THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 4 JUNE 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976182
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: June 4, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
-.-rq-Sts4eZ, 4 June 1968
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1. North Vietnam Hanoi has "corrected" its English
language broadcast of i_June-whiCh had
seemed to suggest a little more flexi-
bility on the issue of a US bombing
halt. The."correction," broadcast yes-
terday, repeated Hanoi's familiar po-
sition that the bombing issue must be
"determined" before other questions
can be taken up.
That formulation, however, still
leaves the hint that there might be a
phase after an agreement to halt bomb-
ing and before an actual cessation,
and that substantive talks could take
place during that time.
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
4 JUNE 1968
2. South Vietnam
3, France
This is a day of decision. Thou-
sands of French workers are voting on
the accords hammered out over the long
holiday weekend by their union leaders.
In some key industries they have already
turned thumbs down to generous settle-
ment offers. It is too early to fore-
cast a trend, but government hopes for
an early, massive return-to-work move-
ment have clearly been frustrated.
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4. Australia
5. Japan
6. East Germany
PrimeJlinister Gorton found his
US visit "immensely helpful" and re-
assuring, according to a member of his
staff. The staffman added that Gorton
now favors keeping Australian troops
inlIalaysia.and Singapore after 1971.
This is a clear shift from his think-
ing just before his departure for ?the
US.
British plans for assisting Malay-
sia and Singapore after 1971 will pre-
sumably-be clarified at next week's
five-nation conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Gorton will then have a better frame-
work for working out Australia's future
defense plans.
A militant student group is pre-
-paring for a major "mobilization" this
Friday against the US Embassy and out-
lying consulates. This is "retaliation"
for the crash of the US jet last week-
end. The students involved are a par-
ticularly wild-eyed bunch with a record
of violence on anti-US issues.
The Japanese police will be able
to cope with them, but probably not
without some bloodshed.
Ulbricht apparently got what he
hoped for from Moscow--reassurance of
continued Soviet backing for his tough
line against Czechoslovakia and West
Germany. This is clearly reflected in
the communiqu?ssued after last week's
talks in Moscow.
The Soviets have exacted a price,
however. Economic agreements worked
out last month have the effect of even
more closely tying the East German
economy to the Soviet's.
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7. Arab States -
Israel
. Yugoslavia
9, Cuba
10. Chile
The Israelis are preparing for
trouble tomorrow, the first anniversary
of the war. A general strike has been
called in Israeli-occupied Jordan, .and
Arab terrorists may try something dramat-
ic against Israel.
In Jordan proper, the day will be
observed with a mass rally in the capi-
tal,
its security procedures will be put to a
real test. In Egypt, Nasir has sched-
uled an anniversary speech which could
touch off demonstrations.
Any violence in these or other
Arab states could quickly take on anti-
US manifestations.
The government has adopted a fair-
ly conciliatory attitude as it faces
the unfamiliar experience of bloody stu-
dent rioting in the capital. Student
demands have so far been concerned main-
ly with their own affairs at the Uni-
versity, and Tito is anxious to keep it
that way.
Strains are growing inside the
powerful Communist-Socialist political
alliance. The problem: mounting irri-
tation among the more pragmatic Commu-
nists over the reckless extremism of
their Socialist allies.
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11. Panama
It is not all over yet.
Arnulfo Arias people have
gotten wind that the Supreme Court in-
tends to issue a ruling on Wednesday
invalidating Arias' victory.
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Top Secret
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? Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
I)
Top Secret
4 June 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
4 June 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
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Front Thanks Chou for Weapons: The president
of the presidium of the Liberation Front's Central
Committee recently sent a message to Chou En-lai,
thanking him for some weapons the Chinese had pre-
sented to a visiting Vietnamese "art ensemble."
The letter, as broadcast in English over Hanoi's
international service on 2 June, took the occasion
to reiterate the Front's standard militant line on
the war and to praise Chinese solidarity.
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The letter doubtless was designed to serve both
as a reminder to US negotiators of the Front's own
hard line on the war, and as a gesture toward the
even more hawkish regime in Peking. In general,
Sino-Vietnamese relations remain as touchy as ever.
* * *
?II, .NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
.ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
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Protest of Spock Trial: The Liberation Front's
Committee for Solidarity with the American People
has issued a statement protesting the trial of Dr.
Spock and four other opponents of the war. According
to the statement, which Hanoi quoted in its inter-
national service in English on 3 June, the defendants
"are not guilty of any crime. On the contrary, they
are genuine patriots who are defending the honor of
the United States...." It termed the trial a "vile
act" aimed at halting the growing popular opposition
to the war.
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