THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF - 1968/01/27

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974247
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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The President's Daily Brief
Top Secret 27 January 1968
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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27 January 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
27 January 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Hanoi to Release Three US Pilots: Hanoi's
domestic radio service broadcast the announcement
this morning that the North Vietnamese army, "on
the occasion of Tet," had decided to release three
US "aggressor pilots" captured in North Vietnam.
These pilots, the broadcast went on, had "displayed
a repentant attitude" during the period of their
detention.
* * *
More Hanoi Comment on the Pueblo Seizure: The
Hanoi party daily.Nhan Dan, in an editorial broad-
cast internationarTY�Uri-76 January, condemned as
"a new act of war provocation" the sending of a US
"spy ship" into North Korean territorial waters
and praised the Koreans for "neatly capturing the
whole US gang of spies and their ship." In keeping
with other Hanoi comment on the incident, there
was no effort to tie the seizure of the.Pueblo to
the situation in Vietnam.
* * *
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Hanoi Urges Property Inventory: A late Decem-
ber article in the party journal urged cadre,
workers and government employees to tighten ,prop-
erty management systems and work for more accurate
inventory methods during the current "war environ-
ment." The article said a number of people had
not recognized their respdnsibility in the protec-
tion of government property and declared "waste and
corruption are still widespread."
* * *
Mai Van Bo Gets a Flag: Mai Van Bo's efforts
to obtain from the French Government more of the
prerogatives which go with his claimed status as
head of a diplomatic mission are making some head-
way. Bo is now flying a flag on his official
vehicle and he will soon be given diplomatic plates.
Heretofore, the North Vietnamese delegate general
had been driving around Paris with temporary tourist
license plates.
* * *
Hanoi on Tet Truce: Hanoi propaganda on the
impending Tet truce has continued to contrast the
shortened 36 hour allied ceasefire with the "more
humane" seven day standdown the Liberation Front
has called for. The Communists at the same time
have gone to some length to document alleged US
truce violations during the Christmas and New Year
periods and to imply that the "weakened position"
of the US will bring about additional violations
during Tet.
A 25 January Hanoi broadcast set the tone of
Communist comment. It claimed that the shortening
of the allied truce from 48 to 36 hours was a mani-
festation of the difficult situation and the "sav-
age nature" of the allies, who demonstrated no re-
gard for the South Vietnamese people. The state-,
ment went on to list alleged US violations of past
truces and to underscore the fact that the Libera-
tion Front's seven day standdown was undertaken out
of "deep respect for the people's customs and
habits."
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New French Press Agency Correspondent About to
Leave for Hanoi: The US embassy in Paris reports
that French Press Agency correspondent Jean Le
Mauff will leave Paris on 29 January and arrive in
Hanoi on 2 February to replace the present Agency
correspondent there, Bernard Cabanes. In a conver-
sation with the embassy in early January Le Mauff
gave the impression of being generally pro-American,
anti-Communist and having an open mind on his Viet-
nam assignmentl./
* * *
Hanoi Newspapers Merge: Hanoi has merged the
two local dailies that serve the metropolitan Hanoi-
Haiphong area'
The official explanation for the
merger is that the two newspapers (Thu Do, the
local party daily, and Thoi Moi, thW-TOEF1 govern-
ment paper) served the TiFW FUNdership and that a
single newspaper would enable the party and the
government to "more efficiently realize their ap-
proaches and policies."
The official explanation suggests that the
party may be having difficulty supervising both
these publications and that some news items out of
step with the official party line may have sneaked
through. It is equally possible, however, that the
reason for the merger is that the readership of
these newspapers has diminished because of the ex-
tensive evacuation of the capital area. One news-
paper can probably adequately cover subscription
needs, and will help to take some of the pressure
off local propaganda authorities. It is also pos-
sible that the bombings have in some way affected
the Hanoi publishing business as they have other
Hanoi enterprises.
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Nothing of significance to report.
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