THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 11 MARCH 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976663
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 11, 1969

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The President's Daily Brief
11 March 1969
14 /7
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1-1)K 11-IL PK.L)11.)EIN I uivEr
12 March 1969
LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF OF
11 MARCH 1969
I. MAJOR PROBLEMS
Signs that
VIETNAM
Communist divisions in
III Corps are in the final stages of preparation for ground
attacks against allied installations, possibly including some
in the Saigon area, have been noted recently.
There is evidence that the Viet Cong 9th Division has be-
gun to move within southern Tay Ninh Province along its tradi-
tional approach route to the Saigon area. Prisoner reports sug-
gest that other elements of the 9th may be moving southeast
toward the Phu Tho racetrack in Saigon.
Thieu announced four cabinet changes today including the
appointment of General Tran Thien Khiem as deputy premier in
charge of the pacification program. Khiem keeps his old post
as interior minister.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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MIDDLE EAST
There is nothing significant to report.
EUROPE
France began to get back to business quietly this morning
after the one-day general strike.
SOVIET AFFAIRS
There is nothing significant to report.
II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
LAOS
Some 50 enemy troops attacked Luang Prabang airfield and
the regional military headquarters there early today. Royal
Laotian Army troops repulsed the attackers before they could
occupy the airfield. Nine government soldiers were wounded
and four killed. At least five aircraft were damaged or de-
stroyed. 50X1
PERU
At a press conference yesterday, Velasco confirmed that a
US "envoy" will arrive shortly in Peru for talks. He said that
the IPC issue could be discussed, however--"this has been
definitely solved and is an irreversible step." He added that
they could discuss the Hickenlooper Amendment but doubted that
the US will use it. (FBIS 06)
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I. MAJOR PROBLEMS
VIETNAM
Action reported on 10-11 March included widespread
shellings in all four Corps areas, and battalion-sized at-
tacks on allied positions both in the delta and northwest
of Tay Ninh city. Heavy pressure continues against special
forces camps in the highlands, and enemy activity has picked
up somewhat in the coastal lowlands of II Corps. Sensitive
areas such as Hue, Da Nang, and Saigon were fairly quiet
during the period.1
Statements from prisoners captured recently near Quang
Tri city suggest Communist forces may launch an attack against
the city soon. Moreover, there are continuing signs that
Communist forces are moving southward in Quang Binh Province
just north of the DMZ.
MIDDLE 'EAST
Another day of fighting along the Suez Canal today high-
lights the Egyptian interest in keeping the situation along
that cease-fire line active.
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32
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EUROPE
We detect little that is new in De Gaulle's speech this
afternoon. He seems to have replayed many familiar themes:
the antithesis between Gaullist "progress" and the "chaos"
of the opposition, the advantages of "participation" which
his reforms will encourage, the implication that his opponents
are engaged in a conspiracy against France, the appeal to the
populace to support him personally. There was little to
excite either his opponents or his supporters. Those among
the former who called today's general strike probably had a
sense of deja vu as they pondered the speech; we do not think
they will be able to use his remarks to whip up new momentum
for the strike. Nor did De Gaulle produce many sparks in
his appeal for a heavy "yes" vote in next month's referendum,
although there is little doubt that the populace will duly
approve the reforms he has proposed.
It is still too early to predict the course of the
strike itself with any certainty, but we suspect most of
the strikers will be back on the job in the next day or so.
If they do go back to work, there seems little chance that
the strike will have put much of a dent in the positions of
either management or the government, notwithstanding the
massive worker turnout today.
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SOVIET AFFAIRS
There is nothing significant to report.
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II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
PERU
The United States Intelligence Board has approved
a Special National Intelligence Estimate on the conse-
quences of the dispute between the US and Peru. In sum-
mary, it concludes that:
--The military regime in Peru will almost certainly
not meet the requirements of US law for compensation of
the International Petroleum Company. If all the forces
now in train continue, the crisis with Peru will be a
major one, and perhaps disastrous for Peru and US-Peru-
vian relations.
--The initial impact of the Hickenlooper and Sugar
Act amendments themselves would not be severe, but if
enforcement of the amendments indirectly caused a reduc-
tion of official and private foreign investment, the re-
sulting economic strains could force the regime into
drastic improvisations.
--Peruvian-US relations would deteriorate sharply
if sanctions were applied. If President Velasco remains
in office, he might even feel goaded into expropriating
other US businesses and breaking diplomatic relations.
--Velasco's advisers come from all parts of the
political spectrum; the leftists among them do not ap-
pear more influential than the others. All seem to be
ultranationalistic and anti-American. If Velasco were
replaced by more moderate generals, actions against the
US might be less extreme, but no one could hold office
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in Peru who failed to assert the country's independence
of US influence.
--We doubt that Peru's recent moves to establish dip-
lomatic economic ties with the Communist countries will
produce a firm and close relationship.
--The dispute with the US may stimulate a general
sharpening of resentments toward the US elsewhere in
Latin America, especially in the economic sphere. As a
protection against dependence on the US, other countries
will probably try harder to broaden their foreign contacts
and may care much less about how the US views their ef-
forts.
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THAILAND-CAMBODIA
\ The path tO rap-
prochement is still a difficult one, however, in view of
the many political differences and personal animosities to
be resolved.
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For Sihanouk, initiatives toward Thailand are only part
of a broader adjustment to the post-war situation he antici-
pates. In addition to softening his attitude toward the US
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Sihanouk has also put out feelers to the Laos government,
which is now considering recognition of the Lao-Cambodian
border. So far, however, Sihanouk has given no indication
that he intends to make any gesture toward the government in
Saigon, a sign that he still doubts that it will survive the
war.
SOVIET UNION - COMMUNIST CHINA
Both sides continue to exploit the border clash of 2
March each unwilling to abandon the propaganda field to the
other. Soviet media are maintaining the high level of at-
tack begun last Friday, although there have been no further
demonstrations against the Chinese Embassy in Moscow since
8 March. Tightly controlled demonstrations were resumed in
front of the Soviet Embassy in Peking today to counter the
demonstrations in Moscow over the weekend.
The Soviets are charging that Peking staged the shoot-
ing incident both to discomfit Moscow internationally and to
unify a badly fragmented Chinese populace. One Soviet pub-
lication has used the incident to stress that the Russians
are beleaguered "from New York to Peking" and to call for
increased vigilance by the Soviet populace. The Soviets are,
however, avoiding specifics about the border areas that have
been disputed for a long time.
There are signs that both the Soviet and Chinese mili-
tary forces have been devoting increased attention to the
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area of the border clash. Soviet helicopters and reconnais-
sance aircraft are flying several missions a day along the
UsSuri River. Soviet reconnaissance. flights, which were in-
creased in mid-February along all of China's northern border,
were further intensified after the incident,
far, we have detected no troop movements of any con-
sequence on either side.
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