THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 24 JUNE 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976217
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: June 24, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
24 June 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
24 JUNE 1968
1. South Vietnam
2. Canada
The Buddhists have launched a new
peace campaign, with militant and mod-
erate factions vying for the spotlight.
On Saturday, militant leader Thich
Tinh Khiet released a statement calling
for an immediate cease-fire and casti-
gating the North Vietnamese for the
shelling of Saigon. Yesterday the mod-
erates came out with a somewhat similar
statement.
This new effort comes ata time
when there is increasing discussion
among leftist students and politicians
about the consequences of continued
fighting and the need for a prompt end
to the bloodshed. One labor organiza-
tion, for example, has petitioned Thieu
for an end to what is described as care-
less and indiscriminate allied air and
artillery strikes.
The latest polls give Prime Minis-
ter Trudeau's Liberal Party some 46 per-
cent of the vote in Tuesday's election.
A district-by-district assessment by
the embassy, however, shows the Liberals
failing narrowly to win a majority and
having to continue as a minority govern-
ment as they have for the past five
years.
Trudeau has kept the campaign fo-
cused on issues of his choosing--nation-
al unity and foreign policy--and has
succeeded fairly well in downplaying
economic questions on which the Liber-
als are most vulnerable.
All three major parties support a
comprehensive review of Canada's for-
eign and defense commitments and favor
recognition of Communist China.
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3. Uruguay
4. Spain
5. France
?President Pacheco is finally say-
ing that he will crack down on the
labor leaders and other agitators re-
sponsible for the current wave of dis-
orders. It is not clear just what he
will do, but it is clear that if the
government does not move quickly to
alleviate the chaotic economic condi-
tions, any measures against the agita-
tors will likely produce more violence.
Franco and company are showing
continuing concern that the political
unrest in France and elsewhere may
spread their way. Monarchist celebra-
tions planned for last Saturday and
for today in a number of Spanish cities
were abruptly cancelled. In recent
months, the government has been quick
to ban meetings that might produce
political problems.
Final tallies just in on the first
round of the French elections confirm
press reports this morning that De Gaulle
has indeed won a strong vote of confi-
dence.
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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
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16
24 June 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
24 June 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
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Demonstrations: Vietnamese Communist efforts to
promoTT-TeET)EITFWTions in support of their stand in Paris
are paying off. on 21 June, 50X1
representatives of the "Stockholm Conference on Vietnam"
agreed to organize world-wide demonstrations next month
to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Geneva
agreements in 1954.
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* * *
Agricultural Conditions:
On 3 and 4 June, the press said that
?"great efforts were required to remedy the situation"
caused by cold weather and prolonged rain. The weather
was said to be affecting not only the harvest of the
early rice crop, but also the planting of the more im-
portant second crop. This same type of article appeared
on 10 June. Other press pieces recently have dealt with
lack of fertilizers and shortages of manpower.
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Propaganda Emphasizes Defections: The well-publi-
cized defection of nearly 150 Communist troops just
north of Saigon on 19 June seems to have hit the Commu-
nists where it hurts. The Liberation Front came back
almost the next day with a report of 1,200 South Viet-
namese troops who had staged a mass desertion in the
delta. No specifics on date and place were supplied,
and there is no confirmation from other sources. On
the 21st, Hanoi radio broadcast a long commentary in
English recounting all the alleged defections that had
occurred among South Vietnamese troops since the Tet
offensive. It represents a rehash of much of the propa-
ganda issued earlier to support Communist claims of ex-
tensive popular support for their new front group, the
,2-
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National Alliance. Mass deserk4.ons of southern units
or individuals, particularly in I Corps, were continu-
ally reported in the aftermath of the Tet fighting.
Although the broadcast of the 21st is more specific on
dates, unit designations, and places than the Libera-
tion Front account on the 19th, it is still difficult
to confirm. Much of the reported activity is not ac-
tual defections but what .the commentary calls "mutinies
and antiwar activities."
* * *
II, NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF up POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report today.
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