THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 28 JANUARY 1969

Document Type: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
0005976587
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
T
Document Page Count: 
17
Document Creation Date: 
August 14, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 24, 2016
Sequence Number: 
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
January 28, 1969
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PDF icon DOC_0005976587.pdf488.8 KB
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- Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 The President's Daily Brief 28 January 1969 50X1 19 Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 32 F-7 Israeli-controlled areas following June 1967 hostilities Mediterranean ?32? Aleicandria ?28? Cairo Half ISRAEL ? Tel Aviv- / WEST z Yafo* \ BANK 4? cf) 316 Latakia I Beirut* .1-lamah SYRIA *Damascus GOLAN HEIGHTS Yarmuk R. Amman L jeru alem? * ? ,5Dead GAZA STRIP ;oft Said / / JORDAN Ismailia Sue Z \ I \\ ) Canal 1 UNITED R AB REPUBLIC (E c Y P T) 50 100 MILES Suez Qina SINAI PENINSULA / Elat vi.Aciaba Hurghada. p 11, al (L Sharm ash- Shaykh Red Sea ?32? SAUDI ?28 AR ABIA ?24? ASWAN 32 HIGH DAM 36 ?24--- 93478 1-69 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY I. MAJOR PROBLEMS MIDDLE EAST ,The Annex today sets forth some of the problems Jordan's King Husayn faces. FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 EASTERN EUROPE BUDGETED MILITARY EXPINDITUREi , II:969 Percentage; Cha?nw from 1468 I Milibry Expenditures3as; Percentage! of 1198t . Total ITU &get R 1:98V COUNTRY , (and: currency) 11611;Plannecl km:Hiram)) I. 1:969Planna (fit m illrons)) ALBAN:IA (Leks)!, 304 42G BULGARIA (Levaf, 264 306 +lag 6101 64 L.,. CZECHOSLOVAKIA (Crowns)) T2,9001, T4,200' . -14011 ? 819) EAST. GERMANY' (OM)) 5,90a 6,30t/ 4 816 8.7 917 HUNGARY (FOiiiits)) 61;4:001' 9,029). +25.6 . 4:6 5iI POLAND) (Zlotys)) 29,096 33,853 14611 915i 917' RUMANIA (Leif 5),200) 6,400) +2311 17' 42 YUGOSLAVIA (N'ew Dinars)) _ ?,. , . ? - . 63,039 6,86g . -,41.34*.' 561.6 6'014 *lir December 1968, ngosMvia7 announced! a suppli.mentary, defense expendith re, whibfr brought actimil milibry, spendliv?, a p to 6;425:millibnr new,dibars:. expe-ndifurer fir 1968 i?; an IV 67,T percent. The ihereaserof p bnnedidelenseexpeaditureriin 11.9691overactue 936377 7-69) C:175( Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY EUROPE Nothing of significance to report. SOVIET AFFAIRS All the Eastern European countries have announced increased military budgets for 1969, most of them for the fourth consecutive year. The increases, however, are generally larger than in the past few years, rang- ing from a low of nine percent for East Germany to more than 20 percent for Rumania and Hungary, and almost 40 percent for Albania. The military budgets in all coun- tries account for an equal or larger percentage of their total budgets than in 1968. ?There is no evidence that the increases in military spending are because of large-scale military buildups. It is probable that the Warsaw Pact members are respond- ing to Soviet pressures to bring their military capabilities FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 PUK 1 tih FKL).1.12LN 1 UJNLY up to previously planned levels. With the introduction of economic reform and more realistic budget planning, the understatement of military expenses may be coming to an end. Other factors also may include higher real costs from the use of more sophisticated equipment, the effects of inflation, and the budgetary and price re- forms., VIETNAM A recent article by one of Hanoi's leading generals, Chu Van Tan, is another in a series of recent attempts to make party cadres understand that much hard fighting lies ahead. Tan emphasized that North Vietnam's number one priority is concentrating its energies and resources, in- cluding manpower, in support of the struggle in South Viet- nam. In criticizing local party leaders in the North, he strongly suggested that many ,of them are not always putting first things first. Tan argued that only a persistent offensive strategy will bring success. He-strongly criticized both the per- formance of Communist forces in the South and their over- reliance on support from the North. In one particularly pointed passage, he observed that "to be worthy of the rear base's [the North's] confidence, the front line [the ? South] must ensure continuous, resounding victories, use the aid of the rear base most rationally and economically, and strive to help the rear base lessen its burden by car- ing for, preserving, and developing its own forces."' 3 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 5 50 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY -AO OX1 50 X1 X1 50X1 4 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 192 194 ? . Bao Lac ? Thai Nguyen. 196 198 ? .Ning-ming ' Lang Son. BURMA 4 .Kep ? '17;iN ! b ? ? .9?1,9 '');??? ? -H iphong .Nan-ning CHINA -22 Samneua. Wang Prabang NORTH VIETNAM It GULF ? OF TONKIN 18- VIENTIANE 16- 14- BANGKOK 12- 10- Udon Thani. Dong Hoi ,.? V...4.4rth1,inh \Demarcation Li .ne .Qu ang Tri ? .1-1'i-in y:.:7eitDa Nang -;1?Ife:oRPS ? Tchepone. Savannakhet THAILAND GULF OF SIAM Battambang *Saravane SOUTH VIETNAM ? Quang Ngai r.I 4 -18 -16 ui Nhon CAMBODIA PHNOM PENH VIETNAM 0 25 50 75 ioo 125 MILES 5?, Loc Ninh -14 N a Trang -12 *Dam Ranh .Tay Ninh III CORPS \-1.\--,? Can Tho ? r Capital Special Zone IV CORPS AIGON My Tho ..? Vung Tau .Ca Mau (J. SOUTH CHINA SEA 102 104 106 108 -10 93465 1-69 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 5 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 PUK 11-IL PK011)L1N1 UNLY OX1 50X1 50X1 We continue to receive information from prisoners that the Communists intend to step up the level of their military activity in early February, particularly in the provinces around Saigon. US Marine positions just below the Demilitarized Zone were hit by Communist mortar rounds fired from within the southern portion of the DMZ. This is the first re- ported instance of Communist firing from positions within the DMZ since 21 December. FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS PERU The US-owned International Petroleum Company has been told by the Peruvians that its remaining assets will be seized unless it pays the $15 million debt it allegedly owes by the end of this month. 50X2 The highly nationalistic Velasco regime expro- priated the Talara refinery and took over 4 company- run oilfield last October.. It if does not take ap- propriate steps to offer fair compensation by 9 April, US law calls for the suspension of Peru's sugar-quota and a cutoff of aicL COMMUNIST CHINA 6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X2 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FUR "I HE PRESIDENT ONLY Communist China, which had moderately successful crops in 1968, now has ordered 3.7 million tons of Australian and Canadian wheat to meet expected food deficits in its urban areas. This about matches its grain imports for last year, but falls considerably be- low the 5-million-ton average which prevailed during the early 1960s. These lower imports reflect in part Peking's "back to the farm" program which has resulted in tens of millions of city dwellers being sent to the countryside where they must scrabble along with the peasants for sustenance from local food production. 7 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X2 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 HUSAYN Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X6 50X6 50X6 , Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY THE FUTURE OF JORDAN SIGNIFICANCE: Jordan, almost alone among the Arab states involved in the present Arab-Israeli conflict, has mani- fested a steadfast desire to maintain friendly relations with the United States. The king's efforts to combine loyal Arabism, preservation of Jordan's national integrity, and mainte- nance of Western ties have made his personal position in- creasingly precarious, but his political agility has kept him alive and in touch with the friends and foes who have suffered Jordan to exist--so far. His departure could lead to the partition of Jordan and the dissolution of practically the only pro-American oasis in the Arab World. The King is well aware of the possibility of assassi- nation. His grandfather, King Abdullah, was murdered in a' Jerusalem mosque. in 1950, and Husayn is acutely con- scious :that he walks in his grandfather's footsteps. His current conflicts with the Palestinian terrorists have in- creased the possibility that some rabid Arab may put a bul- let into Husayn. Husayn has been in a dilemma over how to deal with the terrorists, for whom Jordan is a major base of FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY operations. Sympathy for the terrorists among the popu lace and within the army has made it impossible for him fully to put down terrorist activity despite the clear fact that terrorist action out of Jordan only brings quick and harsh retaliation from the Israelis. Husayn has now come to a fragile truce NnTith the major terror- ist organizations.r Husayn still has a number of assets working for him. He retains the loyalty of the Bedouin core of the army, has demonstrated his skill in dealing with the terrorists, and faces no-well-organized political opposi- tion in the country. ( The King has been a long-time friend of the United States. Jordan was one of the few Arab states that did not break relations with Washington after the June 1967 war, and Husayn has consistently opposed pressures from his army and within his government to tighten the country's A2 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY relations with Moscow. Nevertheless, should it appear to the Jordanians that the US is dragging its feet in regard to our promised delivery of aircraft to the Jor- danians, this could be the final straw that would turn Husayn toward Moscow. Husayn'S legal_successor is his-youngest brother, Crown Prince Hasan, an intelligent and perceptive Oxford graduate of 21. Hasan takes his official position and possible future thoughtfully, but has failed to demonstrate the charismatic qualities which have. helped Husayn hold, his throne this long. A3 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 50X6 50X6 5 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 FOR IRE PRESIDENT ONLY A4 OX6 FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9 ? Top Secret Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/04/27 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006700220001-9