THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 10 MAY 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976140
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: May 10, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
-7V-Sr&14,4- 10 May 1968
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SOVIET DIVISIONS NEAR CZECHOSLOVAKIA
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
10 MAY 1968
1. Czechoslovakia
We cannot confirm the reports of
Soviet troop movements along the Polish-
Czechoslovak border.
In addition, several
Western diplomats traveling outside the
Polish capital on 8 and 9 May were
stopped by security officers--an unusual
practice in Poland.
There
is tentative
evidence
that two Soviet
were laced on a
but there
troops from
to move. East Ger-
an area near the
armies in East German
high state of alert
have been no indica lo
these units have begun
man party officials in
Czech border, however, reported
that the population was connecting
usual presence of Soviet troops in
frontier area with developments in
slovakia,
the un-
the
Czecho-
So far it appears that the Soviets
may be thinking of a show of force de-
signed to pull the Czechoslovaks back to-
ward orthodoxy. The Soviets probably
would not intervene outright without a
call for help from some segment of the
Czechoslovak party.
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NORTHERN LAOS
1),)2
CHINA
CHINA
NORTH
VIETNAM
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
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NORTH
VIETNAM
BURMA
MEKONG
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Communist-controll'ed
territory
Contested territory
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MILES
Thcikhe
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THAILAND
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2. South Vietnam A Communist intent to sustain the
3. Laos
4. Philippines
current offensive continues/
We believe this would again take
the form of widespread mortar and rocket
barrages combined with ground attacks on
selected targets.
Nha Khang (Site 36), the government's
last remaining guerrilla base of impor-
tance in the northeast, is under severe
Communist threat. Outlying defensive po-
sitions several miles to the east were
overrun two days ago. Mortar fire has
hit Nha Khang itself, and Communist troops
are probing toward the airstrip--the
base's lifeline. This was the pattern
before the fall of Phou Pha Thi and Nam
Bac earlier this year.
Government troops at Nha Khang, re-
cently reinforced, now total over 2,000.
Communist strength is not known but in-
cludes elements of North Vietnam's 316th
Division, which has been active in the
Communists' dry season offensive.
Any all-out Communist attack would
be likely to come within the next three
weeks, before the heavy rains begin.
President Marcos has agreed in
principle to further cuts in the Philip-
pine military engineer contingent in
Vietnam. The present force of 1,810
men is to be drawn -down gradually until
a level of 1,400 is reached. Marcos is
still working hard to get a congression-
al appropriation for the smaller force,
but it is uncertain whether this can be
accomplished before congress' regular
session ends in mid-May. There may have
to be a special session called for next
month.
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5. North Korea The Washington readout of the BLACK
SHIELD mission over North Korea on 6 May
6. Soviet Union -
Brazil
7. Israel
Military targets observed showed no im-
portant change in Pyongyang's military
posture.
The Brazilians are detaining the
Kegostrov, one of the major Soviet space
support ships, on grounds that it en-
tered Brazilian waters. Rio's irrita-
tion has recently grown over the intru-
sion of other Soviet ships into its
claimed territorial waters. It seems
determined to make a thorough investiga-
tion of this latest incident.
The Soviets, in attempting to get
prompt release of the ship, must con-
sider how hard they can push the issue
without undercutting their efforts to
build good relations with the Brazilians.
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Foreign Minister Eban told Norwe- 50X6
gin officials last week that Israel
would like postponement of a UN vote
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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
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
10 May 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
10 May 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
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Letter from Ho Chi Minh: On the eve of the open-
ing of the Paris talks, Hanoi has broadcast to South
Vietnam a letter from Ho Chi Minh to the head of the
Liberation Front. It praises the current fighting of
the Viet Cong in the South and urges vigilance in the
face of "cunning efforts" by the US, "which is talk-
ing peace while actually stepping up the war." In an
effort to counter any letdown because of negotiations,
the letter urged people in the South to overcome all
hardships and sacrifices, and stressed that only by
continuous fighting will the US be completely defeated.
It also stated that "genuine peace" would come when
the US accepted Communist terms.
* * *
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Conditions in Hanoi: During a brief stopover
in Laos in mid-April, a member of the Canadian ICC
mission in Hanoi gave his views on conditions in the
North Vietnamese capital to American embassy offi-
cials. The Canadian noted that with the bombing
restriction, the number of children in Hanoi has
nearly tripled. Truck traffic which formerly ran
only at night is now running all the time, thus eas-
ing some of the traffic congestion in the city. He
also observed that the precautions surrounding offi-
cial functions in Hanoi have been relaxed. Now con-
siderable advance notice is given official recep-
tions,and ranking regime officials appear together
more frequently.
The Canadian shares Charles Collingwood's view
that Hanoi invited several Americans to North Viet-
nam in late April because the regime was preparing a
diplomatic initiative of its own and was overtaken
by President Johnson's speech on 31 March. He of-
fered no additional evidence for this, however, and
may have been merely reporting Hanoi rumor.
Like other foreigners in the capital, the Canadi-
an. was highly complimentary of Hanoi's air raid warn-
ing system, but he noted that the bombing was a source
of constant anxiety among the populace.
* * *
Shipping Report: Cargo operations at Haiphong
continue at levels considerably above 1967. In April,
cargo delivered to North Vietnam by foreign flag
ships totaled 152,500 tons, compared with an average
of 118,000 tons a month during 1967.[
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II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Anti-US Demonstrations: As part of its periodic
roundup of activities protesting US involvement in
Vietnam, Hanoi included in an international English
language broadcast on 8 May remarks made at a May Day
rally in New York by Gus Hall, secretary of the
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American Communist Party. He was quoted as pledg-
ing that the "US revolutionaries" would continue
to promote the struggle against "imperialists' wars
and against imperialism and capitalism." The same
broadcast also listed anti-US demonstrations in
Norway, Algeria, and Tanzania.
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