THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 4 OCTOBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976391
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: October 4, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY 'BRIEF
4 OCTOBER 1968
1. Mexico
2. Czechoslovakia -
Soviet Union
No new outbreaks have been re-
ported from Mexico City this morning.
Neither has there been any student re-
action to the announcement that the
Olympic games would go on, although
earlier yesterday some plans to sabo-
tage Olympic installations were being
,considered.
It now seems clear the battle
Wednesday night was a premeditated
provocation by well-armed students.
.They remain in an ugly mood--a mood
matched by government security forces.
It is hard to see how more trouble can
be avoided.
Dubcek, Cernik, and Slovak party
boss Husak got a bleak reception in
Moscow. Although met by top Soviet
leaders, they got none of the honors
normally given such a delegation. This,
and other signs of growing Soviet irri-
tability, point toward some tough hours
for the trio from Prague.
-Svoboda's .Abaence. from the dele-
gation will weaken it. While the So-
viets may feel the combination before
them is one that will crumble under
pressure, we note that the delegation
included none of the conservatives
.either. Any concessions inliloscow also
are subject to .approval by the Czecho-
slovak presidium.
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3. Nonproliferation The British have about finished
Treaty polling their dependent territories
and will be in a position to sign the
treaty when parliament returns 14 Oc-
4. Latin America
. NATO
tober.0
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Terrorist attacks against US per 50X1
sonnel and facilities are expected in
various Latin American countries next
week in connection with the first an-
niversary ?of Che Guevara's death on
9 October.
All US Embassies have been
alerted. Local security forces are
taking precautions.
The Defense Planning Committee has
produced a paper urging early improve-
ment in the Alliance's defenses--and
recommending the Europeans pick up the
ticket for the major share of that im-
provement. Several members are already
prepared to raise their contributions.
Italy and Greece have pledged to up-
grade both the quality and quantity of
their committed forces; the Germans are
offering to call up a limited number of
reserves.
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6. Peru
7. Iraq
The armed forces seem to have the
situation firmly in hand. There have
been some minor clashes with students,
and the opposition party is planning
to call a general strike. While :a
strike would increase the possibility
of clashes, it is not likely to reverse
the coup.
?An all-military government has
been formed under General Velasco, the
army commander who led the takeover.
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Top Secret
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
4 October 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
4 October 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Food Situation: According to the mid-August is-
sue of the party journal Nhan Dan, the tenth-month
rice crop about to be harvested was planted late and
suffered from flooding caused by heavy rains and
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summer typhoons. This is a virtual admission that
the government is expecting a disappointing autumn
rice crop, which usually accounts for almost two-
thirds of the annual rice output. The early crop
accounting for the other third is estimated to have
been 200,000 tons short of the 1,500,000-ton average
of recent years.
Food delivered by sea to North Vietnam during
the first nine months of this year totaled 562,000
tons, a 72-percent increase over the same period of
1967. These food imports--mostly aid from the So-
viet Union and Communist China--have been crucial
for maintaining the level of rations in the cities.
Observations from Hanoi: A Western traveler to
Hanoi states that as of mid-September recruiting
for the military services had been increased. Some
16-year-olds, as well as some physically disabled
persons, are now being drafted. Those with physical
disabilities are assigned to the home guard. All
others are classified as fit for foreign service--
either in South Vietnam or Laos--after a three-month
intensive training course.
Hanoi residents also told the source there has
been an increase in military police activities in
the city. These people believe that the new check
points and augmented surveillance procedures are re-
lated to the increase in conscription.
The traveler also learned that many Vietnamese
trainees studying in Eastern Europe are returning
home with specialties which have little or no rela-
tion to Vietnamese needs. The example given--per-
haps overemphasized for purposes of illustration--
was that of interior decorator.
-2-
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.Propaganda on the Demilitarized Zone: Hanoi
propaganda is stressing charges of increased US.ac-
tivities in the Demilitarized Zone. The latest
tirade was an article in the army journal, broadcast
over Radio Hanoi's domestic Service on 1 October,
claiming that the "resumption of aggressive activi-
ties" in the zone had been roundly defeated during
the past month.
* * *
'II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
.Comment on Ambassador Ball's Resignation: Hanoi
Radio claimed on 29 September that Ambassador Ball's
resignation from his United Nations' post was so pre-
cipitous that the Secretary of State was forced to
make a speech in.Ball's place at the opening of the
General Assembly. The broadcast, to Vietnamese audi-
ences in South Vietnam, alleged the only thing anyone
knows about Mr. Wiggins is that he is a hawk on Viet-
nam.
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Top Secret
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