THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 19 AUGUST 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976311
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: August 19, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
The President's Daily Brief
-rop?S-reicet. 19 August 1968
23
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
ouX1
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
19 AUGUST 1968
1. Czechoslovakia -
Soviet Union
2. South Vietnam
Moscow has stepped up the pres-
sure again. According to an informant
of our embassy in Prague, the Soviets
are once more demanding that their
troops be stationed in Czechoslovakia.
One despondent Czech official says
there are numerous Soviet agents ready
to provoke incidents in Prague. He
thinks the situation in some ways is
worse than it was before last month's
meeting in Warsaw.
We also note that the Soviet media
have increased their criticism of the
Czechs. They are edging closer to an
open charge that Dubcek does not have
things under control.
By Soviet standards this charge
has some validity. In a recent meet-
ing with 70 editors, representatives
of the government apparently failed to
persuade the newsmen to accept some
restrictions on their freedom. This
failure presumably will generate more
pressure from Moscow.
Communist-initiated military ac-
tivity has dropped almost to zero since
the attacks Sunday morning. This sug-
gests that Sunday's action was a one-
shot affair. We may see more of this
type of harassment before a full-scale
offensive gets under way. Communist
forces remain in a high state of readi-
ness.
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
WX1
3. South Vietnam
4, West Germany
5. Bolivia
Nguyen Luu Vien, an old associate
of Premier Huong, told a US observer
recently that Thieu and Huong want to
name him interior minister, We also
hear they may fire Defense Minister Vy,
who allegedly is involved in a case of
corruption being scrutinized by the leg-
islature.
These reports add substance to
earlier information that Thieu and
Huong are planning to move Interior
Minister Khiem to the defense ministry,
make him head of the Joint General
Staff as well, and replace him at In-
terior with Vien. Khiem is anathema
to Ky, but we believe Ky would go along
with the appointments.
Student demonstrations are adding
to Barrientos' woes. On Friday the
National Guard broke up a student march
and surrounded the university, but the
demonstrators are undeterred. There are
even rumors that they plan to "rescue"
Antonio Arguedas, the controversial ex-
minister who returned to La Paz Satur-
day and is now in government custody.
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
- Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
ouX1
6. Syria - Even the close friends of the
International Communists came in for ham-handed
Communism treatment at the recent youth festi-
val in Bulgaria. The Syrian delega-
tion, for instance, was formed by the
festival's organizers out of locally
available Syrian Communist students.
We had noted the thin representa-
tion from the Arab world and had at-
tributed it to the presence of an
Israeli delegation, but this incident
leads us to think there may, have been
other reasons as well.
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
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
19 August 1968
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
WX1
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
19 August 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Hien's Activities in Laos: Le Van Hien, Hanoi's
ambassador to Laos who returned to Vientiane last
month, appears to be attempting to recruit support
for North Vietnam among Vietnamese nationals in Laos.
He has called a meeting of Vientiane's Vietnamese
community for 24 August,
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
(21)(1
NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
?2-
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8
Top Secret
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006300270001-8