THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 NOVEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976449
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: November 7, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
7 November 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
7 NOVEMBER 1968
1. Vietnam
2. Laos
Madame Nguyen Thi Binh, the Lib-
eration Front representative at the
Paris talks, is .stressing that she is
there to participate in "preparatory"
discussions prior to,the opening of
"four-way" substantive talks. She
also asserts that the Front delegation
is willing to begin,these preliminary
talks without,the presence of Saigon's
representative, claiming that the Front
speaks for the 7people" of South Viet-
nam. We presume that the Communists
intend to make the "preliminary" round
aAnajor phase of the talks.
No significant fighting has de-
veloped as the rains taper off, but
signs still point to a Communist dry
:season offensive. In the North, the
enemy is evidently:settingthe stage
for its annual effort against govern-
ment guerrilla positions :Roads.are
being constructed toward major govern-
ment base areas,,and the Communists
have takena number of outlyingHdefen-
sive positions in recentdays'
In the Plaine des Jarres area,
enemy forces have regained some posi7
tions lost last summer along the north-
ern rim and have also moved on govern-
ment forces positioned along:the:south-
ern .edge of the plain. In the South,
most of the enemy's offensive activity
will probably not start until the rice
harvest is completed some time late
this month.
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3. Election Reaction
4. Soviet Union
5. Mexico
There has been no high-level Com-
munist comment yet on the US election
results. Early commentaries by Moscow
Radio predictably stressed that the
election was not so much a victory for
the Republicans as a vote of no confi-
dence in current US policies. The first
reaction from Peking merely said that
the election would bring no changes in
the "aggressive nature of US imperial-
ism."
Wilson, De Gaulle, Kiesinger, and
other Western leaders have all released
standard congratulatory messages. French
press reports out of Saigon claim that
the South Vietnamese leaders "reacted
with satisfaction and relief" to Mr.
Nixon's victory. Radio Seoul used the
same phrase to characterize South Ko-
rean reaction.
We see nothing new in the state-
ments being made by Soviet leaders in
connection with their anniversary cele-
brations in Moscow yesterday and today.
On most foreign policy issues, the line
is relatively calm.
Students have decided to continue
their strike, and street demonstrations
are likely to resume. ?A mass student
assembly is scheduled tonight at one
of the schools where violence broke out
earlier in the crisis, and the aggres-
sive tone of smaller assemblies over
the past several days suggests that the
month-long truce may soon end.
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6. Portugal
Ambassador Bennett made his first
call on the new prime minister, Mr.
Caetano, on Monday afternoon. Bennett
came away quite impressed; he concludes:
"I believe we can look forward to rea-
sonable discussion and rational argumen-
tation with Caetano, even though we may
not always find agreement."
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Top Secret
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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
Top Secret
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7 November 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
7 November 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
September Shipping: The number of ships calling
at Haiphong was slightly higher in September than in
August, but the total was well below the average for
the first eight months of the year. Congestion reached
record levels as storms and heavy rains disrupted port
cperations.
The number of arrivals in October is ex-
pected to decline, but congestion has continued.
North Vietnam imported slightly more in September
than in August, but again the figures are well under
this ear's average.(
Over-all imports during the first nine months of
1968 have been greater than for the full year of 1967.
Further Chinese Pullout: A Chinese Communist
? rear services unit in northwestern North Vietnam has
not been heard in communications since 30 October.
This unit was on the radio net serving construction
units formerly in the northwest. ?
Propaganda Line on "Revolutionary Administration":
The Communists continue to keep open the option of
surfacing a governing apparatus as a rival of the South
Vietnamese regime. A Liberation Radio broadcast on 31
October describing the Communist drive to establish a
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//revolutionary administration" stressed the nationwide
political importance of the campaign. It said this
was a "new stage" in the war which will "decide the
total triumph over the US." The drive was described
as "the greatest, widest, and most intense political
campaign in the history of our people's struggle...."
The broadcast laid heavy emphasis on the alleged
legitimacy of the political institutions being cre-
ated by the Communists in the countryside by repeatedly
noting that "liberation committees" are being formed
through a process of elections in which vast numbers
of people are said to be participating. A special
point is made of the opportunity this campaign provides
for individuals who have previously not supported the
Viet Cong to climb aboard the bandwagon. The campaign,
it said, will "definitely determine who are our friends
and who are our foes."
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At least ten transports flew
from Hanoi to the Lang Son area on 6 November, al-
though some of the aircraft were involved in practice
bombing exercises.
Film Production: A recent message has confirmed
that North Vietnam is producing "war atrocity" tele-
vision films for foreign audiences. A message of 1 No-
vember from a "North Vietnamese Television Films Work-.
shop" states that a television unit of the North Viet-
namese "war atrocities center" waS to direct its at-
tention to a "new situation" in the area of North Viet-
nam just north of the Demilitarized Zone.
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The training and equipment for North Vietnamese
television films come largely from the East Germans
under a 1967 cultural aid agreement, although the
Soviets also seem to have provided some aid. The aid
appears directed only at providing Hanoi with the
means for producing films for foreign consumption.
The North Vietnamese have no domestic television.
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
US Elections: Nothing has been heard so far from
Hanoi on the US election results.
Protests Reported: Radio Hanoi broadcast several
brief accounts of antiwar protests and demonstrations
in the US and Britain in an English language interna-
tional broadcast on 5 November. The broadcast high-
lighted a demonstration in New York last Saturday spon-
sored by a peace group composed of clergy and laymen.
It included an account of a rally on the same day near
the White House which was followed by a march on.the
presidential candidates' campaign headquarters nearby.
Radio Hanoi also briefly reported protest demonstra-
tions on 3 November at Fort Dix and in London.
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