THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF - 1968/01/11

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974218
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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The President's Daily Brief
cret 11January 1968
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DAILY BRIEF
11 JANUARY 1968
1. Vietnam
NR
2.
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3.
4.
T�P CRET
Vietnamese Communist propaganda
has again endorsed the idea of a coali-
tion government in South Vietnam and
simultaneously condemned Saigon for
seeking to block avenues to peace. In
doing so, Hanoi seems more interested
in fanning the unrest in the South
over this issue than in spelling out
what it means when it calls for a co-
alition government.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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11 Janu-I 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
11 January 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
More on the Trinh Statement: The first secre-
tary of the French Embassy in Vientiane in a recent
conversation with US Embassy officials there has
given .a surprisingly balanced interpretation of the
recent Trinh statement. In contrast to some French
statements which have portrayed the Trinh statement
as particularly significant and forthcoming, the
diplomat offered his opinion that there were no signs
that the North Vietnamese have altered their hard
line concerning the substantive nature of any nego-
tiations. In addition, he felt that the Trinh state-
ment seemed admirably suited as a tactic to put pres-
sure on the US to stop the bombing.
* * *
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* * *
North Vietnamese Railways:
on the North Vietnamese railway system. /
along the major rail lines, rocks, cement, sand,
It, rails, and wooden beams are stockpiled at two
kilometer intervals to facilitate rapid bomb damage
repair. Bridge repair crews normally consist of
about 16 men augmented by as many locally, recruited
civilians as are necessary (sometimes in the thou-
sands) to complete repairs. Repair work on a damaged
rail or railroad bridge section may begin as soon as
two hours after a bombing raid.
Omments
Often temporary bridges are constructed that
are not strong enough to bear the weight of a loco-
motive. In such cases, the railroad cars are pushed
across the bridge by one engine and hooked up to
another on the other side.
As a rule trains move at night, are about one
kilometer long with either two engines at the front,
or one at either end. Passenger cars also usually
move at night and are mixed with cargo cars. The
majority of the trains traveling from Hanoi to Lang
Son on the Chinese border are armed with antiaircraft
artillery and/or machine guns.
* * *
Decentralization: One aspect of the Hanoi gov-
ernment's efforts to decentralize the economy and
to place more responsibility on provincial adminis-
trators has been reported
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in mid-1966 the workers at the phos-
phate plant in Thanh Hoa, south of
Hanoi, were told that henceforth the province would
be responsible for operating the plant and for pro-
ducing all products used by the people.
the workers were disheartened by this
news and feared that their jobs would be made more
difficult by what they felt would be inefficient ad-
ministration.
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
-Antiwar Gathering: Hanoi radio on 9 January
announced that a group of 50 representatives of
various American organizations in Europe opposed
to the "US aggressive war in Vietnam" met in Paris
on 7 January and formed a "continent-wide coordin-
ating committee" named American Opposition Abroad.
The broadcast reported that the group pledged to
promote demonstrations by Americans against "the
dirty US war in Vietnam" on George Washington's
birthday and on 2 April. Additionally, the com-
mittee announced that it would circulate a peti-
tion among Americans in Europe, declaring the in-
tention of the signatories to encourage draft re-
sistance.
SECRET
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