THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 21 MARCH 1969

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005976681
• 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 21, 1969

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006900150001-5
The President's Daily Brief
21 March 1969
12
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f,
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
22 March 1969
LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
OF 21 MARCH 1969
'?3
There .have been. no ? significant new developments overnight.
FOR -THE :PR13S ID T
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
I, MAJOR PROBLEMS
VIETNAM
As Hanoi reviews the results of the past month's offen-
sive, even those leaders with lesser expectations must be
dissatisfied with the generally ineffective military per-
formance of their forces, especially over the last two weeks.
The Saigon government and the South Vietnamese people have
taken the offensive in stride, no significant differences
have cropped up among the allies, and the impact on the
outside world has probably been less than the Communists
wanted. The failure of the offensive to bring about any
kind of movement in the situation, either in South Vietnam
or in Paris, is probably a source of considerable frustra-
tion to Hanoi.
In particular, the North Vietnamese are undoubtedly
puzzled by the measured US reaction to attacks against the
cities and actions in the DMZ which run against the "under-
standing" on the bombing halt. The Communists probably not
only calculated that some form of US military retaliation
was likely, but also believed that such a response would
work to their advantage by once again heating up the pres-
sures on the US to make political concessions in order to
end the war.
Disappointment with the offensive may be tempered,
however, by a belief that widespread coordinated attacks
are demonstrating that Communist forces still constitute a
serious threat.
FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/18 : CIA-RDP79T00936A006900150001-5
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
The North Vietnamese to our knowledge have not yet
reacted to the current US bid for private talks. This re-
luctance may be only an attempt to play hard to get, but
t could also point to disagreement or uncertainty in Hanoi
about how to proceed in Paris. The military situation in
the South provides ample reason both for disagreement and
uncertainty. All the evidence at present indicates that
the Communists intend to drag out the offensive for some
time yet, certainly into April. Even if private talks are
opened relatively soon, the Communists are unlikely to alter
these plans.
EUROPE
SOVIET AFFAIRS
The East Germans, perhaps at Soviet prodding, have
stopped obstructing traffic between Berlin and West Ger-
many and apparently have even made the procedures for
2
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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36
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
processing the traffic less onerous.
MIDDLE EAST
3
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
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Top Secret
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