THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF - 1968/01/23

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974238
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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The President's Daily Brief
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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23 January 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eires Only
23 January 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Canadians to Hanoi:
In a public statement on the 19th, Prime Min-
ister Pearson revealed that Ormond Dier, senior
Canadian delegate on the ICC
had gone to Hanoi. His
purpose, Pearson said, was to investigate Foreign
Minister Trinh's "will talk" statement of 29 Decem-
ber.\
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Although Hanoi is being careful to make sure
that its intentions are not distorted, the North
Vietnamese are continuing to publicize their "will
talk" offer. The North Vietnamese ambassador in
Cairo, for example, lost no time in calling on
the Egyptian Foreign Ministry shortly after his
return to Cairo from Hanoi. A press release on
20 January described the ambassador as just having
returned from important consultations with his gov-
ernment on the present situation in Vietnam and the
"possibility of talks between the North Vietnamese
and the US."
* * *
Problems for the British: Increasing restric-
tions and harassments are greatly reducing the use-
fulness of the British Consulate in Hanoi, accord-
ing to information passed to the US Embassy in London
by the British Foreign Office. Any kind of travel
by the two officers at the mission has been severely
limited. They are prohibited from going to the for-
eign community center, and their limited gasoline
ration prevents them from going to the airport.
The British also cannot use the North Vietnamese
telegraph to send encrypted messages, although they
can use the Canadian diplomatic pouch.
Despite these limitations, the US Embassy in
London feels that, as long as the consul general is
able to make use of the Canadians to get his reports
out, the British will maintain the mission.
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II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Hanoi on Eartha Kitt: Hanoi's initial comment
on remarks made by Eartha Kitt at a recent White
House luncheon was contained in an English language
broadcast on 21 January. The broadcast quoted West-
ern news reports in claiming that Miss Kitt "angrily
pointed a finger at President Johnson's wife and
delivered an emotional tirade against the US war in
Vietnam." The broadcast claimed that "only the
shrill voice of anger and discord was heard." The
Hanoi statement contained no comment of its own.
***
More on the State of the Union: Hanoi in a
broadcast yesterday claimed that the "more of the
same" kind of obstinacy, about the war in the Presi-
dent's State of the Union address had been strongly
condemned by public opinion in the US. The broad-
cast quoted an American Broadcasting Company tele-
vision commentary which claimed the speech meant
"another year of troubles for the Americans."
Roger Hilsman in a National Broadcasting Company
interview was quoted as saying that the message
"gave rise to deception, and that what we need in
Vietnam is a radical change of policy." Finally,
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John Kenneth Galbraith's statement that he was
"greatly disappointed by Johnson's message" and
Senator Vance Hartke's claim that he "did not
see any prospects for a settlement of our prob-
lems" were reported.
* * *
Antiwar Activity: Hanoi on Saturday reported
on several groups in the US which are opposed to
US involvement in Vietnam. Members of the Hawaii
Committee to End the US War in Vietnam, for example,
are said to have sent a message to the Liberation
Front expressing their militant solidarity with the
Front, and stating that the committee's stand is to
demand an immediate withdrawal of US troops from
Vietnam. �The students at Harvard University were
reported to have sent a message to the President
demanding an end to the war. Several antidraft ac-
tivities were also reported without comment in the
broadcast.
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