THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF (MORNING) 21 APRIL 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976732
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 21, 1969

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The President's Daily Brief
21 April 1969
(Morning)
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
MAJOR PROBLEMS
VIETNAM
Ambassador Lam, South Vietnam's chief delegate to the
Paris talks, says he has reason to .believe that he could get
the Liberation Front to respond positively to a bid for
pri-
vate contacts. In a talk with Mr. Habib in Paris late last
week, Lam did not specify what "signs" he had from the other
side. He claimed, however, that he had received "direct as-
surance" that contacts could be set up Lam plans to seek
detailed instructions about how to proceed when he sees Presi-
dent Thieu during a trip back to Saigon toward the end of.the
month:
Lam may be reacting to advice from enthusiastic inter-
mediaries (like the French or a Vietnamese exile) instead of
to a real feeler from the Communists. But even if there is
'substance to what he says, Lam obviously is in no hurry to
follow up, despite Habib's urgings that he do so. Lam's de-
sire for detailed instructions from Thieu may reflect only
his usual caution, but it could be based on instructions to
check with Saigon before setting up any kind of contact.
Lam's source may have also told him that the Communists
would insist on seeing more of the GVN's political package.
Soviet Ambassador zorin made this point Very strongly on 11
April, when he told Ambassador Lodge that the allies would
have to come up with new proposals if we wanted the DRV and
the Front to engage in private talks.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
The North Vietnamese are working hard to expand their
logistical network along the western edge of the Demilitarized
Zone. They are extending two roads into the Laos panhandle
which will connect with already completed roads coming up
from the south. The Communists are also improving trails
and waterways just west of the Demilitarized Zone. When com-
pleted, this expanded network will give the enemy a much more
direct and less vulnerable means of moving supplies into key
base areas supporting his forces in South Vietnam. (For some
idea of the terrain the North Vietnamese must work in, see
the photo on the reverse page.)
SOVIET AFFAIRS
Czechoslovak students apparently are planning nonviolent
demonstrations against First Secretary Husak's central com-
mittee speech last week.. This flies in the teeth of Husak's
warning that no demonstrations will be permitted and-that po-
lice action would be justified to end "illegal" public dissi,-
dence. The workers, who sympathize with the students, have
said they will call a general strike if the regime takes harsh
measures against nonviolent demonstrations.
.We have nothing to confirm press reports that Husak will
be going to Moscow in the next day or two
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EUROPE -
Although most Gaullists are still predicting victory in
next Sunday's referendum, signs of uncertainty are beginning
to crop up in the Gaullist camp. Andre Malraux told Counsel-
lor Blake on Friday that a poll taken the day before had showed
that 44 percent of the populace was still undecided or plan-
ning to abstain./
A high abstention rate would be worrisome, both because
it might cut disastrously into De Gaulle's traditional rural
majority and because it would undermine the credibility of the
referendum even if the Gaullists won. We have later reports,
however, that the indicated abstention rate is down to a little
over 30 percent. This is a higher figure than De Gaulle would
like, but we think it is one he could live with. He will prob-
ably try to reduce abstentions still further with his usual
television appeal on the eve of the referendum.
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We also assume that some of the gloom being dispensed by
French leaders is aimed at stimulating the Gaullist rank-and-
file, whose prosecution of the referendum campaign has not
been as vigorous as De Gaulle might wish.
MIDDLE EAST
There is nothing significant to report.
II, OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
KOREA
North Korea has made some defensive moves against the
possibility of U8 retaliation. /-
There still has been no authoritative comment from either
Peking or Moscow on the incident. The North Koreans, in fact,
have received full support from only three countries: East
Germany, North Vietnam and Cuba. Perhaps because they re-
alize they are not getting much backing for their claims, they
have not made much propaganda use of the incident so far.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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ARGENTINA-FRANCE
The Argentines contracted last November to buy 14 Mirage
aircraft from France
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President On-U 50X1
gania has not yet signed the contract, but air force officers
are pressing him to do so. This purchase, coming after Peru's
acquisition of Mirages last year, will make other South Amer-
ican countries--notably Brazil--even more eager to obtain
supersonic aircraft.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Top Secret
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