THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05973762
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: February 25, 2019
• Case Number: F-2018-01318
• Publication Date: April 21, 1967

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The President's Daily Brief
f�ap----Seerel-- 21 April 1967
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DAILY BRIEF
21 APRIL 1967
1. North Vietnam
2. Communist China
Premier Pham Van Dong has returned
from his early April trip to Moscow
Sticking to the hard line on the war.
.Pham said he believes the
US probably will increase military pres-
sures, Nevertheless, he declared, Hanoi
can now surmount any foreseeable step.
Pham did not seem to overrate anti-
war protests in the US. He said he does
not believe the Americans will necessar-,
ily lose the will to continue. Other
regime spokesmen, however, have been mak-
ing much of the idea that US resolve will
weaken.
Regarding U Thant, Pham said the
secretary general's recent proposals had
conceded too much to the Americans and
that therefore he no longer has Hanoi's
confidence,
Premier Chou En-lai remains Peking's
chief spokesman, but he may be losing
ground to the radicals. Some of the more
rational policies Chou put into effect in
February have lately been reversed. The
heavy attacks on his protege,.Foreign
Minister Chen Yi, are also part of the
picture.
Chou has, as best we can determine,
been running China with very little help.
The new politburo installed last August
had 25 members; the leadership's scorpion-
in-a-bottle performance has left only
seven of these active and clearly in good
standing. The seven include Mao,.Lin
Piao, Chou himself, one propagandist, two
policemen, and one economic administrator.
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3. Sino-Soviet
4. West Germany
Peking's deep hatred for the Soviet
leadership came out in a discussion
late last month.
Chou again charged Moscow with se-
cret US-,Soviet collusion against China
and accused the Russians of undercutting
Nasir's efforts to inspire revolt in South
Arabia. .Chou even said he was thinking
of ending the periodic talks in Warsaw
between the Chinese and US ambassadors be-
cause the talks were exploited .by the So-
viets.
Hanoi had-re--
leased the letters between President
Johnson and Ho Chi Minh because the North
'Vietnamese wanted to make it clear that
no meaningful discussions were-underway.
This is much the same line taken in Hanoi
propaganda,
Initial German endorsement of the US
troop rotation plan is eroding.
he Germans
ave strong feelings about the
planned pull-out of 144 combat aircraft.
They fear this would greatly reduce-al-
lied strike capability
Bonn also is concerned about the with-
drawal of two US brigades--not so much
because of the numbers involved, but be-
cause there is some apprehension that this
may be only a prelude to a larger reduc,L-
tion.
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5. Non-Proliferation Yesterday the North Atlantic Council
�Treaty gave the US its approval to move ahead in
talks with the Soviets aimed at getting a
draft treaty on the table when the 18 Na-
tion Disarmament Committee meets at Geneva
on 9 May.
6. France
7. Greece
.Neither the Italians nor the Germans,
however, are committed to any treaty draft
and still have major reservations. They
are reluctant .about provisions on safe-
guards and those which might preclude a
European nuclear defense community some-
time in the future. They also would like
any treaty to have an expiration date.
The French do not intend to sign a
non-proliferation treaty.
The French launched their first.bal-
listic missile from a submerged submarine
on Wednesday. It was strictly an early
test, however, and it will be about three
.years before there is anything like a
Polaris weapons system ready for duty at
sea.
The government of Premier Kanellopoulos
was toppled early this morning by a group
of military officers �in a fast-moving, well-
planned coup,
One of the military's first acts was
to arrest left-wing leader Andreas-Papandreou
(Brief of 19 April). Kanellopoulos also
has been taken into custody and a guard has
been placed around the palace.
.The army controls Athens and the city
is quiet. There appears to be no danger
to Americans.
The coup is not likely to affect Greek
relations with the US.
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