THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 APRIL 1968

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005974359
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: April 2, 1968

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The President's Daily Brief
2 April 1968
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The President's Daily Brief
2 April 1968
The President's
Speech
LATE ITEM
A 2 April message to subordinates
from a provincial committee to the
south of Hanoi is the first reaction we
have received from inside North Viet-
nam. The message, whose over-all tone
is rather calm, says the President's
speech expresses "an embarrassing defeat
for the American pirates." It urges
recipients to be cautious and to "take
preventive measures for each deceitful
plot." . Party members are exhorted to
"expand each .activity," particularly
"the mission of communications and
transportation aimed at realizing the
party's strategy."
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DAILY BRIEF
2 APRIL 1968
, The President's
Speech
In the flood of public and private
comment which is coming in, the follow-
ing reactions to President Johnson's
speech seem noteworthy:
--The Sovietsr
avoided commenting on it. They will
probably study it for some time. Po-
lish Foreign Minister Rapacki told Am-
bassador Gronouski that he thought the
President "had put his hand on the door-
knob but has not pushed the door (to
negotiations) open." In general, Soviet
and East European press commentary has
been cautiously critical of the bombing
halt and skeptical of the President's
announcement of his noncandidacy.
--A French Foreign Ministry of
told our embassy that Couve has
urgently ordered an analysis of the?
speech--to include suggestions on what,
if anything, Paris should do to get Hanoi
to respond. The official said France
probably would not comment publicly un-
til De Gaulle's regular Wednesday cabinet
meeting, but he personally considers
the speech an "important step" and plans
to press his viewpoint with Hanoi's man
in Paris,
--Hanoi's ambassador in Prague told
a Swedish radio correspondent--in un-
certain German--that "negotiations can
now start." We doubt that his statement
is based on any word from home, however.
Otherwise, North Vietnamese representa-
tives, in scattered and sometimes expli-
citly unofficial reactions, have not
budged from Hanoi's previous line. There
has been nothing from Hanoi itself.
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Outbreaks of Violence in Brazil
Colombia
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2. South Vietnam
3. Brazil
4. Poland
5. Czechoslovakia
Armed students and opposition ex-
tremists clashed with security forces
in several parts of Brazil last night.
Two DSIS offices were sacked during
the demonstrations, and two demonstra-
tors were killed.
Even if there are no demonstra-
tions, tensions may build if the Costa
e Silva government yields to military
pressure for stronger action against
the opposition. Costa e Silva report-
edly has already decided to arrest the
flamboyant oppositionist, Carlos Lacerda.
To do so would give Lacerda a resonant
courtroom sounding board for his anti-
government diatribes..
An undeclared power struggle seems
to be going on in the upper reaches of
the Polish hierarchy. Gomulka is not
being attacked directly at the moment.
On the other hand, he is more often
than not described merely as the spokes-
man for an unspecified collective "party
leadership." To judge from the govern-
ment's propaganda, those who favor a
hard line toward the recent unrest are
currently on top. Gomulka apparently
is trying to postpone anything which
would bring the struggle to a head in
hopes that he can get things back in
control in the next few months.
Ambassador Beam believes that cur-
rent trends in Prague are favorable to
our interests, and that with low-key help
from us and other Western nations, Dub-
cek has a chance of putting together a
successful reform government.
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6. Chile
7. Saudi Arabia -
Yemen
8. Belgium
President Frei is now almost com-
pletely isolated politically, and his
economic and social reform program is
about on the rocks.
He has lost the parliamentary
support he needs to push his anti-infla-
tionary reforms through a resistant Con-
gress. To get anything at all through
Congress, he may now acquiesce in-de-
mands for higher taxes on the US-owned
copper mines.
The Saudis, worried about the-So-
viet presence in Yemen and fed up with
Yemeni royalist bickering, have-told.
the royalists that no more money will
be forthcoming unless feuding ends and
fighting against the republicans resumes.
This is largely a pressure tactic,,
since the Saudis are too nervous about
the Soviets to leave the royalists in
the lurch for long:
In any case, the republicans have
troubles of their own, and it would not
take too much of an effort by the roy-
alists to give the impression that the
seesaw in the civil war is tipping back
their way.
All three major parties lost some
ground in Sunday's elections. The two
extremist parties--one French-speaking,
the other Dutch-speaking--both gained
seats, but they still are too small to
be worthwhile coalition partners. So
the three big parties probably will come
up with yet another coalition. There is
little chance that this government will
last long, much less heal Belgium's deep
communal divisions.
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9. Panama
10.
The Supreme Court adjourned yester-
day without ruling on the issues sur-
rounding Robles' impeachment. We do not
know whether it plans to stall as long
as it can, or whether it will rule in
the next few days. In any case, Arias
and his followers will doubtless try to
keep things lively in the streets until
the ruling is made. A pro-Arias radio
station yesterday made yet another call
for a general strike.
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Top Secret
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Top Secret
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
1.) Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
.) North Vietnamese Reflections of U S
Political Attitudes
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16
2 April 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
2 April 1968
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
From commu-
nications intelligence the number of Chinese military
personnel in North Vietnam is calculated at up to
50,000, engaged both in construction and antiaircraft
tasks.
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* * *
Heavy Truck Traffic Through Laos: Road watch
teams near the Mu Gia Pass reported unusually heavy
truck traffic moving into Laos during March. These
trucks were probably involved in the logistics back-
up for the major North Vietnamese troop infiltration
now under way. Between 8 and 23 March an average of
53 trucks a day were coming through the pass (this,
compared to 41 a day noted in February). Road watch
teams farther south on the infiltration corridor
have reported an increased supply flow, too.
Intercepted messages also point to an intensive
logistical effort. There have been references to a
"crash program."
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Hanoi Continues F-111 Commentary: Hanoi's domes-
tic radio on 31 March carried another long commentary
taking credit for destroying two F-111 aircraft. The
broadcast said the Pentagon "had to admit" the first
F-111 was downed by the Northern armed forces and
people, and it cited Western press sources as evidence
the second one was lost while conducting a combat mis-
sion "over" North Vietnam.
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