias' party head-
quarters today.
The new leaders are trying to smoke
out Free World capitals on the prospects
for economic assistance. They, are in-
vestigating private as well as govern-
mental sources in the West and are con-
sidering renewed active membership in
the International Monetary Fund.?
A switch to the West for economic
aid could cause problems with Prague's
allies. The country would be hurt badly,
at least in the short term, if the USSR
undertook economic reprisals./
The Soviets may launch a moon probe
today--the first such attempt since an
abortive shot in early February.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
8. Canada
Justice Minister Pierre Elliott
Trudeau is the favorite as the Liberal
Party meets today to select a succes-
sor to Prime Minister Pearson. As
prime minister, the flamboyant Trudeau
would probably change the style but not
the substance of Pearson's policies.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X6
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8,
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
6 April 1968
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
bUX1
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
6 April 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Peking Warns Hanoi Against Negotiations: Peking's
news agency has released a Chinese statement entitled
"Johnson Plays New Tricks of Inducing Peace Talks by
Partial Suspension of Bombing." Peking is thus re-
iterating its standard warning against a US "fraud" de-
signed to win in negotiations what cannot be achieved
by military means. The Chinese have been setting the
stage for the latest statement by repeatedly broad-
casting Mao's quotation that "by persevering in pro-
tracted war, the Vietnamese people will surely drive
the US aggressors out of their country."
* * *
Hanoi Blasts US Again: Hanoi has offered another
strong criticism of what it terms the "limited US
bombing halt" and has spelled out in some detail what
it considers the "other acts of war" being committed
by the US against North Vietnam. In a lengthy and au-
thoritative "Commentator" article in the party daily,
Nhan Dan, of 5 April, it claimed that despite the par-
TUT EaTt, the US was continuing to attach conditions
to its peace offers and was "dead set" about pursuing
"its aggressive design." The statement pointed out
that despite the limitation of the bombing, the US
was intensifying the war in the South as well as
mounting record raids against populated areas of the
country.
The "Commentator" article also stressed that
the US had no right to commit any act against North
Vietnam. It demanded that, in addition to an uncon-
ditional halt to the bombing throughout the whole
of North Vietnam, the US also stop its "other acts
of war." These, it claimed, include the use of re-
connaissance aircraft and naval patrol craft as well
as dropping leaflets and gifts, airdropping commandos
or smuggling them from Laotian territory, and using
artillery based in South Vietnam to bombard terri-
tory north of the Demilitarized Zone.
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-,8,6x1
Hanoi Foreign Ministry Statement Protests US
Bombing: The North Vigtnamese Foreign Ministry has
joined the regime's propaganda campaign to pressure
the US into a full bombing halt. In a statement
broadcast on 5 April, it took the same line as earlier
propaganda pronouncements in condemning the "limited"
bombing halt and in pointing out that the regions
still subject to bombing contain populated areas. The
statement also denounced the US for continuing aerial
reconnaissance and for sending its "warships" into
North Vietnamese coastal waters. The statement closed
by reiterating Hanoi's demand that the US stop "per-
manently and unconditionally" the bombing and all
other acts of war in the whole of North Vietnam.
* * *
.Liberation Front on Hanoi's Statement of 3 April:
In its first original commentary on the new US - North
Vietnamese peace dialogue, the Liberation Front ig-
nored the:fact that both sides have agreed to meet
for "pretalk"?talks. The Front had already rebroad-
cast the full text of Hanoi's response to President
Johnson's speech, but it did so without comment. In
its new commentary on 4 April, the Front treated the
Hanoi statement as a rededication of Communist ef-
forts to win a military victory without any reference
to Hanoi's offer to meet with US representatives.
The entire lengthy commentary is a strong con-
demnation of President Johnson's speech as a trick
and as an admission that the US has suffered a mili-
tary, defeat in South Vietnam. It calls the Hanoi re-
ply an "eloquent" answer to the "cunning and deceit-
ful arguments" of the US President and implies that
the main thrust of Hanoi's answer was a tough reaffirm-
ation of Ho Chi Minh's call to continue the fighting
until Communist objectives have been won.
This kind of approach is not unusual for the
Front, which almost always reflects a much harder
line on negotiations than Hanoi does. On the other
hand, the fact that the complete text of the Hanoi
offer was broadcast by the Front indicates that there
is no effort on the part of the Front to misrepresent
the Hanoi position or to keep the South Vietnamese
Communists in the dark about current developments.
-2-
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
It probably does represent an effort on the part of
the Front to interpret these developments as making
little or no change in accepted Communist positions.
* * *
Hanoi's Propaganda on Fighting in the South:
Despite the relative lull in the fighting in South
Vietnam, Hanoi's propaganda on 4 and 5 April seemed
to take particular pains to make the point that Com-
munist forces are continuing to inflict serious
losses on allied units. A broadcast wrapping up
events during the last week of March focused on al-
lied "defeats" in the northern provinces. Other
statements on 4 and 5 April dwelt on events around
Khe Sanh. Despite the fact that fighting has ac-
tually been relatively light in the area, both state-
ments described heavy fighting, large numbers of
allied casualties, and panic in the ranks of the al-
lied forces.
Laotian Leader Thinks Hanoi Has Made a Major
Retreat: Premier Souvanna told Ambassador Sullivan
yesterday that he considers Hanoi's statement of 3
April to be a "major retreat from its previous ada-
mant position about talks." He said that Hanoi has,
in effect, finally conceded its willingness to nego-
tiate while bombing continues. This, he admitted,
had surprised him. He thinks there were two main
reasons for Hanoi's unexpected move: (1) President
Johnson had scored a major psychological advantage
by withdrawing from the presidential race; and (2)
Hanoi is probably really hurting badly and needs
peace.
Souvanna said he was sure that "all other Orien-
tals" would interpret Hanoi's move the way he does
and see it as a loss of face.
The Laotian leader said he "assumed" that the
Soviets had played some role in getting Hanoi to
react favorably to the President's 31 March speech.
Finally, Souvanna said he is gratified that
Averell Harriman will be the US negotiator because
this "assures that Laos will not be forgotten."
-3-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
o0X1
Views of Soviet Ambassador in Vientiane: Sullivan
also talked yesterday with his Soviet counterpart, who
said with apparent sincerity that he was sure Hanoi's
response to the President's proposals was unconditional
and genuine, rather than a tactical delaying action.
He told Sullivan that he thought Hanoi would attach
more importance to the make-up of the respective nego-
tiating teams than to a good many substantive questions.
* * *
The Paul Doumer Bridge:
as of
late last week the Paul Doumer Bridge was still not
being repaired. However, material for getting the
bridge back into service was being stockpiled on its
approaches.
work is to get under way on the bridge soon and
that it is expected to be open for rail traffic in a
month. Soviet helicopters, he said, are to be used to
lift new bridge sections into place.
* * *
-4-
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
t.)X1
?
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report at
this time.
,5-
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006000110001-8