THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974265
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: April 27, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2019
• Publication Date: February 7, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
Top Secret 7 February 1968
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DAILY BRIEF
7 FEBRUARY 1968
1. Vietnam North Vietnamese regulars, spear-
(as of 5:00 AM headed by nine armored vehicles be-
EST) lieved to be Soviet T-34 tanks, were
beaten back from the strategic Lang
Vei Special Forces camp near Khe Sanh
last night. The night-long assault
was timed to coincide with a heavy bom-
bardment of the Khe Sanh base. At last
report the enemy force was pulling back.
2. Korea
This is the first time the Commu-
nists have used armor in South Vietnam.
The North Vietnamese could be plan-
ning another "first," this one using
aircraft against allied positions near
the Demilitarized Zone. Yesterday
,three of North Vietnam's eight IL-28
jet light bombers returned to Phuc Yen
airfield from China, where they have
been since last spring. Although the
IL-28s are old and slow by today's
standards, they could reach the Demili-
tarized Zone from Phuc Yen.
North Vietnam's AN-2 light trans-
ports also have been unusually active.
Some of these aircraft are adapted for
ground attack.
A number of South Koreans demon-
strated against the Panmunjom talks this
morning. The demonstration was at Free-
dom Bridge on the road leading through
US lines to the meeting site. Some of
the demonstrators got across the bridge
where they were met and turned back by
US troops.
There have been no significant de-
velopments in North Korea overnight.
Pyongyang is rebroadcasting the sixth
alleged confession by a Pueblo crewman.
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LAOS PANHANDLE
15
NORTH
VIETNAM
h Hoa
Enemy Controlled
Territory
7
25sp
715 Miles
0
2�5
510
75 Kilometers
GULF
OF
TONKIN
DEMILITARIZED ZONE
NA
" (
THAILAND
69519 2.68 CIA
58
IVIETNA
110
19
CA BODIA
141
113
Kontum
Pleikuo
14
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TOP RET
3. Laos
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4. Greece-Turkey
5. Chile
OP
A new series of Communist attacks
on government positions in the Lao
panhandle may be coming. A North Viet-
namese defector reports the town of
Saravane will be one of the first tar-
gets.
Saravane is the government-held
position closest to the infiltration
trails winding down to Cambodia and
South Vietnam. Although it is not an
important military base, its loss would
have a serious psychological impact on
the already nervous leadership in Vien-
tiane.
Frei's left-wing political oppon-
ents in the Senate are so dedicated to
seeing the Chilean President fail that
they have sacrificed much-needed eco-
nomic legislation to that end. Frei's
enemies are looking ahead to the 1970
presidential election, but their deter-
mined inaction leaves the economy drift-
ing further into serious inflation.
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6. Communist China
7. Soviet Union
TOP qErRFT
Two party, veterans, both disgraced
and dismissed early in the Cultural
Revolution, were recently put in charge
of Hopeh, the key North China province
where Peking is located. This resur-
rection suggests a loss of ground by the
militant group in the capital. Fac-
tional fighting, however, continues
throughout China.
The Soviets appear to be getting
ready for another lunar probe.
and the position
ot Soviet space support ships suggest
the launch will come today or tomorrow.
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ToOpertr
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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7 'February 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
7 February 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Viet Cong Press Conference: The Viet Cong at-
tempted to capture foreign press attention on 6 Feb-
ruary by calling an unusual press conference in Mos-
cow. The purpose of the conference was to increase
news coverage of the Communist version of the Tet of-
fensive in South Vietnam. The Communists played up
the conference by giving plenty of advance notice to
the entire Moscow press corps, including US and other
Western press representatives.
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According to a Reuters dispatch, the head of
the Liberation Front office in Moscow claimed that
the current military effort would get "fiercer" and
that the Front already had "large areas of the
country under the control of revolutionary power."
He said there was no hope of any change in Commu-
nist demands for a peaceful settlement of the con-
flict and that any move in that direction was en-
tirely up to the US. The main Communist objective
in the new offensive was to overthrow the Saigon
government and under no circumstances would the Com-
munists consider participating in a coalition gov-
ernment with Saigon authorities. He closed the con-
ference with a hard statement of Communist determin-
ation to fight until the US withdraws from South
Vietnam and until the Communists have achieved "final
victory no matter how long that takes."
The Communist spokesman also dredged up the old
"foreign volunteers" issue. This has not been used
extensively by the Communists for more than a year,
and they appear to be using it at this time as they
have in the past to dramatize their potential mili-
tary strength. The Front man in Moscow said simply
that the Communists have "every right to accept for-
eign volunteers if the time comes."
* * *
.Communist Claims of Popular Support in South
Vietnam: After more than a week of claiming that
popular support for their "general uprising" is
"surfing forward," the Communists have still failed
to be specific, except in a few minor instances.
The only new groups cited in Communist propaganda in
the past three days are small groups of servicemen
whom the Viet Cong claim have deserted from South
Vietnamese Army units. In some cases both individ-
uals and specific units are named. Most of these
units are located in the northern coastal provinces,
although one group of 31 was reported in a delta
province. The only new nonmilitary groups claimed
are an amorphous "federation of patriotic and peace-
loving workers, farmers, and Buddhists in central
Vietnam," cited in a Front broadcast of 3 February,
and a "union of patriotic and peace-loving Buddhist
servicemen in central Trung Bo" (coastal South Viet-
nam) reported in Hanoi's Nhan Dan on 5 February.
There is no information to coririFm the existence of
these organizations.
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Hanoi Blasts US Tactics in South Vietnamese
Cities: The Foreign Ministry in Hanoi issued a
statement on 6 February condemning the US and its
South Vietnamese "henchmen" for their "savage bomb-
ing" of heavily populated sections of Saigon, Hue,
and other cities. The statement, which also charged
that "poison gas" had been used in Hue, claimed that
US and South Vietnamese attacks in the cities had
caused death and injury to many civilians and the
destruction of many homes and other buildings.
The Hanoi statement went on to appeal to "pro-
gressive mankind" all over the world to join the
condemnation of the US and the "Thieu-Ky clique of
traitors."
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
There is nothing of significance to report.
-W-PRET
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