THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 1 JUNE 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976178
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: June 1, 1968

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The President's Dail.y. Brief
?7q3-5tf,lagt-_. 1 June 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF.
1 JUNE 1968
1. France
France seems to be pulling back
from civil war. The general strike is
losing momentum, although the railway
workers and some others say they will
stay off the job. The established
unions are concentrating on case-by-
case negotiations with employers. In
most cases they are getting deals which
are better than the concessions an-
nounced last weekend. Some union lead-
ers think the strike will be largely
over by the middle of next week.
Just as De Gaulle has diverted
the unions into traditional economic
channels, his call for elections has
gotten the politicians thinking in tra-
ditional terms again. Political lead-
ers of all colorations ,are busily get-
ting ready for the elections late this
month. The old splits between the Com-
munist and the non-Communist lett have
already reappeared.
The students and unorganized work-
ers who touched Oft the crisis are as
unhappy as ever, but they too have lost
much of their momentum, A good many of
the grievances which turned this into
the biggest strike in_French history
are still present however, and may re-
turn to haunt De Gaulle
The French general: staff is on 24-
hour alert, but the generals do not
think the army will be needed unless
the dissidents unexpectedly start shoot-
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Our embassy estimates that the
strike has already knocked about two
?percentage points off this Year's eco-
nomic growth rates in France. The Bank
of France has used up most of its readi-
ly available foreign exchange reserves.
The bank is activating emergency arrange-
ments with other financial institutions,
including the US Federal Reserve. 50X1
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.2. North Vietnam
3. Ecuador
Le Duc Tho, one of the top-ranking
figures in the North Vietnamese Commu-
nist hierarchy, is scheduled to arrive
in Paris on Monday to join Hanoi's del-
egation as a "special adviser."
Tho was with the Communist forces
in South Vietnam in the 1950s, and his
absence from the Hanoi public scene
since late 1967 suggests that he may
recently have been back in the. South.
He brings to Paris a reputation as an
outspoken hardliner, a .standing at home
which probably gives him some real de-
cision-making authority, and .an exper-
tise which will serve the delegation
well when South Vietnamese questions
arise.
The addition to Hanoi's delegation
of a high-ranking expert on South Viet-
nam will doubtless not go down well with
the South Vietnamese Government.
Ecuadorans go to the polls Sunday
to elect a president in the first rea-
sonably honest election in the country's
history. There are three candidates--
incumbent President Arosemena is not one
of them--and present indications are
that they, will divide the vote almost
evenly. Former president Velasco, an
aging rabble rouser, may have a slim
lead.
The campaign has been hard and
sometimes bitter, but we believe the
elections will come off without seri-
ous violence. The postelection period
may be a different story. Defeated
Ecuadoran politicos have always been
loathe to abide by the verdict of the
polls.
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4. France -
Middle East
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LIZ' I
5. Jordan-Israel
6. Canada -
Communist China
there is another Israeli troop
build-up in progress along the Jordan-
ian border. ?The Egyptian news agency
has also picked up the story.
Canada is moving toward recogni-
tion of Communist China. ,Canadian pub-
lic opinion overwhelmingly favors such
move?, and Prime Minister Trudeau has
made much of the issue during the cur-
rent election campaign. Concrete steps
toward recognition are also an easy way
for Trudeau to differentiate his poli-
cies from those of :Lester Pearson.
The sticky point is Taiwan. Pe-
king will almost certainly insist that
Canada break with Taipei, but Trudeau
says he will not do this. He may hope
the Chinese Nationalists will solve the
problem for him by breaking with Ottawa
on their own.
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Top Secret
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
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16
1 June 1968
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...A-I" I
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
1 June 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Hanoi's Foreign Minister. Gives Interview: In a
recent interview with a visiting Hungarian delegation
broadcast over Hungarian radio on 31 May, North Viet-
namese Foreign Minister Nguyen Duy Trinh underscored
Hanoi's present fight-talk strategy. He praised the
Communist forces for the "successes" they have achieved
since Tet and pointed out that the aim of the Vietnam-
ese people is to "score further major military and poli-
tical victories and to get nearer to ultimate Victory."
Trinh singled out the recent formation of the National
Alliance: as one of the more signifiCant political-vic-
tories in the present struggle.
On the diplomatic front, the foreign minister re-
peated Hanoi's contention that the US had been forced
into the Paris talks and accused the US of stubbornly
refusing to recognize that the primary purpose of the
talks is to determine the cessation of the US bombing
of North Vietnam. Trinh also derided the concept of
reciprocity without actually ruling it out and side-
stepped the issue of Northern forces fighting in the
South by claiming ?that this was a sheer misrepresenta-
tion of the facts.
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Diplomat's Visit to Helsinki: Finnish officials
have given the US Embassy in Helsinki an account of
the recent "purely informative" visit of the North
Vietnamese ambassador to Moscow: The ambassador, who
arrived on 28 May and departed for Moscow yesterday',
told the Finnish foreign minister that cessation of
US bombing attacks and military activities against
North Vietnam were the sine qua non for success of
the Paris negotiations. He rejeTTUd .the de-..escalation
concept, stating that once the bombing and other
tivities stopped, Hanoi would be willing to discuss
any subject.
The North Vietnamese diplomat, who is said to
have made a favorable personal impression, also ex-
pressed appreciation for Finland's "truly neutral po-
sition" in not recognizing the Saigon government and
did not ask for Finnish recognition of Hanoi.
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Captured Pilot Comments on Paris Talks: Hanoi's
English language broadcast to American servicemen
in South Vietnam on 30 May contained the first alleged
statement by a captured American pilot on the Paris
talks. The unidentified pilot stated that he viewed
the talks. in France as a sign of hope and reported
that he was being given material on the discussions.
He also noted that he was "concerned" With the US po-
sition during the :talks and observed that "Harriman .
speaks for the US Government and not for the majority
of Americans.". The pilot went on to endorse Hanoi's
demand for an unconditional cessation of the bombing,.
stating that this position "is reasonable and justi-
fied because the US had no right to attack North Viet-
nam," The pilot closed with a plea for peace and for
an end to this "senseless war in Vietnath,"
:Foreign Shipping During May: Cargo deliveries
to North Vietnam by foreign flag ships in4fay totaled
223;000 tons, some 28,000 tons more than the previous
monthly record import level set in January./
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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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Top Secret
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