THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 14 DECEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976513
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: December 14, 1968

. , Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006600220001-0
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The President's Daily Brief
?7'T-Sevciagt_.14 December 1968
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
14 DECEMBER 1968
1. Laos
2. Brazil
At last report, intensive US air
strikes had forced a sizable North Viet-
namese force to retreat from the impor-
tant government base at Ban Thateng.
The North Vietnamese, whose strength
was estimated at three battalions when
the attack began, reportedly lost about
a battalion during the fighting.
The successful defense of Thateng
may ease some of the Vientiane govern-
ment's jitters, but a recent prisoner
report suggests that Saravane, the pro-
vincial capital, may soon be the tar-
get of an equally sharp Communist at-
tack.
Costa e Silva yesterday finally
yielded to the.general8 and decreed
the most Severe repressive measures
Brazil has seen in years. The legisla-
ture has been.suspended
some of its members will be expelled,
and the.powers of state and local gov-
ernments have been sharply restricted.
We will probably see a roundup.of
the government's critics and the' impo-
sition:of some press censorship. A
good deal of militantly anti-Communist.
-propaganda can.also be expected from.
the hard-liners who are now in the
saddle.
All this happened because Costa e
Silva, under pressure from the military,
had painted himself into a corner in an
intrinsically unimportant dispute with
the legislature. His own prestige has
dropped sharply as his indecisiveness
and dependence on the military, became
apparent. He may be nothing but .a fig-
urehead president from now on, and there
is even a chance that he will eventually
be eased out entirely.
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3. Okinawa
4. Peru
5. Soviet Union
A demonstration protesting the
presence of B-52s is scheduled today
near Kadena Air Base. This is a popu-
lar issue, and the demonstration could
be a big and boisterous one.
_General Montagne, who now.is prime
minister, minister of war, and head. of
the army, seems to be maneuvering:to
take over the presidency:when)Velasco
retires from the army in,January.
Montagne leadS the relatively moderate
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group in the cabinet)
Velasco is also trying to organize
a civilian political party to support
his efforts to retain the presidency.
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6. Jarring Mission
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7. Communist China
The Chinese Communist Party's con-
stitution is finally being updated.
The buffeting of the Cultural Revolu-
tion having subsided somewhat, a draft
revision is being circulated among the
rank and file. They should quickly give
it the required approval. The stage
will then be set for the long-awaited
ninth party congress, which must ratify
the document before it becomes official.
The draft is both shorter and less
precise than the present one. Among
other things it provides for less fre-
quent party congresses and for the
"production," rather than the pseudo-
election, of party officials. -It also
effectively confirms Lin Piao as Mao's
successor.
The draft omits the strictures in
the present constitution against dis-
obeying party directives. -Apparently,
anyone disagreeing with .a directive may
appeal directly to the Central Committee
and Chairman Mao. There is no require-
ment that he obey the directive while
his appeal is pending. This loophole
could be interpreted by dissidents as
a sanction for continued insubordina-
tion.
For all its contradictions and
vagueness, the document does represent
a significant milestone for those who
have been trying to get China back in-
side some kind of organizational frame-
work.
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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 US
Political Attitudes
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14 December 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
14 December 1968
I. NOTES ON.THE SITUATION
Liberation Front Delegation ?to Paris Via Peking:
The complete new Liberation Front negotiating team
probably, will be in Paris some time next week. The
chief of the delegation, Tran Buu Kiem, accompanied
by part of the team, is now en route with stopovers
in Peking and probably Moscow.
Klem's party received an impressive reception
in Peking on 13 December, according to accounts
broadcast by Radio Hanoi. It was welcomed at the
airport by two Chinese vice ministers as well as the
Soviet Embassy's first secretary. Later, Premier
Chou En-Lai feted the group at a reception and dinner.
Radio Hanoi's accounts suggest that the Front's
delegation received considerably more elaborate and
effusive attention from the Chinese than their North
Vietnamese counterparts. This appears to be in line
with Peking's long-standing efforts to pump up.the
extent of its contacts and influence with the Front.
Armed Forces Exhorted on Anniversaries: In a
broadcast designed for the edification of the party
faithful, Hanoi Radio on 13 December called on its
armed forces to celebrate the three upcoming holi-
days with special efforts to carry out the instruc-
tions of the Communist Party. The instructions call
for honoring the achievements of the armed forces,
exposing "the enemy's great failures and his new
schemes," and understanding the "new step" in the
party line. The broadcast enjoins the armed forces
to remember that its role is to "fight the enemy"
and that the war is by no means over for anyone.
It suggests that a special campaign to indoctrinate
forces in the "new situation" since the bombing halt
and to head off any relaxation of effort will be
mounted in the next few weeks.
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North Vietnamese Peasants Spend Too Little Time
in Rice Fields: An :11 .December newspaper 'editorial
.complains.that-"manT:cooperatives".have under-
utilized their :members' time, and the short time
spent. in the rice fields has resulted, in careless
plowing, tardy transplanting, slow-harvesting,.and
a late .start on next spring's.crop. Peasants are.ac-
.cused of spending.too.much time on their private
plots to the detriment of the collective. The edi-
torial.advises cadres to "settle the relationship
between .collective and family economy" and "interest
themselves in.organizing their. members.' lives" to
.free them.for work in .the fields.: -North Vietnam_has
Jong had a manpower problem in rural areas, contrib-.
utingto.the.steady decline in agricultural produc-
tion.since 1965.
* * *
First Foreign Merchant Ship to Vinh in Three
Years: A Cypriot flag merchant vessel, under North
Vietnamese charter, departed Haiphong for the port
of Vinh on 8 December, according to an intercepted
message. The ship will proceed from Vinh to Hong
Kong where it is due to arrive between 18-20 Decem-
ber. This will be the first foreign flag ship to
arrive in Vinh since the US bombing of North Viet-
nam began in 1965.
International Conference on Vietnam Off to
Slow Start in Sweden: Press reports from Stockholm
indicate the international conference, "Vietnam
1969--International Mobilization," sponsored by the
Swedish Vietnam Committee and scheduled to run from
13-15 December, has attracted only about half the
300 delegates originally expected. Principal fig-
ures at the kickoff press conference on 12 December,
at which nothing of significance developed, were
the North Vietnamese Minister of Culture and the
National Liberation Front representative in Rumania.
The Swedish press has tended to ignore the meeting
thus far. One of the major problems faced by the
conference organizers is the continuing disagreement
on tactics among various radical left and Vietnam
peace groups in Stockholm.
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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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