THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 19 MARCH 1967

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968844
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: March 19, 1967

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The President's Daily Brief
-Top?Svagge.L. 19, March 1967
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DAILY BRIEF
19 MARCH 1967
1. Communist China
2. Vietnam
The top-level feuding goes on. Sup-
porters of Chou En-lai are now putting
up wall posters defending him against
unnamed opponents. This is a clear sign
that Chou--the most prominent voice of
reason in the tumult--has been the target
of more radical leaders trying to under-
cut him.
Other signs of resurgent radical
efforts are cropping up. The compromise
arrangements reached last month with
leaders in strategic border regions like
Sinkiang are now coming under violent
attack from powerful Red Guard groups in
Peking.
recent defector re-
ports indicate North Vietnamese units in
the Demilitarized Zone may be getting
ready to attack in force US Marine and
South Vietnamese airborne elements oper-
ating in northern Quang Tri Province. At
least four Communist regiments, supported
by two heavy weapons battalions, are be-
lieved available.
A major attack might have the dual
purpose of neutralizing the heavy US
artillery near the Demilitarized Zone
and of diverting allied attention from
continuing infiltration of Communist
units from Laos into western Quang Tri.
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3. South Vietnam
4. Nigeria
Ky's deal with the Constituent As-
sembly is not sitting well with General
Thieu and other members of the Director-
ate.
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Directorate leaders claim they had
planned initially to take a hard bargain-
ing line with the assembly. What especially
bothers them is Ky's agreement to let the
assembly serve as a full-fledged legisla-
ture for the period between election of a
president and a new legislature. The Di-
rectorate had wanted to retain all powers
until both were elected.
Thieu and company have, for the
moment, bowed to the inevitable, accept-
ing the constitution "in principle." How-
ever, they will have one final crack at
it when the Armed Forces Council meets
after Guam to approve its promulgation.
Even if they pass up this opportunity,
the whole affair will further complicate
relations between Ky and Thieu as they
jockey for the presidential nomination.
This unfortunate country has slipped
farther toward chaos in recent days. The
federal government issued a "constitutional"
decree on Friday which is likely to push
the recalcitrant Eastern Region to the
brink of secession--if not beyond.
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. Soviet Union
6. France
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Brezhnev personally put the screws
on Hungarian party boss Kadar last month
in an apparently futile effort to bring
him into line on the question of West
Germany. Rumania had already broken
ranks by unconditionally recognizing
Bonn, and now Hungary seemed inclined
to follow suit.
This, of course, is only one facet
in Moscow's effort to strengthen East
European resistance to Bonn's recent
diplomatic initiatives and to forestall
East Germany's isolation. Kadar's ap-
parent resistance to Brezhnev's arm-
twisting reinforces our belief that Mos-
cow's effort can only be a delaying opera-
tion.
De Gaulle's forces are planning a
tricky maneuver to get control of key
posts in the new assembly, where they
will have the barest majority. The
cabinet is to resign on 1 April to per-
mit those who were elected deputies to
take part in the election of assembly
officers and committee chairmen. Then
they are to resign their assembly seats
and be reappointed to the cabinet. Mem-
bers of the government cannot vote in
parliament.
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7. French Somaliland
8. Lebanon
The people went to the polls on
Sunday as scheduled. French riot police
were called out to suppress at least
two outbreaks. As yet we have no basis
to predict the outcome of the voting.
In Somalia, the Soviet ambassador
implied to Ambassador Thurston that his
government, too, is anxious that there
be no hostilities between Ethiopia and
Somalia. He hinted strongly that Mos-
cow is deliberately holding up a much-
needed shipment of diesel fuel for
Somalia until well after the referendum.
The country seems headed for dark
days. This is the growing feeling
among official and nonofficial contacts
of the US Embassy in Beirut. The fear
is that despite its vaunted neutrality,
Lebanon is being drawn willy-nilly into
the whirlpool of Arab rivalries beyond
its borders.
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Top Secret
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