THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 JANUARY 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005974230
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: January 18, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
---TV -17777-- 18 January 1968
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DAILY BRIEF
18 JANUARY 1968
1. Guatemala
2. Brazil
3. Soviet Union
A prime suspect in the murder of
the Americans was himself gunned down
by security officers Tuesday night.
The dead man was a high-ranking Commu-
nist.
Costa e Silva is dragging his
feet on the choice of supersonic fight-
ers. The Brazilian military is plunk-
ing for the Mirage, but Costa e Silva
personally prefers the F-5.
The Brazilian President, however,
is aware that the F-5s may no longer
be available and is looking for a way
to keep his options open a bit longer.
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4. Jordan
5. Cyprus
6. Iraq
The Greeks told U Thant their with-
drawal of illegal troops was completed
Tuesday. About 7,000 have been taken
off the island. By our estimates, this
would leave some 1,500-2,000 Greek sol-
diers illegally on Cyprus, most assigned
to the national guard. The Turks--whose
estimates are considerably higher--in-
sist the national guard contingent is
part of the bargain.
There are unmistakable signs of
turmoil in Baghdad. The army has had
to help police restore order after sev-
eral days of student riots. A general
strike is threatened for today.
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7. Soviet Union
8. West Germany
9. Cuba
Soviet military aid has increased
since the fall of 1966 despite cool
political relations between Moscow and
Havana. The type of equipment being
delivered
/enables Castro
to modernize Cuba's armed forces and
replace worn?out material, but does not
give him an offensive capability. The
Soviets still have about 2,000 military
advisers in Cuba.
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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18 January 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
18 January 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Hanoi's Man in Paris Tries to Heighten World
Interest in Trinh's Offer: Mai Van Bo did not cut
any important new ground in his interview in Paris
on Tuesday, but he did expand a little on Foreign
Minister Trinh's 29 December "will talk" statement.
He said negotiations could begin "a suitable time"
after a bombing halt.* He also indicated that both
the level of talks and the agenda were negotiable
and could be discussed during a preliminary meeting
between the two parties. US acceptance of the Trinh
offer could be relayed to Hanoi either by means of a
US statement or "any other procedure" demonstrating
US sincerity, he said. Bo, however, underscored
Hanoi's contention that there will be no reciprocal
gesture to a US bombing halt.
Bo's purpose was clearly to reinforce the im-
pression that Hanoi has made a significant initia-
tive and that now it is up to the US to respond
without asking anything more of the Communists.
Bo, who is one of Hanoi's most authoritative
spokesmen, went out of his way to secure immediate
release of his interview. When he found that the
French TV program which was to carry it was post-
poned, he had his material released through the
French News Agency and simultaneously offered it to
other Western news services.
A cable from the US Embassy, Paris, reports that
Bo gave another interview yesterday and was some-
what more specific. He said talks could begin
in "a matter of days" after a bombing halt. This
interview is the one reported in this morning's
Washington Post and sourced to "North Vietnamese
officials."
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* * *
More on a Hanoi Trade Mission to Singapore:
Singapore will permit a visit by a trade mission
from Hanoi in the near future but a government
spokesman states that the mission will not be
granted permanent status. Singapore's trade with
Hanoi totaled only $3.5 million in 1966, less than
one-tenth of one percent of total trade. Primarily,
North Vietnam ships coffee to Singapore in ex-
change for Malaysian crude rubber and coconut oil.
Singapore is a major transshipment port for Far
Eastern trade, and Soviet ships bound for Haiphong
from the Black Sea stop at the port regularly.
* * *
Belgian Communists Plan Big Antiwar Show: Bel-
gian Communists have overcome some factional diffi-
culties in the national Vietnam committee and are
now clearing the decks for what they expect to be
the biggest anti-Vietnam war demonstration in Belgian
history. It is planned for 2 March and five or six
other groups have promised to join the Communists in
the effort.
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
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More Hanoi Reports on US and other Western Anti-
war Activities: Hanoi radio's international service
carried a broadcast in English on 17 January report-
ing what it implied was an upsurge of antiwar senti-
ment in the US labor movement. It claimed that over
500 members of 50 US labor unions in 38 of the 50
states had recently issued a statement in Chicago
saying that "nothing can justify the sacrifice of
countless precious lives of Americans and Vietnamese."
The group, according to the broadcast, went on to
demand an end to the bombing and the opening of ne-
gotiations with the Liberation Front.
The same Hanoi broadcast also carried accounts
of recent anti-Vietnam war meetings in New Zealand,
the Netherlands, France, and Tunisia.
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