THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 AUGUST 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976327
• 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 28, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300350001-9
The President's Daily Brief
?7""gr5e6.4ca. 28 August 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
28 AUGUST 1968
1. Czechoslovakia -
Soviet Union
Czechoslovak leaders returned
from Moscow faced with the hard task
of convincing their people that the
agreement hammered out with the Soviets
is the best that could be hoped for.
According to the communiqu?ssued af-
ter the four-day meeting, present Czech
leaders will remain in power. Soviet
troops, however, will remain in Czecho-
slovakia until the situation returns
to "normal."
Dubcek made it plain, in an emo-
tional speech to the nation, that new
restrictions would have to be clamped
on press and radio media. He indicated
that the occupation troops would soon
begin a phased withdrawal from urban
centers to less conspicuous areas. Both
he and Svoboda appealed for discipline
and understanding from the Czechoslovak
people.
Initial public reaction to the Mos-
cow agreement was one of protest. Crowds
marched inlprague shouting, "We want
the truth." The demonstrators dispersed
after a parliamentary deputy assured
them that no agreement infringing Czecho-
slovakia's. sovereignty would be ratified.
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2. Rumania
3 Israel-Egypt
4. Soviet Union
The atmosphere in Bucharest is
more relaxed than over the weekend,
when Rumanian armed forces appeared to
be in an initial state of alert.
Tel Aviv is taking a grim view of
an incident along the Suez Canal Mon-
day night. Two Israeli soldiers were .
killed and a third captured by Egyptian
troops who crossed to the Israeli side.
/ The UN truce supervisory
chief is taking their protest to Cairo
today. Hopes for an early release of
the Algerian-held Israeli plane may
also deter a military reprisal.
A mobile missile launcher has been
seen in satellite photography at Ple-
setsk, the missile and space test cen-
ter north of Moscow.
When photographed early this month,
the launcher was in firing position at
a pad designed for solid fuel missiles.
So far, however, we have not identified
any flight tests for this missile.
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5. Communist China
Satellite photography shows that
construction at the intercontinental
ballistic missile launch facility in
western China has moved ahead consid?
erably over the last Several months.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
28 August 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
28 August 1968
. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
.Propaganda Support: Communist propaganda con-
tinues its exhortations on behalf of the current
Communist military push. In South Vietnam, Libera-
tion Radio reminded the residents of Saigon :that
25 August was the anniversary of Communist uprisings
in the capital city 23 years ago. It called on the
people of the capital city to "encircle and fight
(the enemy) more fiercely" and conveyed the impres-
sion that the Communists were engaged in an unrelent-
ing offensive in the cities. The broadcast was prob-
ably laying the groundwork for claims of popular
support in future attacks.
According to a domestic broadcast of 26 August,
General Vo Nguyen Giap has urged sick and wounded
soldiers to recover quickly and return to the battle-
field or new training responsibilities as soon as
possible. At .a meeting to honor representatives of
sick and wounded soldiers and survivors of "fallen
heroes," Giap lavished praise on the sacrifices of
soldiers and their families, describing them as
"shining examples of revolutionary heroism and warm
patriotism." He reminded his audience that the
"imperialists are stubborn" and that the struggle
required still more sacrifice and renewed commitment
on everybody's part.
Chinh's Speech: Hanoi Radio has broadcast ex-
cerpts from a speech Politburo member Truong Chinh
gave on the occasion of Karl Marx's birthday. Chinh
was addressing a major party gathering apparently
called to discuss in depth some of the major problems'
facing the North Vietnamese party and to disseminate
the official line decreed by the Politburo. The radio-
broadcast emphasized that Truong Chinh was speaking on
behalf of the party leadership. The excerpts of the
speech which Hanoi has made available -suggest that
it is the latest in a long series of articles which
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try to demonstrate to the rank and file that the
leadership is aware of and has the answers to the
major problems facing Vietnam.
Chinh's speech is mostly a reiteration of
familiar positions on such topics as the necessity
of armed revolution and the leading role of the
Communist Party. Taken in the context of present
circumstances, some of his points provide further
evidence that Hanoi has long-range plans for the
unification of North and South Vietnam. Others
seem to reflect a concern over the adverse effects
of the regime's harsh measures on the populace..
:Tropical Storm Impedes Southward Flow of Sup-
plies: Mid-August storm activity off the southern
coast of North Vietnam may have impeded the south-
ward flow of supplies through Thanh Hoa Province.
Heavy rain and flood warnings were frequently passed
over the North Vietnamese civil network beginning
about 11 August. Weather data subsequently showed
that tropical storm "Rose" moved inland on 13 August.
In the aftermath, flooding was reported in several
areas of North Vietnam and especially along the Song
'Ma River in Thanh Hoa Province,
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.Vietnamese Students Arriving in Moscow: Tass
has announced that 500 North Vietnamese students ar-
rived in Moscow on 20 August to begin a six-year pro-
gram of study. The Soviet press had earlier announced
the arrival of 295 North Vietnamese youths.
The students were probably sent under the agree-
ment formally signed with North Vietnam in July 1967
which provides for the education and training of
6,000 Vietnamese students in Soviet professional and
technical schools and enterprises in the period 1967-
69.
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Tass further announced that a total of 1,500-Viet-
namese will begin studies in the USSR in September.
There are about 6,000 Vietnamese students in the. USSR.
for various types of education and training.
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Hanoi Comments on the Democratic Convention: Both
the Hanoi press and North Vietnamese spokesmen- in -Paris
emphasized the importance of antiwar sentiment in the
US as the Democratic National Convention opened. The
Hanoi press representative in Paris spoke almost exclu-
sively of the upcoming election at-his weekly news
conference on 26August and called the attention of
reporters to the long line of "statesmen, labor leaders,
intellectuals, and generals" who had appeared before
the platform committee advocating changes in US policy
on Vietnam. He said he was confident that during the
election campaign the American people mould demand a
change in US policy from its present and futurelead-
ers. He had praise for all those who pressed.for an
,unconditional cessation of the bombing and. for recogni-
tion Of the Liberation Front, A Hanoi party daily on
27 August took virtually the same line, stating that
the Democratic-Party Was deeply divided on.Vietnam as
it met to choose its new leader.
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