THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 5 FEBRUARY 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976602
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 20
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: February 5, 1969

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The President's Daily Brief
5 February 1969
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TOP SECRET
LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF OF
5 FEBRUARY 1969
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
6 February 1969
LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF OF
5 FEBRUARY 1969
MAJOR PROBLEMS
MIDDLE EAST
There is nothing significant to report.
EUROPE
The Soviets have taken a hard stand against any
West German proposals for a deal under which Moscow
would renounce "rights" it has already asserted to
intervene in West German affairs under the Potsdam
accords and the United Nations charter, in return for
Bonn's signature of the nonproliferation treaty.
until
German peace treaty is concluded, the Soviets will con-
tinue to regard both documents as the basis for their
relations with Bonn.
In West Germany, a parliamentary controverpy has
arisen over recent criticism of certain aspects of the
nonproliferation treaty by two ranking diplomats, one
the Foreign Office's commissioner for disarmament. The
matter has taken a strong political coloration; the
Socialists are critical and the Christian Democrats are
defending the diplomats. The leader of the small Free
Democratic Party also is critical. He told US Embassy
officers on 5 February that his party is solidly in
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favor of West German signature of the treaty.
The Socialists yesterday apparently reneged on an
earlier promise to support Kai-Uwe von Hassel, a Chris-
tian Democrat, as the new president of the West German
parliament. Von Hassel won anyway, by two votes, but
he had to rely on votes from the Free Democrats,
not in the grand coalition. This looks like yet
reason for a loosening--if not dismemberment--of
coalition prior to elections later this year.
who are
another
the
SOVIET AFFAIRS
There is nothing significant to report.
VIETNAM
The Viet Cong Radio announced today that another
US prisoner would be released during the Tet holiday,
which occurs from 17 to 19 February. The captive is
said to be John A. Kuhman, a US soldier who was born in
West Germany. The Viet Cong may be planning to make a
propaganda issue out of his birthplace. (Reuters, Sai-
gon, 6 Feb 69)
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The press also reports that two terrorists bombed
a local civil guard headquarters in Saigon today. We
expect more
of
this type of attack as Tet approaches.
(Reuters, Saigon, 6 Feb 69)
IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
There is nothing of significanceAio report.
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PUN 11-1h FREMDLIVI ONLY
MAJOR PROBLEMS
MIDDLE EAST
There is nothing of significance to report.
EUROPE
As we had expected, the debate in West Germany over the
nonproliferation treaty is heating up and is threatening to
spill over into this year's election campaign. Brandt down-
graded the arguments against the treaty last week in an arti-
cle put out by his party's press service, and CDU and CSU
leaders have been rebutting him ever since. The CSU, with
Franz-Josef Strauss himself in the van, is particularly ve-
hement and comprehensive in its objections. We assume that,
one motive behind Bonn's urgent requests for a US demarche
to the Soviets is a desire to have the issue resolved as far
as possible in advance of the elections next fall.
Moscow has made
head off the meeting
West Berlin. Soviet
dent Mayor Schuetz's
late
a bit more headway in its efforts to
of the West German Federal Assembly in
Ambassador Abrasimov has managed to
belief that the meeting would not stimu-
any major Communist countermeasures.
Ambassador Tsarapkin
will doubtless be trying to drive the wedge in farther in
his upcoming talk with Brandt at the lattz.er's Black Forest
retreat.
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The Soviets may-be having troubles of their own, how-
ever. Deputy Foreign Minister Semenov met yesterday in
Berlin with high East German leaders probably to go over
several issues--including the Assembly meeting--on. which
Soviet and East German policies differ. We will probably
hear more noise from the Soviets about the Assembly in the
future, although not as much as Pankow would like.
At the moment we still expect the meeting to be held
in Berlin as planned.
SOVIET AFFAIRS
For the past three weeksthere has been a sense of un-
ease in Moscow concerning the situation in the Kremlim. The
factor contributing most conspicuously to this unease has
been Kosygin's long absence from his desk (he was last seen
publicly on 20 December).
Brezhnev has not been seen in public since 22 January,
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Another member of the Politburo, Kirilenko, has 50X1
been out of sight since 13 December. Other members of the
Politburo have filled in for them, resulting in unusual pub-
lic exposure for Shelepin, among others. As an ambitious
"junior" who is believed to have made an unsuccessful attempt
in 1965 to topple some of his elders, Shelepin's activities
are always the subject of special interest.
The uncertainty has also been heightened by the regime's
silence, since its initial terse announcement, concerning the
attack on the cosmonaut motorcade on 22 January. Soviet citi-
zens have been speculating wildly. Some fear the incident
was a secret police provocation by which to justify a crack-
down on political nonconformists, while others believe the at-
tack was against the Soviet leadership rather than the cosmo-
nauts.
The Soviet press has recently carried several articles
expressing dissatisfaction, in veiled terms, with the way
in which the leadership has been exercised. These articles
are not unprecedented, but their appearance during this period
of uncertainty has contributed to the over-all sense of unease.
We have no good information on the forces behind these
articles or on their intended targets. We suspect, however,
that individual members of the leadership may be jockeying for
position, perhaps with an eye to the possibility that Kosygin
may not return to duty.
The Annex today provides some background on the current
relationship t among the Soviet leaders.
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1-UK 1-1E PKESIDEN1 UNL Y
The Soviets are concerned, as we are, that Ayub's posi-
tion is shaky and that his fall could only mean confusion,
instability, and an opening for the Chinese. They clearly
want to preserve the status quo on the subcontinent and prob-
ably hope to maintain the advantage over the US and Communist
China they feel they attained after the settlement of Tash-
kent in 1965.
VIETNAM
Thieu is increasingly beset with demands that he
reshuffle his cabinet. The list of those who have re-
cently made clear their wish
for major changes in Saigon includes Vice Presi-
dent Ky, III Corps commander Do Cao Tri, General "Big"
Minh and, of course, the militant Buddhists.
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CHINA
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