THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 17 DECEMBER 1965

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968054
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: December 17, 1965

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
17 DECEMBER 1965
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DAILY BRIEF
17 DECEMBER 1965
1. Rhodesia
Most African leaders now seem to be
awaiting the results of their, pressures
on Britain to take stronger action against
Rhodesia. At the same time, there seems
to be considerable confusion among the
Africans as to what their next move
should be.
In addition to the seven states
which have broken relations with London,
the Ethiopian Government--according to
the foreign minister--will do so "immi-
nently." It is still doubtful that the
Ethiopians will make such a move in the
absence of the Emperor, who is off visit-
ing the Malagasy Republic.
2. Dominican Republic
Gangs of young toughs, reminiscent
of those prominent in the uprising last
April, roamed a limited section of Santo
Domingo this morning, but the situation
seems to be more nearly under control this
afternoon:
The agitation today evidently had
little to do with the Christmas bonus
issue, which pro-Communists exploited
to spark the demonstrations yesterday.
Leftist elements are dissociating them-
selves from the violence and are accus-
ing rightists of whipping it up. There
have been no disturbances in the rest of
the country.
The strike situation is mixed. As
of last night, Garcia Godoy was still
hopeful that government workers would
desert their leftist leaders and be back
on the job by the end of this week. This
appears overly optimistic.
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3. Venezuela
4. Cuba
/the Cubans are at-
taching great importance to the forth-
coming "Tri-continent Conference." The
conference will bring Communist and Com-
munist-inclined delegates, especially
from Asia, Africa, and Latin America,
to the Cuban capital the first week in
January.
Cubans believe that this meeting
will build up Castro's image and demon-
strate to Washington that his regime is
not isolated from the rest of the world.
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5. Peru
6. Indonesia
7. Soviet Union
The government has scored another
success in combating the country's en-
demic leftist guerrilla problem. Ear-
lier this week police killed the leader,
Guillermo Lobaton, and wounded the sec-
ond in command of the only unit of the
Movement of the Revolutionary Left still
actively fighting. This should spell
the end of serious guerrilla activity
in Peru for some months at least.
Our embassy in Djakarta is now re-
ceiving a variety of reports that more
"big changes" will take place in Indo-
nesia immediately after the first of
the year.
There are now a number of indica-
tions that Sukarno may be considering
going abroad in mid-January. It is
still too early to tell, however, whether
these indications reflect his actual in-
tentions or are merely being read this
way by others as a result of the increas-
ingly obvious shift of power to the army.
The impression that the army con-
trols Sukarno is being assiduously fos-
tered by General Suharto, the army com-
mander.
Cosmos 100, the satellite launched
yesterday, may be one of a series of So-
viet attempts to develop a new satellite
system.
Two similar satellites have been
orbited before, one in August 1964 and
another last February. Like Cosmos 100,
these were placed in relatively, high or-
bits, suitable for accumulating weather
data, collecting electronics intelligence,
or making solar observations.
Of these possibilities, .a weather
mission seems the most likely. Soviet
officials have said they hoped to begin
exchanging weather information with the
US before the end of this year.
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8. Pakistan
9. Communist China
Press accounts of cyclone damage in
East Pakistan appear at this point to be
somewhat overdrawn.
The damage to the mainland is simi-
lar to that caused by a cyclone last
May. In that disaster, 13,000 lost their
lives, but the population showed great
resiliency and rebuilt quickly. The main
problem is in the offshore islands, where
large numbers of fishermen presumably
were caught while at work.
The East Pakistani government has
not yet asked formally for relief help.
The US Consulate General in Dacca re-
ports that there are large stocks of re-
lief food and clothing in the area. The
consulate also observes no great sense
of urgency among the local authorities.
there was an-
other riot this fall in Kuldja, scene of
earlier disturbances.
The latest incident reportedly arose
when Chinese police refused to let a num-
ber of Muslims join relatives who had
gone to the Soviet Union during the mass
exodus of 1962. Other
small-scale riots in this area.
Outbursts of active opposition like
this are rare. In this case, they owe
more to traditional animosity between
the Chinese and Turki minorities of
Sinkiang than to difficulties between
the Communist rulers in Peking and the
populace.
There are, however, signs that the
central authorities are unable to whip
up the same enthusiasm for their causes
as in earlier years and that this is wor-
risome to Mao Tse-tung and his top ad-
visers. Today's Annex discusses the causes
of this concern.
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According to a preliminary trans-
lation of a North Vietnamese message,
no major damage was done to the Uong
Bi power plant in Wednesday's strike.
The field analysis of the message indi-
cates that the nearest bomb fell almost
500 feet from the plant. -Power was
knocked out but little damage was done
to the plant itself.
As yet, no post-strike photography
is available by which to judge the ac-
curacy of this assessment. The pilots
involved in the strike were not able to
make detailed visual observations because
of smoke, dust, and clouds in the target
area.
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ANNEX
:Popular Attitudes in Communist China
For years now Mao Tse-tunes.COmtunists'have re-
lied on recurrent political indoctrination drives to
rouse the Chinese people to greater efforts and re-
new their identification with the regime. These cam-
paigns are nationwide and all inclusive. They fre-
quently make use of a catchy Chinese phrase such as
"three-anti," "four-good," "100 flowers." The phrase
chosen becomes the focus of the sloganeers and edi-
torialists who din it into the masses as things they
must or must not do. Some times a hero is discovered
worthy of emulation by all. One such hero was Lei
Feng, the so-called "rustproof screw" of the revolu-
tionary machinery, who was in time displaced by an
"all-purpose screw" who was also a "spiritual atom
bomb."
) ? Despite this, these campaigns are deadly seri-
ous matters. During one, every Chinese except the
very young, the aged, or the infirm must attend two,
three, or four meetings a week at his commune, office,
factory, or neighborhood association. Each lasts
two or three hours. As the drive progresses, the
frequency and duration of the sessions increase.
At the climax, these may turn into day-long strug-
gle-and punishment orgies.
By now, however, there is little doubt that these
techniques of applied politics are bringing Peking
diminishing returns. The drives have in fact become
too pervasive and constant a part of Chinese life.
Many Chinese have learned through tedious repetition
how to mouth the current catechism correctly and
even how to criticize themselves and others in such
a way as not to bring down the party's wrath.
Another factor has contributed to a growth of
political apathy in China. In the first decade the
Communists did seem to be moving the nation ahead.
But the follies of the great leap forward and the
serious economic stagnation Which followed showed
that Mao was indeed fallible despite all efforts to
shift the blame elsewhere.
(Cont' d)
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ANNEX (Cont'd)
The leaders apparently realize these attitudes
exist. Mao has complained to visitors about the
"revisionist" attitudes shown by Chinese peasants
and youth. He also charges that "the intellectuals
are against us." The Peking authorities, 'fearing
that they,are no longer getting the measure of sup-
port they once had, are worried that when they are
gone their revolution will wither.
All of this does not mean that the Mao regime
is losing out right now. The leadership still seems
to have a tight grasp on the effective levers of
power and can still command compliance all around
even if it cannot exhort the masses to enthusiasm.
This will continue to be the case so long as
the regime has the backing of the armed forces.
The armed forces are not immune to the stresses and
trials of the common lot, but personnel are carefully
selected with an eye to stability and to political
reliability. To ensure that they remain so, loyal
party people are interlaced all the way through the
chain of command. In addition, the armed services
remain a clearly favored element of society. Over-
all, morale and discipline must be rated good.
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