THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF - 1967/11/10

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974113
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

- Approved for Release: 2018/06/28 005974113
The President's Daily Brief
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DAILY BRIEF
10 NOVEMBER 1967
1. South Vietnam
2.
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The new cabinet appears to be a
competent one. Of the 17 ministers
named, nine have served in the pre-
vious government. All key posts--de-
fense, interior, revolutionary develop-
ment, foreign affairs, and economy--
are held either by generals or those
who served in the Ky government.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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10 November 1967
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
10 November 1967
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
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Ho Misses Celebration: Ho Chi Minh played no
role in the rather elaborate Hanoi ceremonies sur-
rounding the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Revolu-
tion. His only contribution to the occasion was to
write a bland article on the revolution for the So-
viet party paper. Given the importance the Commu-
nists have attached to this anniversary, Ho's absence
from the festivities is unusual and suggests that
illness may have prevented him from attending.
There was no reference to Ho during the festivi-
ties. At meetings and receptions where he would
normally play the key role as head of state or per-
haps more importantly as a living link with the period
of the revolution, his position was filled by the in-
significant and aged Vice President Ton Duc Thanh.
Further evidence of Hanoi's reluctance to associate
Ho with the anniversary is the failure to give any
public notice to his receiving the Order of Lenin
from the Soviets. Presentation of the same award to
Ton Duc Thanh was publicized.
During the past several months, Ho has been re-
ported to be in poor health and resting outside of
Hanoi. His erratic pattern of appearances in the past
nine months has also suggested that he is ailing. He
has made only three public appearances in recent
months--the latest at North Vietnam's national day
on 1 September./
77.)
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Despite Ho's inactivity and his apparent aloof-
ness from the political scene, there has been no in-
dication in the past year that his subordinates have
had any difficulty in running the country without his
immediate leadership and direction. The evidence
also suggests that the regime's major policies--par-
ticularly on strategy for the war and on possible
peace negotiations--are the result of collective de-
cision-making and are not dependent on Ho's presence.
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'II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
�Hanoi on Antiwar Activities in US: A Hanoi
Vietnamese language broadcast of 8 November reports
that a group of writers and journalists have signed
a statement expressing their determination not to
pay 23 percent of their taxes as a protest against
the war. The statement reportedly urges the American
people to join in refusing to pay their taxes. The
broadcast also notes that a group of professors at
Iowa University has issued a statement urging the US
to end the "aggressive war" in Vietnam. Hanoi quotes
the Toronto Star as revealing that about 75 American
soldiers have deserted to Canada and that about 6,000
Americans have sought refuge from the draft in Canada.
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