THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 SEPTEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976363
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: September 18, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006400150001-0
The President's Daily Brief
Top Secret 18 September 1968
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THE 'PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
18 SEPTEMBER 1968
1. Israel
2. Middle East
The Suez Canal area has been com-
paratively quiet, but sporadic shooting
continues along the Israel-Jordan bor-
der. The Israelis used Soviet artil-
lery captured from the Arabs to shell
a Jordanian town yesterday. They open-
ly declared this was retaliation for
Jordanian shelling.
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3. Philippines-
Malaysia
4, Berlin
5, Poland
6. Ecuador
7. Portugal
8. Soviet Union
Marcos is looking for a way to
sign the bill referring to Philippine
sovereignty over Sabah without provok-
ing an open break with Malaysia. He
is thinking about a presidential letter
interpreting the bill as merely a re-
statement of claim, not an expression
of intent to assert sovereignty now.
Malaysia may not swallow this.
Access to East Berlin has been
made less convenient for West Germans
and West Berliners. In their latest
demonstration of sovereignty, the East
Germans have closed all but one cross-
ing point to Germans from the West.
Allied access to East Berlin is not
affected.
Dissension in the leadership over
Czechoslovakia undoubtedly continues.
The acting foreign minister hinted
last
week that the invasion was a mistake.
For the record, however, regime spokes-
men all echo the standard line.
Salazar is still alive and, in
fact, has shown some improvement. It
remains unlikely, however, that the
79-year-old prime minister will ever
recover fully.
Zond-5 has rounded the moon and
is heading back toward earth. The re-
turn trip requires extreme precision.
If it is successful, the circumlunar
mission will be recovered Saturday.
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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
Top Secret
16
18 September 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
18 September 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
* * *
Postwar Planning: Hanoi's reconstruction ef-
forts have been confined primarily to repairing bomb
damage, but the North Vietnamese continue to discuss
postwar planning in trade talks with Western business-
men.
East Europeans Critical of North Vietnamese:
Hanoi's search for Free World trade and aid cOntacts
may be in part a hedge against the possibility that
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* * *
II. .NORTHNIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Hanoi on Reservists' Protests: A Hanoi news agency
transmission in English on 16 September briefly notes
that 113 US Army reservists recently refused to go to
South Vietnam because the war is "illegal and unconsti-
tutional."
* * *
Hanoi on US Policy: The daily flow of propaganda
from Hanoi contains the same basic message: the US
should recognize its "failure" in Vietnam and acknowl-
edge it by stopping the bombing and negotiating a solu-
tion. An article in the party daily on 14 September
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described American policymakers as ostriches Who should
"withdraw their heads from the sand and get moving."
It claims that the American people have "begun to
realize the truth" about Vietnam, but the "Johnson
clique" is ignoring manifestations of popular discon-
tent and still trying to win military victories in
order to talk from a position of strength. The article
cites President Johnson's New Orleans speech as evi-
dence that the US is continuing an "aggressive and war-
like policy."
The article ridicules Vice President Humphrey, for
trying to,show.that he would.be,"as soft as a reed" on
Vietnam. It also blasts the Vice President for his
suggestion that the three major candidates issue a
joint statement telling the Communists that the next
.administration will make no greater concessions than
.the present one. It ridicules the notion that the
Communists would await the results of the elections
before deciding "whether or not they, should fight_ag-
gression."
An article broadcast to Southeast Asia on 14 Sep-
tember says the Democratic Party is following in the
"old track of the Johnson Administration" and that the
Vice President is 'a "carbon copy" of the President. It
asks why the US has not drawn proper conclusions from
the war and recognized the foreign and domestic harm
done by the "Vietnam adventure." It concludes with a
promise to fight on no matter who is elected.
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