THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF (AFTERNOON) 17 MARCH 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976673
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 17, 1969

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006900110001-9
The President's Daily Brief
17 March 1969
(Afternoon)
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
18 March 1969
LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF OF
17 MARCH 1969
I. MAJOR PROBLEMS
VIETNAM
Enemy-initiated actions in the capital military district
were about double the usual rate last night. These include
a terrorist incident in Saigon and five firefights in Gia
Dinh Province; casualties were light.
Elsewhere, the situation was relatively quiet.
SOVIET AFFAIRS
The story behind the 120-minute Warsaw Pact summit con-
ference in Budapest yesterday has not yet unfolded. The main
point in the final communique merely states that the partici-
pants approved "new regulations on combined armed forces and
combined commands." This suggests that the discussions--at
least nominally--succeeded in drawing the member statcs into
closer military cooperation. Rumania's readiness to subscribe
to the new arrangements, however, may well mean that little
has changed. The Rumanians have long resisted Russian efforts
to obtain control over Rumania's armed forces.
A Washington Post story this morning alleges that the
Rumanians vetoed a major Soviet effort to "integrate" Ru-
mania's forces under the Pact. The New York Times claims that
disagreement emerged at the meeting over a Soviet attempt to
get a resolution condemning the Chinese as "aggressors."
There is nothing substantial at this point to back either of
these claims.
The Soviet leaders are already en route back to I oscow
by train. The Rumanians, East Germans, and probably cthers
have also left. This means that there was little or no time
for bilateral talks after the formal meeting adjourned.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Bulletin, Press, News Ticker)
(Central Intelligence
EUROPE
There is nothing significant to report.
MIDDLE EAST
Cairo radio says the Israelis shelled Egyptian positions
south of the Bitter Lakes area of the Suez Canal today.
II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
SOVIET UNION - COMMUNIST CHINA
A Pravda military correspondent claims that Chinese forces
fired on Russian border troops with mortars and machineguns
last night near the disputed island. There was no mention of
casualties.
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MAJOR PROBLEMS
VIETNAM
Enemy-initiated actions declined on 16-17 March, fol-
lowing the spate of shellings and ground actions over the
weekend. Hue, Da Nang, and Saigon were free of terrorist
activity. Sharp new engagements were reported northeast of
Saigon, however, and in Kontum Province in the central high-
lands.
SOVIET AFFAIRS
Today's Warsaw Pact summit meeting ended two hours
after it began with the participating countries signing a
"declaration on Europe" and a final communique. It was the
shortest meeting ever held. The start was delayed from morn-
ing until afternoon, probably to permit time for bilateral
discussions either on the Sino-Soviet border conflict or on
the final wording of one or both of the documents.
The circumstances are most unusual, however, and it is
not at all clear what is going on. /
EUROPE
In a public opinion poll earlier this month, 77 percent
of those Frenchmen queried thought the recent trip of Presi-
dent Nixon constituted an important element for the evolution
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of good relations between France and the US (35 percent very
important and 42 percent rather important) . A majority--52
percent--continued to feel that France should neither be on
the side of the US nor the USSR. Those who felt that France
should be on the side of the US rose from 13 percent in 1967
and 19 percent in 1968 to 24 percent in 1969.
MIDDLE EAST
There is nothing significant to report.
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IL OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
KOREA
Four North Korean infiltrators yesterday attacked a
police station on South Korea's east coast about 55 miles
south of the Demilitarized Zone. This was the first armed
infiltration since approximately 120 guerrillas landed along
the east coast last November. The raiders, dressed in South
Korean military uniforms, killed one policeman and a civil-
ian and planted a time bomb in the, police station before
shooting their way out of the harbor and sailing north. The
attack probably was coordinated with current North Korean
harassment along the DMZ in connection with the US - South
Korean military exercises. .
SOVIET UNION - COMMUNIST CHINA
Soviet aircraft have not flown to Hanoi through
China for several months. Inauguration of the new route at
this time may be connected with recent Soviet-Chinese border
incidents.
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In February I965, after the US began the bombing of
North Vietnam, Moscow tried to send 30 AN-12s to Hanoi
with military aid.
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Top Secret
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