THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 JANUARY 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976569
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: January 18, 1969

? ? Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/30 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700130001-9
The President's Daily Brief
tae.t.- 18 January 1969
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THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
18 JANUARY1969
1. South Vietnam Ky is planning to return to Paris
next week. He
2; Soviet Union
3. Peru
wants to meet With
Ambassador Lodge now that the table
question has been resolved. Ky hopes
to get back to Saigon for the Tet holi-
days in mid-February.
Soyuz 5 is back on earth and its
pilot has been safely recovered. There
are tentative indications that the ship
had some difficulty during de-orbit,
but it is too soon to reach any conclu-
sion on this aspect of its flight.
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New Soviet Attack Submarine Involved in White Sea Missile Firing
Soviet C-class nuclear-powered forpedo ?attack submarine,
seen entering White Sea 3 days prioi to 20 July 1968 missile
firing.
C-class submarine berthed at the ,.Litsa Bay
submarine base. Eight missile launch tubes
are visible at bow.
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4. Soviet Union
5. Spain -
Soviet Union
last July the
Soviets test fired a new type of short-
range missile from their "C-class" nu-
clear attack Submarine.
Possibly as many as three-missiles
were fired in the White Sea, up to a
range of 35 miles. We do not know-
whether the missiles are intended for
use against surface ships or submarines.
The Soviets now have three of the
"C-class" submarines operational in
-their northern fleet, but so far they
have not left.Soviet-waters.
photography indicates that this
vessel has eight missile tubes.
* * *
It looks as if the Soviets have
completed their second antisubmarine
helicopter carrier--the Leningrad. It
now may be getting ready for a trial
run on the Black Sea. It took nearly
a year to shakedown the Moskva,- the
Soviets' only other helicopter carrier,
prior to its initial voyage into the
Mediterranean last September.
Franco has been trying to persuade
the Soviets for two months to use Span-
ish ports, rather than Gibraltar, for
resupply of their ships and fishing
boats. The idea is to impair the Rock's
economy as part of the effort to drive
the British out. The Spaniards are
trying to keep their, dalliance with the
Soviets quiet while the Gibraltar is-
sue is being considered by the United
Nations and while negotiations on US
bases in Spain are in progress. We do
not yet know how the Soviets have re-
sponded to the Spanish ploy.
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6. Venezuela-Guyana
7. Jordan
Disappointed Venezuelan officials
are determined to press their claim on
the Essequibo regiOn of Guyana, despite
the failure of the rebellion the in-
stigated there two weeks ago.
No longer denying their government's
complicity, these officials are private-
ly indicating they intend to stir up
the local population and step up their
psychological warfare against the Guy-
anese Government. The irridentists
care little about international reac-
tion, believing that neither the Organi-
zation of American States nor the United
Nations canstop them.
Incoming President Caldera is un-
der pressure to support i this operation
after he assumes office in March. He
is reluctant to talk about it to US of-
ficials, perhaps an indication that he
has not .yet Made up his mind whether to
go along.
In the meantime, the Guyanese are
continuing mopping up operations with
circumspection and without undue rough
stuff--Venezuelan propaganda about
atrocities notwithstanding. Only 28
persons have been brought before magis-
trates so far.
Students have called a strike for
today to protest a proposed conscrip-
tion law, which they interpret as be-
ing designed to keep them from joining
the terrorists. If the demonstration
is successful, Husayn may modify the
draft law in hopes of reducingdissent.
He. cannot eliminate popular support
for the guerrillas, however.
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.
Arab Guerrillas
9. Berlin
10. Canada
The Kuwaitis may have set a prece-
dent that other Arab governments will
find hard to ignore. They have decided
to make their support of Arab guerrillas
an official part of their budget.
The cabinet has decided on a mini-
mum expenditure of $8.4 million in fis-
cal 1969. Previously the Palestinian
terrorists were supported in Arab'coun-
tries by voluntary public subscription,
private donations, and various small
semiofficial imposts on incomes or
sales.
As we expected, the Soviets are
gradually stepping up the intensity of
their protests as the 5 March date
draws closer for the election of the
next Federal president in West Berlin.
Soviet ambassadors in. Bonn and in East
Berlin warned last week that the elec-
tion was provocative and might draw
reprisals. So far, we think this is
just talk, While the Soviets make up
their minds on how they will react.
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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
18 January 1969
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
18 January 1969
NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Austria Being Urged .to Recognize -Hanoi:. The So-
viet Union and several other Communist countries re-
portedly have urged Austria to follow Sweden's lead
in recognizing North Vietnam, claiming that this is
a proper course of action for all neutral countries.
This advice, according to Austrian Foreign Minister
Waldheim, has so far been in moderate key. He as-
serted, however; that Austria "of course" has no in-
tention of recognizing North Vietnam. There is no
indication that the Communists have exerted similar
pressure yet on other European neutrals such as Fin-
land and Switzerland, but both governments have re-
cently disclaimed publicly any intention of recog-
nizing Hanoi.
Propaganda on Talks: Communist propaganda is
taking a tough line on the eve of the opening of the
procedural talks in Paris, according to Western news
services. Having failed to get any significant
recognition of Liberation Front status with the a-
greement on procedural meetings, the Communists in
both Hanoi and Paris are now bearing down hard on
this issue in preparation for the next phase of the
talks. The Hanoi daily Nhan Dan insisted progress
in the talks is "definitely, certainly, and complete-
ly impossible" so long as the US refuses to "offi-
cially recognize and negotiate with" the Front. This
point was also high on a list of priority demands is-
sued by the Liberation Front at a news conference in
Paris on the 17th.
* * *
Comments of Mai.Van-Bo:--When-he was asked re-
cently if political and military matters should be
settled separately or concurrently, Hanoi's permanent
Paris representative dismissed proposals along these
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lines. He said these were "beside ? the point, delay-
ing tactics, foggy thinking...and a waste of time."
The main thing, BO said, is for the North Vietnamese
and Americans to sit down together and talk about the
future of South Vietnam. He described the Communists'
as "open minded and full of serious intent:.:" He
claimed this had been so for over six months. When
the .Americans "mean business" and are ready to talk
about a compromise solution acceptable "to us and to
them," he said, "they will find us ready to talk."
* * *
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
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