THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 6 MAY 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005975732
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: May 6, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
6 May 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
6 MAY 1968
1. South Vietnam
2. Czechoslovakia-
Soviet Union
The coordinated wave of enemy at-
tacks over the weekend was widespread,
but generally confined to short mortar
and rocket barrages. The sporadic
firefights in the Saigon area involved
fairly small units. Over-all, loss of
life and property damage appear to
have been relatively light.
Prisoners taken in the Saigon area
tell of Viet Cong preparations for fur-
ther raids against the capital.
The attacks were accompanied by
propaganda broadcasts alleging that
many people were responding to Viet
Cong appeals for a general uprising.
The Communists, with an eye on the com-
ing talks in Paris, evidently hope to
give new emphasis to claims that a le-
gitimate popular revolt is under way in
the South.
Very little came of Dubcek's week-
end in Moscow. At least, that is the
clear impression left by the communiqu?
issued yesterday. Dubcek was rebuffed
if, as we believe, he had hoped to get
a large credit from the Soviets. The
matter of "economic cooperation" was
relegated to experts for further study.
The communiqu?ays the two sides
expressed "determination" to expand
friendly relations and to continue work-
ing to strengthen international Commu-
nist unity. That last point has a par-
ticularly hollow ring. The open polem-
ics over the weekend between the Czecho-
slovaks and the Poles suggest that the
gap will continue to widen between con-
flicting interpretations of what "Com-
munist unity" means.
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3. Middle East
4. United Kingdom
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5. Berlin
6. Chile
The Soviets say the East German
ban on travel of West German officials
to Berlin could be lifted--provided
Bonn promises to stop trying to demon-
strate that "West Berlin belongs to the
Federal Republic." This was the prin-
cipal point made by Moscow's Ambassador
Abrasimov in East Berlin during a long
talk with Ambassador McGhee on Friday.
Abrasimov was clearly out to get the
US to press Bonn to cut back its ties
with West Berlin.
Throughout the conversation,
Abrasimov took pains 'to stress that
Moscow wants no new crisis with the
Western allies and that allied access
to West Berlin is in no way affected.
Dissatisfaction in the military
over low pay came to the surface late
last week when a number of middle-
level officers turned in their resig-
nations. The immediate results were
shake-ups in the cabinet and in the
top army command--and further complica-
tions for President Frei's battle to
hold the line against inflationary wage
increases.
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Top Secret
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
6 May 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
6 May 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Current Propaganda Stand: Hanoi's propaganda
following the agreement to meet in Paris appears to
be designed to put pressure on the US to meet the
North Vietnamese demand for a complete cessation of
the bombing. The main party daily on 4 May charged
that the sincerity of US intentions was still very
much in doubt in view of the delay involved in
choosing a site, the announced US troop buildup in
the South, and the "unprecedented" air attacks
against "civilian targets" in the southern panhandle.
The commentary emphasized that Hanoi's terms
for a settlement were still the four points--"the
correct basis for a political solution to the Vietnam
problem." The phrasing of one sentence, however,
hinted at some flexibility by saying that a settle-
ment "must proceed from" the four points.
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Hanoi on Independence: Hanoi used the occasion
of the anniversary of Karl Marx's birthday yesterday
to reaffirm its ideological independence of both
Moscow and Peking. According to a summary of Polit-
buro instructions to "the party, the army, and the
people," one of the most important parts of the
teachings of the early Communists is that they pro-
vided guidelines upon which future generations could
build. Marxism, said the commentary, lends itself
to continual development, and Engels said, "our
theory is not a dogma, but the compass of our actions."
North Vietnamese party cadres were told that the an-
niversary should be celebrated by "heightening the
spirit of independent thinking, combining theory
and practice, and applying Marxism-Leninism creatively
to the practical conditions of Vietnam."
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II,NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report.
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Top Secret
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