THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 31 MAY 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976176
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: May 31, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
May 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
31 MAY 1968
1. France
By refusing to resign, De Gaulle
has brought France to the verge of dis-
aster. Francois Mitterrand, head of
the Federation of the Left, expressed
the dominant response of all opposition
groups by saying that the parties of
the left are prepared to answer what he
sees as De Gaulle's "call to civil war."
The leadership of the left would
probably like to take advantage of
De Gaulle's call for new elections in
order to try to come to power legally.
The events of the past three weeks, how-
ever, show that the leaders of the left
have been swept along by their more
radical rank and file. Now it is highly
questionable whether these leaders can
regain control and rally their followers
for a legal assault on the regime at the
ballot box.
The reaction of the people has been
both angry and enthusiastic. On the one
hand, more workers have left their jobs,
including some public service employees;
on the other, thousands of Gaullists
have jubilantly taken to the streets.
When, how, and if a head-on collision
between right and left will occur is
not yet clear, but a spark could touch
it off.
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2. Czechoslovakia
3. Italy
We see in Dubcek's speech at the
opening of the Central Committee session
an attempt to satisfy the party's liber-
als while at the same time mollifying
the party's conservatives and the Soviet
Union. Dubcek responded favorably to
the demand of the liberals by recommend-
ing that a party congress be convened
in September and that a new central com-
mittee be elected. The plenum also
ousted from the Central Committee ex-
party leader Novotny, the most obvious
member of the conservative faction.
In an effort to forestall a fur-
ther intensification of the factional
struggle, however, Dubcek again rejected
attempts to discredit the party as a
whole and to create an "atmosphere of
hysteria." He appealed for party unity,
and emphasized repeatedly that anti-
Communist and anti-Socialist tendencies
had to be decisively and publicly ex-
posed. ,
The decision of Socialist Party
leaders to abandon participation with
the Christian Democrats in a coalition
government does not mean that a new po-
litical crisis is at hand. The Chris-
tian Democrats will presumably form a
minority government and the Socialists
are not likely to join the opposition
in Parliament.
The Socialists' decision--subject
to approval by their Central Committee
today--does reflect their anguish over
the poor showing they made in the elec-
tions last week. Party leaders are
coming to the conclusion that their par-
ticipation in past coalition governments
was a bad deal. They were unable to
push the Christian Democrats toward the
reforms they think the country needs--
and the result has been more votes for
the Communists.
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4. Panama
5. North Vietnam
Arnulfo Arias yesterday accepted
his credentials as president-elect af-
ter the National Elections Board cer-
tified his victory by over 40,000 votes.
Government candidate Samudio rejected
the board's action, but said he would
contest it by legal means rather than
force. Continued National Guard back-
ing for Arias and expected defections
from Samudio's ranks, however, are
likely to undermine any initiatives by
the government-controlled Electoral
Tribunal to upset the results.
Sea shipments are arriving in
North Vietnam at a record rate. Ship-
ments in May are up some 28,000 tons
over the previous monthly record set
last January
Shipments from China this month
are up more than 50 percent over last
year's average. Most of this cargo
is food.
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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
31 May 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
31 May 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Nhan Dan on Talks: An authoritative article
yesterday in Nhan Dan restated yet again Hanoi's
standard line on fEU?Paris talks. As broadcast in
English by the North Vietnamese international serv-
ice, the article said that there were "many other
concrete questions" to be taken up at the talks, but
that it was necessary first "to determine the uncon-
ditional cessation of the bombing and all other acts
of war" against North Vietnam. The article claimed
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that the US, in agreeing to the talks after Hanoi
had made clear its view of their purpose, had in
effect indicated its agreement with that purpose.
Most of the article was devoted to a rebuttal of
Ambassador Harriman's suggestion that the Demili-
tarized Zone be restored to its status under the
Geneva Accords.
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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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