THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
05974331
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
U
Document Page Count:
10
Document Creation Date:
April 27, 2019
Document Release Date:
April 30, 2019
Sequence Number:
Case Number:
Publication Date:
March 16, 1968
File:
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THE PRESIDENTS DAILY BRIE[15617903].pdf | 176.74 KB |
Body:
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The President's Daily Brief
Top Secret 16 March 1968
23
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DAILY BRIEF
16 MARCH 1968
1. South Vietnam
2. Czechoslovakia
3. Soviet Union
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Two of Novotny's staunchest sup-
porters--the secret police chief and
the prosecutor general--were ousted
yesterday. The premier of Slovakia and
a number of other big guns have also
resigned. The defense minister could
go at any time. In sum, the liberals
are well on their way toward sweeping
the conservatives out.
Lt. Gen. Janko, who committed sui-
cide in Prague on Thursday, was deeply
involved in marshaling military support
for Novotny. Janko's sui-
cide to mounting political pressures
which were put on him by the liberals
after Novotny was ousted.
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4. Poland
5. Uruguay
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There were more violent student-
police clashes in Poznan yesterday,
and students in Warsaw and Krakow have
gone on strike. Active support from
other segments of the population is not
materializing, however. At least some
of the workers and other elements are
sympathetic to the students but are
afraid to act, knowing that continuing
unrest will only benefit the party hard-
liners.
A leftist weekly in Montevideo
this week published a letter signed by
two national leaders of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ask-
ing support for H. Rap Brown and the
Negro liberation movement. The letter
asks for support which demonstrates
the "international links" of the "strug-
gle against racism, capitalism and im-
perialism."
The letter says, "no doubt that
Brown will be sentenced to five to ten
years. This should be protested along
with the killing at Orangeburg. The
type of protest is up to you; we sug-
gest as objectives the US Embassy, USIS,
and American installations and busi-
nesses."
"With cooperation of the people of
the world, this enemy of humanity will
be destroyed."
6. Guatemala Terrorism in Guatemala City is ex-
pected to rise in coming weeks.
7. Colombia
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More violence is expected lire too.
In �Bogota and other major cities, terror-
ist bombings and harassing activities are
planned in hopes of disrupting the con-
gressional elections tomorrow. Chances
for this are not good.
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8. Philippines
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The Philippine civic action group
(Philcag) in South Vietnam has become
embroiled in a maneuver by opponents
of President Marcos. A coalition of
opposition senators, in attacking the
pro-Marcos leadership in the senate,
has proposed that the Philcag engineer-
ing unit be replaced by a medical out-
fit. I
9. Nigeria The current fighting is the
heaviest of the wani
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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16 March 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
16 March 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Swedish Red Cross Official to North Vietnam:
The secretary general of the Swedish Red Cross, Olaf
Stroh, will visit North Vietnam soon to discuss pos-
sibilities for Swedish aid to the civilian popula-
tion there and in Viet Cong - controlled areas in
South Vietnam. Stroh's trip, if carried off, would
mark the first visit of a Western Red Cross official
to Hanoi since thebombing of the North began.
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
More from Hanoi on US Domestic Criticism: Hanoi
is continuing to give unusually detailed propaganda
treatment to current domestic criticism of US policy
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41.
in Vietnam. The most recent statements contend that
there is a growing body of popular opinion spear-
headed by such "influential" senators as Morse, Fill-
bright, McCarthy, and Robert Kennedy:opposing the
war--particularly the commitment of more men and ma-
terial.
One broadcast described the "fierce interroga-
tion" Secretary Rusk was subjected to as he attempted
to "defend US policy" at the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearings. It quoted statements by mem-
bers of the committee rejecting Rusk's defense of the
US position. Another broadcast ridiculed President
Johnson's plea on 12 March for perseverance in the
war and pointed out that many senators as well as
former members of the administration were now in op-
position to US policy. An editorial in the New York
Times questioning the right of the administration
to follow the path of escalation in a war which is
not supported by the people formed a key portion of
this broadcast.
Hanoi's army paper, in an article broadcast on
14 March, offered the most detailed comment to date
on the issue of sending more troops to Vietnam. It
reported much of the speculation in the US press
about the number of troops to be sent and the meas-
ures the US would take in order to obtain them. The
paper also claimed that the mere fact that the US
felt compelled to send more troops to the war was
an admission its policy had failed. It also spoke
of the deep division in the US Government created
by the troop issue and warned that even 200,000 more
troops for Vietnam would not save the US position,
but merely provide additional targets for Communist
forces which will ultimately triumph.
Despite the fulsome treatment given these mat-
ters, Hanoi has yet to comment on the outcome of
the primary election in New Hampshire.
* * *
US Deserter's Statement Reported: The Viet Cong
radio Thursday broadcast what it claimed was a state-
ment by a Negro noncommissioned officer of the First
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Infantry Division who it said deserted early last
month. The statement criticized US policy in Viet-
nam and appealed to US servicemen to "avoid a use-
less death by refraining from participating in any
military operation, by refusing to go into battle,
by demanding to be sent back to the US."
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