THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 DECEMBER 1967

Document Type: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
0005974194
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
T
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
September 16, 2015
Document Release Date: 
September 16, 2015
Sequence Number: 
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
December 28, 1967
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 The President's Daily Brief op etre t 28 December 1967 N. 23 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50x1 DAILY BRIEF 28 DECEMBER 1967 1. Vietnam 2. Laos 3. Cambodia Government forces are reported to have recaptured the central Laotian town they lost to the Communists on Christmas Day. Elsewhere, there is Communist pressure, but no major moves. Press reports out of Laos have tended to exaggerate the Communist campaign, although it is more extensive than in recent years. Sihanouk is reacting predictably to the US note. Assuming his favorite role as the Cambodian David up against the US Goliath, the Prince is trying to build international opinion--and pres- sure--against any moves into Cambodian territory. Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 4. Communist China 5. South Korea 6. Chile Fists flew in the National Assembly this morning as progovernment legislators stormed the speaker's platform and re- captured it from opposition members. The opposition had been holding a live- in on the platform since they seized it last week in protest over the govern- ment's failure to check election irregu- larities. Early reports indicate the government majority quickly rammed through the 1968 budget. The Assembly is scheduled to adjourn tomorrow. Chilean Communists hope to combine all the country's leftist political parties into a united front to capture the 1970 presidential election. The Communists recently had some success in a by-election by teaming up with one other party. This success may help them pull in other leftist parties and give their front a good start to- ward 1970. Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50x1 7. Yemen 8. Congo The battered republicans are now seeking mediation. On Tuesday a top republican leader said he would welcome the services of a three-nation commis- sion formed last summer to seek a nego- tiated solution to the civil war. Ear- lier the republicans had rejected the commission's efforts. The royalists-- who are not losing the war, but are far from winning it--may be agreeable to talks. The fate of the mercenaries re- mains unsettled. The Congolese still want them, and Rwanda still says no. Congolese Foreign Minister Bomboko as- sured the US charg?hat the mercen- aries would be treated tenderly if re- turned. He said they would be "put in a comfortable prison" and their trial would be "in the best tradition of European justice." There is no indi- cation the mercenaries care to take their chances on Congolese concepts of European justice. 9. France De Gaulle may be ready to lift his Middle East arms embargo. 50X1 soon and a torpedo boat al- ready was on the way. The French also have indicated their willingness to sell aircraft to Iraq. If De Gaulle is end- ing the embargo, it is probably because he feels he has made all the political profit he can and now it is time to look to the commercial side of the ledger. 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Top Secret FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY Special Daily Report on North Vietnam Top Secret 28 December 1967 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Special Daily Report on North Vietnam for the President's Eyes Only 28 December 1967 I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION .More on Living Conditions: Reports on living and working conditions in North Vietnam continue /women have replaced men in "virtually every field of endeavor," and that women constitute the great majority of the militia and about one-half of the armed security service. 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Agricul- 50X1 tural and construction workers usually work about a seven-hour day and are 50X1 subjected to short, political indoctrination ses- sions about once a week--a not excessive requirement in view of war needs and the Communist penchant for political indoctrination, the draft age 50X1 as 18 and illegal deferments are not 50X1 uncommon, citing examples of the successful bribery of both medical officials ana.personnel cadre in charge of assignment and recruitment. * * * 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 ,d0X1 ?2- Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 * * * II. . NORTH .VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US 'POLITICAL ATTITUDES ON THE WAR There is nothing of significance to report. ?3- 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A005700120001-1