THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF (MORNING) 17 MARCH 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976671
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: March 17, 1969

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The President's Daily Brief
17 March 1969
(Morning)
19
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
MAJOR PROBLEMS
MIDDLE EAST
Israeli aircraft attacked terrorist bases in Jordan again
today, according to press reports.
SOVIET AFFAIRS
There is nothing of significance to report.
EUROPE
There is nothing of significance to report.
VIETNAM
Soviet Ambassador Zorin shed no new light on the Viet-
namese Communist line during his luncheon conversation with
Ambassadors LOdge,Shriver, and Walsh last Friday. Zorin
seemed mainly bent on giving the US a shove toward moving
the talks forward. His new note .of urgency is reminiscent
Of the advice the Soviets were giving last October when they
repeatedly told the US to move rapidly on the bombing halt
or lose, a favorable opportunity for progress in the talks.
Their approach at that time clearly reflected basic decisions
in Hanoi and was not just another means of pushing the US in
the right direction.
Zorin conveyed somewhat the same impression on Friday
by saying-the pace in Paris must be accelerated or we would
"miss the train." In particular, he said, the Soviet border
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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clash with China on 2 March underscored the "urgent need" for
progress toward a settlement in Vietnam.
Zotin confirmed beyond doubt that the Vietnamese Commu-
nists are ready for private talks with the US. His claim
that Hanoi and the Front are not prepared to talk to the GVN
representatives is party line material and should not be con-
sidered the final word from the Vietnamese Communists. The
latter recognize they will have to deal with the GVN eventu-
ally; they probably expect this to happen sooner rather than
later.
As lOng as the Soviets show no sign of doing anything
more positive than advising unilateral US concessions, Zotin's
line that we need to move fast must be treated as primarily
an attempt to pressure the US- The new Sino-Soviet border
incident however, and allegations that Peking is again in-
terfetring with Soviet rail shipments through China to North
Vietnam make it almost certain that we are going to hear more
of this theme from Moscow.
There are too Many new Cross-currents in Moscow-Peking-
Hanoi relations at the moment to determine how North Vietnam
is being affected by these developments or how they might in-
fluence Communist strategy for the war.. Sino-Soviet tensions
inevitably have an impact in Hanoi, and they are doubly un-
settling when the regime is engaged in military activity which
runs high risks of producing US- retaliation against the North.
2
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The Communists conducted mortar and rocket attacks against
allied military positions throughout the country and against
selected urban centers during the first hours of the weekend,
but the results were generally unimpressive. The sharp ground
fighting that began east of Saigon on Friday continued through-
out the weekend, spreading to other nearby provinces.
Saigon was hit by four rockets which did little damage
on 15 March, the day following the rocket attack on Hue. Da
Nang, however, was not hit.
Communist forces are .continuing to Make extensive use
of the Demilitarized Zone, as activity picked up in that area.
On Saturday, some 15 rockets were. launched, apparently from
positions within the DMZ against allied installations at Cua
Viet, and the Communists launched ground attacks just south
of the Zone on 16 March, inflicting heavy casualties on an
allied platOon.1
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Heavy ground action in III Corps included clashes in Tay
Ninh, Binh Long, Bien Hoa, and Long Khanh provinces, but the
enemy has not yet committed the bulk of his divisions surround-
ing the capital.
Nhan Dan, the Hanoi party daily, took note of President
Nixon's press conference of 14 March in an editorial today.
The editorial countered the President's comments on Vietnam
with a fairly straight reiteration of the Communist demands
for a US withdrawal and a settlement based on the Liberation
Front's program.
II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
SOVIET UNION " COMMUNIST' CHINA
Russian and Chinese versions of the border incident over
the weekend differ, but both sides indicate that this second
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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clash was larger than the one on 2 March. This time, artil-
lery was used by both sides. The Soviets evidently had been
patrolling the disputed island area heavily since the first
encounter, and trouble probably stemmed from a Chinese deci-
sion to challenge these patrols.
The fighting has not spread to other areas, but there
may well be more incidents over the disputed island. The So-
viet protest note on Saturday said that Chinese and Soviet
border troop representatives had met on 12 March, but appar-
ently resolved nothing.
UNITED KINGDOM-- NIGERIA
Prime Minister Wilson will make a three- or four-day.
visit to Lagos beginning 26 March.
5
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Top Secret
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