THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 SEPTEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976335
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: September 2, 1968

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006400010001-5
The President's Daily Brief
7----ro?fiTh'F-rre-t---2 September 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
2 SEPTEMBER 1968
1, Czechoslovakia
2, Rumania
Last night Dubcek and his col-
leagues emerged from a two-day session
called to name a new central committee.
At an initial glance, it is hardly a
central committee calculated to please
the Russians--the majority would have
been termed liberal before interven-
tion, and 12 are holdovers from the
extraordinary congress which was anath-
ema to the Soviets.
This liberal weight in the new com-
mittee should help to restore some of
the public confidence Dubcek has been
losing. The pre-invasion liberals, how-
ever, may now be considerably more cir-
cumspect in exercising their philosophy.
The Czechoslovak communiqu?nnouncing
the new committee pointed out it would
serve "for a transient period" until a
party congress--one acceptable to Mos-
cow--can be convened. The Soviets have
not yet commented on the central com-
mittee or its composition.
The situation remains unchanged
with no abnormal Soviet or Bulgarian
military moves
Bucharest is calm. Yesterday Associ-
ated Press carried a story alleging
that Ceausescu had proposed a series
of concessions to the Soviets including
a formal declaration of loyalty to the
Warsaw Pact and increased trade with
Eastern Europe.
We
have seen nothing as yet to confirm it.
Moscow has not reacted publicly
to the President's statement. The Pol-
ish party paper, however, said yester-
day any suggestion that further inter-
vention in Eastern Europe might be
contemplated was "completely fabricated.
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3. France
4. Communist China
The United States Intelligence
Board has approved a National Intel-
ligence Estimate entitled The Outlook
for France. The estimate for the next
year or so concludes:
--No effective threat to De Gaulle
or his program is likely from within
the political system.
--Student disorders and labor
strikes are likely, but they probably
can be contained.
--Despite serious problems, the
economy is basically strong and a de-
valuation of the franc is not fore-
seen.
--France's foreign policy is un-
likely to undergo any substantial
change.
Since the Cultural Revolution
short-circuited China's bureaucracy,
there has been ample evidence that Pe-
king's representatives abroad are often.
in the dark about what policy currently
is in vogue.
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5, Israel-Egypt
? The Israelis are asking for a UN
Security Council meeting on the Egyp-
tian raid across the Suez Canal last
Monday night. Informing Ambassador
Barbour of this decision, an Israeli
official said yesterday that Cairo's
response through General Bull had been
disappointing. The government, he said,
had to face the question of "direct per-
suasion" or other means, and had chosen
the Security Council as the most ration-
al compromise.
Moshe Dayan had threatened "the
most severe retaliation" unless the
Egyptians apologized and made amends
for the raid.
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
2 September 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
2 September 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
The Status of Infiltration: There has ?been a
marked decline in August in the introduction of new
North Vietnamese infiltration groups into the pipe-
line leading to South Vietnam.
.Poor weather conditions obtain along much of
the infiltration route in North Vietnam, and Laos
during August.. The Weather this year has been un-
usually severe and may have hampered troop move-
ment, It is also possible that many infiltrators
may have been diverted to flood control or road re-
pair and maintenance tasks.
. Analysis of infiltration statistics during past
years generally indicates that an increased tempo
of military operations in the South is preceded by
a relatively high rate of infiltration some two to
four months beforehand. Arrivals in South Vietnam
in July and August, for example, have probably been
at an all-time high
The trip into South Vietnam generally
,takes two to lour months.
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Front in Sweden: The Liberation Front appears
to be moving ahead with plans to establish an in-
formation office in Stockholm. A publication of the
ruling Swedish Social Democratic Party reported on
28 August that quarters had been arranged to house
the Front group expected to staff the office. The
US Embassy has heard that the staffers were due in
Stockholm before the end of August.
* * *
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II. :NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR . .
There is nothing of significance to report today.
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