THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 31 JANUARY 1966

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968127
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: January 31, 1966

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004300040001-5
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
31 JANUARY 1966
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DAILY BRIEF
31 January 1966
1. World Reaction
? London is the only West European
capital so far to have reacted offi-
cially to President Johnson's announce-
ment this morning. British officials
said their government "looked with
sympathy" on the reasons that led to
the resumption of bombing.
In Asia, the official Japanese reac-
tion has been somewhat more sympathetic
to the West than in the past. The Japa-
nese cabinet secretary publicly expressed
his governments regret that the failure
of the Communists to respond to US peace
efforts had forced the resumption of
bombing. He added that Japan hoped
that the US would continue its peace
efforts as promised.
Malaysia has. also reacted sympathe-
tically. Several other non-Communist
Asian capitals have reported the Presi-
dent's announcement, but none has made
an official comment.
Moscow's reaction contained nothing
new. The official Soviet statement
broadcast this afternoon said that the
resumption of air raids on "peaceful
towns and villages" aggravates the
international situation still further.
It promised that the Soviet Union would
continue giving the North Vietnamese
"the necessary aid and support." The
statement also noted that "no matter
how the-US ,Government assesses Hanoi's
position, nothing can justify the new
acts of aggression which trample under-
foot the elementary standards of human
morality."
Hanoi and Peking are yet to be
heard from.
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2. Soviet Union The expected lunar probe was
3. India
4. Indonesia
launched this morning.
/ It is probably
designed to make a soft landing.
The Soviets are giving very high
priority to this effort; this is their
seventh attempt in the past ten months.
Demonstrations against the govern-
ment's food policy are continuing in
Kerala State, the Communists' Indian
stronghold. Police used tear gas to-
day to break up a student mob.
Mrs. Gandhi had tried to head off
these demonstrations and accompanying
strikes by rescinding an earlier cut
in the rice ration. The Communists,
however, evidently see the food situa-
tion as too good an opportunity to
miss.
There is new evidence that the
Indonesian anti-Communist drive of
recent months has hit the Chinese
Communists hard.
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5. South Vietnam
6. Common Market
Some 10,000 US, South Vietnamese,
and South Korean troops involved in
Operation MASHER continue to press
their offensive against heavily en-
trenched enemy forces in northeast
Binh Dinh Province.
? MASHER so far has resulted in
Communist losses of 312 killed, 103
captured, and 393 suspects detained.
Allied casualties stand at 93 killed
(68 US) and 244 wounded (147 US).
Battalion-strength elements of
the 2d Koran Marine Brigade partici-
pating with US troops in Operation
VAN BUREN in Phu Yen Province were
attacked twice yesterday by two
separate Viet Cong forces. One of
these enemy contingents was estimated
to number 200 men. Both assaults were
successfully repulsed and 179 Communist
troops were killed.
The Council meetings last Friday
and Saturday reached an agreement--
still subject to approval by.Paris
and Rome--that will evidently permit
France to end its six-month boycott.
It is possible that now some of the
most pressing community business can
be handled. Issues of principle re-
main unresolved, however, and prospects
for sustained cooperation are by no
means bright.
The French fell far short of
getting their maximum demands, though
the five others gave some ground.
The issue of majority voting was, in
effect, by-passed. Other issues,
such as the supranational powers of
the Commission, will be subject to
further negotiations.
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7. Bolivia
General Barrientos, likely winner
in next July's presidential election,
is shortly to return home from his
European trip. 50X1
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