THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974181
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: April 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2019
• Publication Date: December 20, 1967

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The President's Daily Brief
cret 20 December 1967
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DAILY BRIEF
20 DECEMBER 1967
1. South Vietnam
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2. Philippines
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3. Communist China Preparations for the next nuclear
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4. Common Market
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5. Greece
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test are progressing.
The next
test appears at least several weeks away,
however.
The French have again formally
vetoed Britain's application. This was
an open avowal of Paris' isolated posi-
tion--and as such was a "success" for
the Five. The ball is now in their court.
Their ability to do anything will
probably depend upon the German attitude.
The Germans may try to play down the air of
crisis. Bonn's partners among the Five,
however, are likely to resent any German
attempt to smooth things over.
Negotiations for the King's return
have so far run into a stone wall. Con-
stantine has described the junta's latest
terms as "a deliberate attempt to humili-
ate" him, and "completely unacceptable."
Other emissaries have still to try their
hands, however. Since the King appears
to want to return, and the junta seems,
nervous over lack of recognition, an ac=
commodation is still possible.
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6. Czechoslovakia
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7. Yemen
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8. Congo
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The central committee meeting post-
poned from last week is apparently about
to come off, and rancorous divisions
among the leadership will probably pro-
duce some fireworks. The rumor mill is
working overtime, but it now looks as if
the result might be the sort of inconclu-
sive compromise that has enabled the re-
gime to muddle through past crises.
Schramme and his mercenaries are
still languishing in Rwanda. Mobutu
wants them back in the Congo for trial,
and is making noises about sending his
army in to get them if Kayibanda still
refuses to hand them over. The two
leaders were to discuss the problem
again today.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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20 December 1967
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
20 December 1967
I. NOTES ON THE SITUATION
No Sign of Give: North Vietnamese spokesmen
abroad are continuing to parrot the hard line on
settling the war. They insist that an unconditional
end to the bombing must precede any negotiations,
and that a settlement must be in accordance with
their terms.
During a lengthy interview with a journalist
last week, Tran Viet Dung, counselor of Hanoi's
representation in France, refused to consider any
suggestions for achieving a settlement except on
the basis of.well-known Communist positions. He
placed the blame for the war squarely on the US and
claimed that the American aim is to destroy North
Vietnam's sovereignty and make it part of the US
"sphere of influence." Dung also claimed that the
Liberation Front is much stronger than the "Saigon
clique" but he was unable to agree to--or even to
comprehend--a proposal that, if this was so, the North
Vietnamese could safely agree to a "compromise" gov-
ernment in the South.
* * *
Front Anniversary Propaganda: The Vietnamese
Communists are using the seventh anniversary of the
founding of the Liberation Front to voice their de-
termination to press on with the war. I
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* * *
Poles Talk to Governor Romney on Vietnam: For-
eign Minister Rapacki told the Governor on Sunday
that the "mechanism" of escalation, which "feeds on
itself," is at work and is preventing negotiations--
a point Rapacki has repeatedly made before. Rapacki,
choosing his words carefully, went on to say that
he could give no guarantees as to how soon negotia-
tions would begin after cessation of bombing. How-
ever, Rapacki said he had "reasons" and "sufficient
experience" in the last year and a half for "think-
ing that after an unconditional halt to the bombing,
only a few weeks would elapse before negotiations
would become possible." He added that the "US Gov-
ernment knows perfectly well that stopping the bomb-
ing would lead to negotiations."
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* * *
Miscellaneous Comments on Living Conditions:
refugees who left
Nortn Vietnam recently presents further details of
the austere life in Hanoi.
electric power was frequently limited in the city,
but that portable generators seemed to take up the
slack.
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there was an active black market in Hanoi and
that almost any rationed commodit could be purchased
by those who had the price, it was rela-
tively easy to identify a blac mar e eer; that trans-
actions were carried out right on the street. If the
authorities observed the sale, the black marketeer
would be fined on the spot, but not punished further,
even if he had been caught before. Rice and other
foodstuffs, cigarettes, clothing, and watches were
popular items on the black market./
the criterion for determining the size of rations was
the amount of physical labor performed.
II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
Front on Reports of Planned Meeting with US Of-
ficials: A 15 December Liberation Front commentary
includes the first Vietnamese Communist reference to
reports of a planned meeting between US and Front
officials in Saigon. The statement says that "all
the US aggressors' deceitful peace tricks have gone
bankrupt--including their vile act of giving rise
to a myth about the so-called proposal of the Front
to send representatives to the United Nations, and
about the Front's representatives coming to the US
Embassy in Saigon." The statement did not comment
on these points. It went on to underscore the inde-
pendence and importance of the Front and to voice the
determination of the "Vietnamese people" to "surge
forward on all battlefields" in order to "realistically
greet" the anniversary of the Front.
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