THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974263
• Document Creation Date: January 28, 2019

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Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C05974263
The President's Daily Brief
To ecret 6 February 1968
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DAILY BRIEF
6 FEBRUARY 1968
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1. South Vietnam ,Heavy fighting broke out again'
(as of 5:00 AM last night in the outlying Cholon sec-
EST) tion of Saigon, where the Viet Cong
overran a national police precinct head-
quarters. There are signs that the
Communists are moving fresh forces into
the capital area.
2. Korea
US and South Vietnamese troops are
slowly increasing their control in Hue.
In much of the countryside, the Commu-
nist offensive is losing steam. Signi-
ficant enemy concentrations and battle
preparations, however, point to the
possibility of a renewal of widespread
military activity.
Most elements of the government
are now pulling together to deal with
the crisis. Thieu has been uncharacter-
istically firm. Some members of the
upper house are striking sour notes,
however, and may press for an investi-
gation as to why the government was not
better prepared for the Tet offensive.
Seoul continues to boil over what
it considers US failure to consult on
how to handle the Pueblo incident.
There was a small anti-American demon-
stration yesterday, along with threats
of bigger ones. /
Yesterday the North Korean radio
broadcast a fifth "confession" from a
Pueblo crewman which, like previous
ones, expressed "guilt" over and apolo-
gized for intrusion into North Korean
waters.
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3. Middle East
4. Egypt
5. Yemen
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Arab leaders are getting fed up
with UN emissary Jarring. They say he
simply travels from capital to capital
without coming up with any new pro-
posals--while Israel digs in deeper in
the occupied areas. The Jordanians,
pointing to recent Israeli moves around
Jerusalem, are threatening to go back
to the Security Council unless Jarring
does something.
Since June the role of So-
viet advisers has progressed from test
flying newly arrived planes to in-
structing on tactics to flying opera-
tional patrols. Egyptian officers are
said to resent all this as a slur on
their ability and Egypt's sovereignty.
The military stalemate continues,
despite royalist claims that Sana is
surrounded, all roads out, and "the
ring closing tighter." The royalists
admit that the republicans seem to have
plenty of ammunition and that republi-
can air strikes, although fewer, are
still hampering royalist operations.
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6. Panama
7. United_Kingdom
The campaign is getting nastier.
Samudio's forces virtually control the
government machinery, and he may get
both the electoral tribunal and the
National Guard in his corner. If he
does, backers of the popular Arnulfo
Arias will be tempted to resort to vio-
lence.
Embassy London, in assessing the
economic situation since devaluation,
believes the government's program is
basically sound. The embassy feels,
however, that implementation is seri-
ously threatened by the uneasiness of
the financial community, business, and
labor, as well as declining public con-
fidence in the government and the prime
minister.
Potentially troublesome parts of
the program, such as reduction of pri-
vate domestic consumption and clamp-
downs on wage and price increases, have
not yet been announced.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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6 February 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
6 February 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
The Hanoi Scene. The following are observations
three surface-to-air missiles flying
horizontally on 15 January they prob-
ably. hit around Gia Lam where,,\"the damage
\
done by their mishandling" would be blamed on the US.
--It takes 15 days to get a letter from Haiphong.
--There was a big recruiting drive in Hanoi in
January.
the Chinese, Cuban, and Ko-
rean embassies are digging bi er and better air
�raid shelters. The Chinese, are preparing
not only for the flattening of Hanoi, but for the
possible use of atomic weapons as well.
Hanoi Again Rejects San Antonio Formula: In
its first statement on negotiations since the be-
ginning of the Communist offensive in the South,
Hanoi has issued a routine rejection of the San An-
tonio formula and President Johnson's 1 February
comments on the prospects for settling the war. A
commentary in the party daily Nhan Dan broadcast on
5 February claimed that the US was tT1l "setting
conditions" by demanding "reciprocity" and urging
the Vietnamese people to pay a price by stopping or
slowing down the "patriotic struggle." This de-
mand, the commentary alleged, was the essence of
the San Antonio formula and repeated by the Presi-
dent on 1 February.
Hanoi made no direct connection between events
in the South and the question of negotiations. The
broadcast also made no mention of recent remarks by
US officials on the reciprocity aspect of the San
Antonio formula.
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French Correspondent Reports on Strategy: A
4 February dispatch from the French correspondent in
Hanoi describing Communist objectives in the current
military offensive appears to be another North Viet-
namese - inspired story. The newsman, Bernard Cabanes,
claims that the Viet Cong and Hanoi are more elated
about the political results of their five-day offen-
sive in South Vietnam than they are about its military
success. Quoting unidentified sources in Hanoi,
Cabanes says that the fighting in South Vietnam is
only the beginning of a "new phase of struggle" and
that it will be weeks before the political gains of
their new offensive can be evaluated.
Besides the battles for large towns which have
been publicized, the Communists claim to have "swept
into many small towns and villages" throughout the
country. The plan, according to this news analysis,
is to hold territory where possible and set up new
administrative units. Where the ground cannot be
held, their objective is to destroy the local gov-
ernment structure.
This analysis is a reasonable approximation of
Communist strategy in last week's attacks. Cabanes'
material is always censored and frequently inspired.
This kind of interpretation enables Hanoi to capi-
talize on the potential political disruption of the
offensive and at the same time makes allowances for
military reverses.
Giap Reported in Hanoi: The French correspon-
dent also reports that General Giap was in Hanoi dur-
ing Tet. There has been persistent speculation in
the Western press that he was personally leading
troops around Khe Sanh.
*
Shipping Report: Cargo deliveries to North Viet-
nam by foreign flag ships in January totaled about
192,300 tons, some 45,000 tons more than the previous
monthly record import level set in May 1967. Large
deliveries of foodstuffs, fertilizer, and petroleum
accounted for the increase.
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* * *
Light transport aircraft of this type--modified
for ground attack--bombed a radar facility in Laos on
12 January. The attack was not a success, and one
of the two attacking planes was shot down. It is pos-
sible, however, that the AN-2s are preparing for a
second raid on the same facility. (It supports US
air operations against North Vietnam.) On the other
hand, there are tenuous indications that the AN-2s
could be directed against allied forces in the vicinity
of the Demilitarized Zone.
* * *
International Control Commission Still Reluctant
to Fly: The ICC aircraft will not make today's sched-
uled flight to Hanoi where it was to pick up the three
American pilots the North Vietnamese are releasing.
The aircraft is based atSaigon (it makes stops at
Phnom Penh and Vientiane en route to Hanoi) and the
security situation has put the ICC Saigon secretariat
temporarily out of action. The ICC hopes to make the
next scheduled flight on Friday.
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Nothing of significance to report.
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