THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974155
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: April 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2019
• Publication Date: December 5, 1967

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The President's Daily Brief
Top Secret 5 December 1967
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DAILY BRIEF
5 DECEMBER 1967
1, Cyprus
2. Yemen
3. Canada
The first Greek troops to leave
Cyprus should do so late this week
aboard a ship sent to the island yes-
terday. As yet no one has raised the
delicate question of how many Greeks
must be removed before the Turks are
satisfied that all are gone. For their
part, the Turks have said that the first
pullback of their forces would be in
Thrace and there are some signs they
are beginning to do so.
Makarios' belated and qualified
"yes" to U Thant's appeal casts some-
thing of a shadow over the days ahead
when bargaining in the UN will be dif-
ficult and frustrating.
The Soviets appear to be doing
more than just providing equipment to
prop up sagging republican military
fortunes.
As the Egyptians have withdrawn, the
royalists have come down out of the
hills and are pressing the republicans
hard.
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The Canadians now have briefed
NATO on the extent of the defense cuts
they plan in their European commitment.
As part of the campaign to trim spend-
ing, Ottawa intends over the next few
years to reduce its air squadrons on
the continent from six to four. The
Canadians also plan to eliminate one
of their two NATO-committed brigades
in Canada, and they may apply the scis-
sors to the 6,500-man army contingent
now in Europe.
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4, Soviet Union
5, Australia
6. Ivory Coast
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7. Czechoslovakia
A Soviet Foreign Ministry official
says that Moscow expects the US to get
tougher in Vietnam after Secretary
McNamara leaves the Pentagon.
The Russian probed a US diplomat
for the "real" reasons behind the Sec-
retary's departure. He discounted the
White House announcement as "propagan-
da." Noting that the Soviets held the
Secretary in high regard despite their
press attacks on him, the Russian offi-
cial said, "We prefer dealing with a
wise enemy."
Holt told Ambassador Clark that
the small Democratic Labor Party will
support the government on Vietnam.
The DLP holds the balance of power in
the Australian senate since the 25 No-
vember election, although it has only
a handful of seats.
Houphouet-Boigny is moving toward
improved relations with the white-
ruled states of southern Africa.
Houphouet has long
felt that unbending hostility to South
Africa, Rhodesia, and Portugal is an
exercise in futility.
Czech leadership is split and
some changes may be in the offing. Di-
vided along conservative and liberal
lines, the party hierarchy has been un-
able to deal effectively with Czecho-
slovakia's growing social and economic
problems. The Central Committee meets
shortly, and while President Novotny
probably will remain in the saddle, he
may have to throw some sacrificial
lambs to the liberal faction.
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8, Philippines
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Constabulary troopers have bagged
two senior Huk leaders in recent weeks.
Yesterday they killed Domingo Yambao,
a guerrilla chieftain operating north
of Manila who went by the alias "Com-
mander Freddy." Last month Zacarias de
la Cruz was gunned down in Bataan Prov-
ince. Also known as "Commander Delio,"
de la Cruz was considered the number
three man in the Huk hierarchy.
The Huks, however, have scored too.
Last week "Commander Freddy" massacred
an eight-man patrol.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
5 December 1967
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
The Annual Soviet Effort to Persuade_the US to
Prolong the Projected Holiday Bombing Pause Has
Begun: Last week a Soviet diplomat in London, speak-
ing personally," told a US correspondent that he
felt the Soviet Union could persuade Hanoi to enter
negotiations if the US announced no terminal date
for the bombing pause.
In addition, a Soviet Foreign Ministry official
recently assured a Western ambassador that Hanoi
would agree to talks within three weeks if the US
would stop bombing.
Similar approaches can be expected in the fu-
ture, but there is no indication at this time that
Moscow is acting at Hanoi's behest.
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in Hanoi Report Experiences During Bomb-
ing: The trade representative in Hanoi
TiFed off a cable just after the 17 Novem-
ber US raid. He reported that his living quarters
had been damaged and a Vietnamese worker there was
"severely wounded." There were no casualties, 3.3(h)(2)
however, and the "clean-up" was under way, he re-
ported.
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Draft Age in North Vietnam: A North Vietnam-
ese army prisoner recently captured in the South
claims that boys in his home province have been
drafted at age 15 since the first of this year.
Another prisoner stated earlier that he was 14 when
drafted in July 1966 and that all 14-year-old
boys had received induction papers.
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It is doubtful that North Vietnamese boys are
generally being drafted at 14 or 15, though this may
well happen in a few localities where local draft
boards have trouble meeting their quotas. The legal
draft age is 18 to 35. Analysis of North Vietnamese
population figures suggests that this should be ade-
quate. About 190,000 young men reach 18 each year,
and roughly half of these are probably fit for serv-
ice. The estimated 475,000 men already in North
Vietnamese military service constitute only about
eleven percent of the approximately 4.3 million men
of military age.
* * *
A Report from Paris: The US Embassy in Paris
has received one of the periodic reports on Vietnam
provided by members of the Far East section of the
French Foreign Office. The most interesting portion
of the present report deals with Hanoi's recent re-
quest to have its "General Representation" in Paris
upgraded to a consulate. According to the source,
the French Government is reluctant to grant there-
quest. (Consular privileges are presently exercised
exclusively by the Saigon Consulate General in Paris.)
The Foreign Office source reported that Hanoi's re-
quest is now "under study" and he claimed that legal
obstacles may forestall a favorable reply for the
time being. A favorable response at some future date
was not ruled out however.
The source also reported that the head of the
Far East section, Etienne Manac'h, will not stop in
either North or South Vietnam during the course of
his current Far East tour. The French representative
in Hanoi, it was also reported, will be returning to
Paris for a vacation this month.
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II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Hanoi on Antiwar Movement: In a broadcast in
Vietnamese to South Vietnam on 3 December, Hanoi
pointed out that the antiwar movement has spread from
the American public to the ranks of US troops. The
broadcast listed a series of Vietnam protests alleg-
edly mounted recently by present or former members
of the US armed forces. These included a Veterans
Day call by veterans of Korea and Vietnam for an
end to the bombing, and the recent activities of
the four sailors who jumped ship in Japan and are
presently in the Soviet Union. Hanoi claimed that
these demonstrations clearly indicate that the US
people are increasingly more conscious of their re-
sponsibility toward their country and are determined
"to prevent the ruling authorities from driving the
US into disasters and dishonor caused by the war of
aggression."
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Hanoi on "War Crimes Tribunal" Verdict: Hanoi,
in an international English language broadcast, has
reported the "stern verdict" of the second session
of the Bertrand Russell "War Crimes Tribunal" which
closed last week. The broadcast reported that "the
Johnson Administration is guilty of genocide in Viet-
nam," and that "its satellites in Australia, New
Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan are accomp-
lices in this crime." The "unquestionable conclu-
sions," according to Hanoi, constitute a "telling
blow to the aggressors in Washington." The broad-
cast thanked all concerned for their assistance in
bringing this session of the tribunal to a success-
ful conclusion. It promised that the South Vietnam-
ese people "will fight with still greater resolve"
to defeat the "US imperialist aggressors and their
satellites and hirelings, to show their gratitude
for the due punishment meted out to the number one
war criminals of our time."
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