THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 31 DECEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976539
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: December 31, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006600350001-6
The President's Daily Brief
7-.)pSee4zeL31 December 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
31 DECEMBER 1958
1. Israel-Lebanon
The main Arab terrorist organiza-
tion, Fatah, has announced it will
launch ,a "rain" of revenge raids in
retaliation for the Israeli strike at
Beirut. We believe there may well be
a new burst of terrorist attacks.
Nasir, who must feel his image is
slipping badly, may decide that Egypt
must make a dramatic retaliatory at-
tack. His one outstanding success was
the sinking of the Israeli destroyer
Eilat in October 1967. Israeli ship-
ping in the Mediterranean or the Red
Sea is an inviting target. A foray
against Israeli positions across the
Suez Canal can also be launched with
little preparation. The Soviet Union,
if consulted, would probably oppose
such action.
? Israeli
reaction would certainly be heavy in
any event.
World press and diplomatic reac-
tion to the Beirut attack continues to
be almost entirely sympathetic to Leba-
non. Even some Israeli newspapers are
beginning to question the wisdom of Fri-
day's raid.
* ?* *
?The Security Council recessed early
this morning, still without action on
Lebanon's complaint. ? It.will reconvene
at 3:00 PM EST,
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AREA CHINA
OF
MAP
BURMA
Chinese Push Ahead With Laos Road Building
NORTH
VIETNAM
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
Meng-la
Boun
Neua /Chinese
Saly
1 Chinese engineer unit
believed to be active in
Phong Saly province.
A, _.
Yieng >?-
Pou Kfia
Ban
Boten
?
- Narntha*
DOn
Efe.11. -
Phu' 7
K i
'
New road motorable to 5'
miles from Muong Sai
Nam
Bac /
Muopg
Sai ,\
and one report indi-
cates possible extension
southwest of M. Sai.
_
+-tOuei
Sai
Muong Houn
,
_
Pakteng:
? 25
Statute Miles
93320 12-68 CIA
-;/-102
ANG PRABAN,1G
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2. Laos
3. Central America
Chinese Communist army engineers
are pushing ahead with road construc-
tion in two areas of northern Laos.
One section of road is now completed
to within five miles of the Communist
stronghold of Muong Sai. Work also is
progressing on sections of road in
Phong Saly Province further north.
? These roads will considerably help the
resupply of Communist garrisons in the
area.
Chinese engineers bring their own
security units with them and there may
be as many as 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese
in northern Laos.
* * *
North Vietnamese troops have re-
turned to the offensive in both north
and south Laos. Attopeu, a provincial
capital in the south, is the scene of
some particularly active skirmishing.
Economic integration is still a
distant smudge on the horizon as dis-
putes continue to plague the Central
American Common Market. Currently,
Nicaragua's Somoza is irked by his Mar-
ket partners--Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Honduras, and Guatemala--where congres-
sional roadblocking has prevented pas-
sage of economic legislation. Somoza,
in fact, has threatened to pull out
altogether. This probably is bluff,
but it is symptomatic. The prognosis
for improved cooperation is not bright.
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4, Tunisia
5. Belgium
Another first for Apollo-8: Presi-
dent Bourguiba, who has never before
been known to touch alcohol, toasted
the Apollo crew with champagne. The
occasion was a dinner Bourguiba gave
senior American diplomats to celebrate
Apollo's historic flight.
King Baudouin is showing signs of
becoming a more forceful element in
Belgian politics. Heretofore the King
has been quite willing to stay in show-
case status, but in recent months he
has taken a stand on several major is-
sues including the linguistic dispute
which keeps Flemish and Walloon speak-
ing Belgians perennially at each other's
throats. Last fall the King also lob-
bied with his principal ministers ?for
an increase in Belgium's NATO forces.
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z
Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
.) North Vietnamese Reflections of US
Political Attitudes
Top Secret 50)"
_. 16
31 December 1968
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OW\ I
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
31 December 1968
I. NOTES.ON THE SITUATION
* * *
* * *
More Repairs to Rail Lines: North.Vietnam is
,reconstructing the 900?footVietTri Rail and High--
way Bridge, the most important link in the rail line
to the northwest region of the country.
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North Vietnam Reconstructing Viet In Bridge
93319 12-68 CIA
???
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-.Bomb damage, to the Viet Tri Bridge was left
unrepaired for some two years. During the bombing
years', the Hanoi-Lao Cai-Kunming line that the
bridge served was apparently not needed for deliv-
eries of aid to-North,Vietnam. The line, however,
is the major economic lifeline to the northwest
region.
* * *
'II. .NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Propaganda Efforts: Vietnamese Communists are
making a special effort to keep their case in front
of the American people throughout this holiday sea-
son. In addition to publicizing the prisoner re-
lease issue, Communists on both sides of the 17th
Parallel are sending holiday greetings to the Ameri-
can public. Ho Chi Minh yesterday issued a special
-2-
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New Year's greeting in which he asked for increased
support from the American people for Communist ne-
gotiating positions and emphasized the importance of
US troop withdrawal. The head of the Liberation
Front delegation in Paris, in a special Christmas
Eve interview with a CBS correspondent, claimed that
the Communists make a sharp distinction between the
American people and their "war leaders."
-3-
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Top Secret
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