THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 13 NOVEMBER 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976459
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: November 13, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
t 13 November 1968
23
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
13 NOVEMBER 1968
1, South Vietnam
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2, South Vietnam
3. Soviet Union
Denying that Thieu had reneged on
any understandings at the last moment,
South Vietnam's information minister
commented on Secretary Clifford's state-
ment saying the US and Hanoi could go
ahead and negotiate without Saigon,
"but their conclusions certainly will
be of no validity at all."
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The Soviets want to get a dialogue
going with the US again. This came
through clearly in Kosygin's surprise
meeting with McNamara on Monday.
Stating that military budgets had
reached impossible levels, Kosygin came
down strongly in .favor of bilateral :
talks on strategic arms limitation. As
the Soviet premier put it, disarmament
is an "imperative necessity" despite
fundamental differences between the US
and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union,
said Kosygin, will cooperate in seeking
further disarmament measures, in trying
to get adherence to the nonprolifera-
tion treaty, and in a "general lessening'
of tension."
Kosygin raised the Vietnam issue,
but dropped it when McNamara said he
was no longer qualified to comment. In
an allusion to the Soviets' chronic
truck shortage, the premier also asked
about the purchase of US truck produc-
tion technology, saying the Soviets have
a high regard for American expertise.
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4 - West Germany
. West Berlin
. Argentina
The East Germans may be preparing
some new move to .harass West German civ-
ilians traveling to Berlin. Yesterday-
Kiesinger told Lodge he had information
that the East Germans would soon start
requiring visas for West German travel-
ers and perhaps insist on consular of-
fices in West Germany and West Berlin,
The East Germans had implicitly
threatened access to West Berlin if the
Christian Democrats held their conven
tion in the city. Nothing happened,Our-
ing the convention, but Kiesinger i8 ap-
prehensive they may make good on their
threat now.
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Argentina will buy F?French Mi-. 50X1
rage III supersonic fighters for deliv-
ery in 1970. Last year Peru bought a
less ,Advanced version of the Mirage.
With both Argentina and Peru improving
?their air forces, Chile has shown new
interest in upgrading its
The Argentines also have bought
French tanks. The military says they
would prefer American equipment, but
claim US arms sale restrictions force
them to buy in Europe.
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Missile Test Range
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7. Communist China
8. Venezuela
Communications, weather reporting,
and transport flights all fit a pat-
tern suggesting the Chinese are about
to run another test of their medium
range ballistic missile. Since August
there has been little or no testing of
this missile which has been in develop-
ment for at least five years. We have
detected no operational deployment as
yet.
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Top Secret
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't.z!
Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
2.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
Top Secret
16
13 November 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
13 November 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Soviet Commercial Shipments to Haiphong: Mos-
cow Radio is telling its domestic listeners about
the large quantities of Soviet industrial equipment
and foodstuffs being shipped to North Vietnam, A
10 November broadcast said there are ten ships from
the Black Sea merchant fleet either unloading in
Haiphong or on the way there.
For its part, the Hanoi government is said to
be worried about the size of its growing debt to the
Soviet Union.
the Vietnamese hyper-
sensitive about balancing their trade with other
countries because of the mounting trade deficit in-
curred for Soviet commercial shipments.
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Council of Ministers Meeting: North Vietnam's
Council of Ministers recently was convened to'con-
?sider the current war situation and near-term eco-
'nomic policies, according to an announcement on -
Radio Hanoi's international service on 12 November.
The brief account of the douncil's Communiqu?ug-
gests the meeting was routine.
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II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Liberation Radio on Nixon Administration:
Liberation Radio ridiculed what it called the Saigon
government's expections of a better deal from Presi-
dent-elect Nixon than it had gotten from President
Johnson, The Front radio said Mr. Nixon's war poli-
cies were the same as the President's and would doom
the US and Saigon to defeat. A second broadcast,
examining prospects for the new US administration in
its approach to the Vietnam war, forecast failure
because the US has been exhausted by the war and by
domestic problems. The commentator said Mr. Nixon
could not continue President Johnson's policies be-
cause they have proven inadequate; the alternative,
he implied, is for the US to withdraw from Vietnam.
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