THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 14 AUGUST 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976303
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: August 14, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
-....."'rop?Seer-a.....:_14 August 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
14 AUGUST 1968
1. South Vietnam
2. Southeast Asia
3. Korea
Indications of Communist plans
for an offensive continue to pile up.
One intercepted message instructed a
Viet Cong unit to complete its battle
preparations by 20 August, then "wait
for orders." ?A single prisoner also
has said an offensive would begin on
that date. Experience during the Tet
offensive, however, showed that the
precise time of attack is not usually
given to field commanders until just
before the action is to begin. Indeed,
Hanoi may not have made the final po-
litical decision to launch an attack.
The recent ministerial meeting of
the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations--Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, and the Philippines--sur-
faced disquiet over the future course
of US policy in Southeast Asia, The
Thais tell us that the consensus of
the meeting was that, whatever happens_
Aja.Vietnam, the US will "withdraw
from the region and the Communist
threat will increase, 'Thailand is
pleased that the other members have
come around to its view that the goal
of the association should be to work
out both joint and national programs'
to confine COmmunism to.Vietnam. It
recognizes the difficulties in trans-
lating this goal into action.
Improved South Korean security
measures are making it more difficult
for the North Koreans to infiltrate
across the Demilitarized Zone. None-
theless they keep trying, and 26 infil-
trators have been killed and two cap-
tured so far this month. Equipment
found at the scene of the clashes indi-
cates that the intruders were probably
on missions to observe and photograph
obstacles and installations near the
zone.
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4, Indonesia The Indonesian Army appears to
have dealt a severe blow to the Commu-
nist organization in southeast Java.
During the army's sweeps this summer,
a dozen members each of the party's
central committee and the East Java
regional committee were captured.
The party, stripped of almost all
its pre-coup leaders, may now have to
curtail both political and terrorist
activity, although the army is not too
sanguine about this. The Communists
are still well organized in East and
Central _Java.
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5. Jordan-USSR
6. Greece
Prime Minister Papadopoulos was
unharmed when a small bomb exploded
near his car on Tuesday. This was the
first reported attempt to assassinate
junta member since the
Police have arrested a
tenant
The government now will probably keep an
even stricter watch over the opposition
as the plebiscite on the new constitu-
tion, set for 29 September, approaches.
a
April 1967 coup.
former army lieu
Surprisingly, the head of the gov-
ernment press office has blamed not Com-
munists but "people with fascist tenden-
cies" for the assassination attempt.
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7, Uruguay
A recent decision of .the Communist
Party to sanction violent demonstrations '
against the government adds another un-
settling element to the situation in .
Montevideo. The government has had its
hands full with rebellious students at
the national university. A demonstration
by some 2,000 students on the night of
12 August resulted.iw.an intensely vio-
lent clash with police and the Metropoli-
tan Guard. Some students fired at the
police at point blank range. The next
morning students erected barricades.
Today the Communists and the trade
union federation intend to join with
the students in demonstrations and a
general work stoppage. President Pacheco
has taken advantage of the situation to
ask the senate's permission to fire the
university's left-leaning rector and
his council. Even if the legislators
agree, the students are hardly likely
to calm down.
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
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16
_
14 August 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
14 August 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Xuan Thuy's Health and the State of the "Weather":
Xuan Thuy has been suffering a diplomatic illness for
the past month.. Newsmen in Paris asked about Thuy's
health at the North Vietnamese press conference on
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t.))(1
12 August. They were told crisply that his ill health
is "caused by the weather and will be decided by the
weather," a statement which produced a burst of laugh?
ter.
?2 ?
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* * *
Truck Traffic Down in Laos:. The southwest monsoon
finally has set in .after one of the driest Julys on
record. Communist truck traffic has shown a corres-
ponding drop as key parts of the road net become impass-
able.,
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:Radio Hanoi Greatly Expands Broadcasting Effort:
On 1,August, Radio Hanoi expanded its international
service schedule, doubling its output in the Cambodian,
Lao; and Thai languages, and increasing its transmis-
sions in the mountain (Montagnard) languages beamed to
North and South Vietnam.. It also introduced additional
facilities in the service to South Vietnam.
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II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report today.
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Top Secret
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