THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974257
• Document Creation Date: January 28, 2019

Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C05974257
The President's Daily Brief
Tolti Secret 2 February 1968
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DAILY BRIEF
2 FEBRUARY 1968
1. South Vietnam Pockets of Communist forces are
(as of 5:00 AM still holding out within or on the out-
EST) skirts of key cities in each of the
four corps areas.
2. Korea
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Saigon was relatively calm last
night. Early this morning, however,
the Viet Cong overran two police pre-
cinct stations, and there was sporadic
firing in other parts of the city. In
the northern half of the country, Com-
munists still have strong positions in
Hue, Kontum, Ban Me Thuot, and Dalat.
Sharp fighting is continuing in several
cities of the delta area; a US Navy
base was temporarily overrun at Vinh
Long.
The situation around Khe Sanh has
remained unusually quiet since the out-
break of the current offensive./
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/ Aerial re-
connaissance of the Khe Sanh area shows
a major enemy effort to dig trenches
and bunkers ever nearer the Marine Base.
Pyongyang has not yet made any pub-
lic comment on yesterday's talk at Pan-
munjom. North Korean air and naval ac-
tivity, with the exception of air pa-
trols over Wonsan and a tight naval pa-
trol along the lower eat coast, now
consists of routine training missions.
Military activity along the Demilitarizep
Zone is at a low level.
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3. Soviet Union
4. Iran -
Saudi Arabia
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The dispute between Iran and the
Arabian American Oil Company (operating
from Saudi Arabia) over drilling rights
in the Persian Gulf took a nasty turn
yesterday. The Iranians boarded an
ARAMCO drilling rig within the Saudi
zone and took off ten Americans and
sixty Saudis.
The Shah has apparently ordered
the release of these people, but the
barge may wind up in Iranian hands.
This gunboat diplomacy will set
back chances for meaningful Saudi-
Iranian cooperation in the gulf area.
Right after the incident the Shah can-
celled his planned visit to Saudi Arabia.
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5. Greece
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The junta, jumpy over reports of
antigovernment activity abroad, claims
to have evidence that the King is plot-
ting against it. An emissary is said
to be en route to Rome to warn Constan-
tine against such activity. We have no
evidence that the King is up to anything.
* * *
3.
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An Ankara broad-
cast yesterday noted that the Turkish
President had returned on Wednesday
from a trip, but that his foreign min-
ister had continued on to "West Germany."
6. Denmark Radical Liberal Party leader Hil-
7. Venezuela
mar Baunsgaard
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has put together a
three-party coalition government.
There is no indication how the three
parties resolved their differences over
NATO. The Radical Liberals have plugged
for a referendum on Denmark's participa-
tion, while the other partners are
strong supporters of the alliance.
The new government will be greeted
by rising public pressure for redefini-
tion of US treaty rights in Greenland.
,The word is going around Caracas
that Communist terrorists will try to
kidnap the visiting commander of US
Army Forces Southern Command, Major Gen-
eral Johnson. US military have been
kidnaped twice before in Venezuela, but
this time the police claim to be on top
of things and are throwing extra se-
curity around the General.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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2 February 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
2 February 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Peking Exports Cultural Revolution: Peking
has once again tread on Hanoi's sensitivities by
trying to foist off Cultural Revolution claptrap.
On Tuesday, Peking broadcast a news story about
Vietnamese citizens who were frustrated in their
desire to study Mao's teaching. According to the
broadcast, there were no Vietnamese translations
of Mao's works and Chinese experts in Vietnam were
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forced to help spread the word. The news item also
described eager Vietnamese begging Peking to print
and circulate more copies of Mao's quotations.
While the North Vietnamese have been cautious
on what they say in public about China's Cultural
Revolution, they want no part of it. Last spring
the theoretical journal Hoc Tap carried an article
implicitly suggesting thT-UhTice-se go elsewhere with
their revolution. This was apparently not enough
to deter Peking permanently. Recent repatriates
from North Vietnam confirm that Chinese efforts
along this line are a continuing source of fric-
tion between Peking and Hanoi.
* * *
North Vietnam's Industrial Crop Production: An
editorial in the 24 January Nhan Dan urged cadre
and peasants in agricultural-T6iTpTFEtives to increase
industrial crop production during the winter-spring
growing season. (Examples of North Vietnamese in-
dustrial crops are cotton, jute, and soybeans.)
The goal of planting nine percent of total culti-
vated acreage to industrial crops has not been met,
the editorial said, and in fact there had been a
"downward trend" in the past two years in total in-
dustrial crop acreage. The editorial added that
leading cadre and peasants in some areas wrongly
held the idea that the only aim of wartime agricul-
ture was to provide food for the army and people,
resulting in a preference for grain crops and "neg-
ligence in growing industrial crops."
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report.
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