THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A001900010013-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2012
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: February 21, 1965
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP79T00472AO01900010013-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP79T00472AO01900010013-7
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP79T00472A001900010013-7
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
21 February 1965
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
The Situation in South Vietnam
as or U600 Hours
Political Developments in South Vietnam
1e There continue to be signs that General
Khanh is on the way out, although General Thi stated
at a military press conference yesterday that Khanh
"at present" remains commander-in-chief. Statements
broadcast by both the military commanders and the
newly created National Legislative Council contained
references to the need for "energetic and efficient
leaders" and to "individual and factional ambitions"
which may be intended as attacks on Khanh.
2. No mention of Khanh was made on Saigon'
Radio's final round of domestic news events yesterday.
US officials have now obtained a copy of the Armed
Forces Council's resolution of "no confidence" in
Khanh which accuses him of pursuing a policy of
"injustice and rottenness"and of creating serious
divisions within the army.
3. Khanh, who reportedly spent the day in Nha
Trang and Pleiku "inspecting troops," telephoned
General Westmoreland last night from Dalat, stating
that he had turned the problem of settling the coup
and its aftermath over to the Armed Forces Council.
He appeared to lack knowledge of what was actually
transpiring in Saigon.
Viet Cong Military Activity
4. Unconfirmed press reports state that the
Viet Cong placed mortar fire on two government mil-
itary headquarters near Saigon late last night.
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The headquarters of the 25th Division at Duc Hoa,
15 miles east of Saigon, was hit; government
casualties were reported as four troops killed and-
100 wounded. One regiment of this division was in-
volved with the coup forces, and elements of two
other regiments joined the rescue forces on the
government side. No casualties were reported as
a result of the firing on another regimental head-
quarters at Ben Cat, about 25 miles north of
Saigon. Only one other small-scale attack was
reported, in Quang Ngai Province in the north,
but Viet Cong harassing and sabotage activity appar-
ently continues at a relatively high level.
5. There is no official confirmation so far
of a press report that a Viet Cong guerrilla,
killed in recent fighting near Da Nang, carried a
detailed map of Da Nang airbase and a list of agents
inside the base.
Viet Cong Weapons Cache
6. A preliminary US appraisal of the weapons
cache discovered near the site of the Communist
vessel sunk off Phu Yen Province indicates that
most of the weapons and ammunition are of Chinese
Communist or Czech manufacture, except for a small
number of Soviet carbines. All rifles and machine--
guns,had been used and were apparently reconditioned.
US officials have told the press that the items were
spread over'.an area 100 by 300 yards, and were esti-
mated to weigh`. 80 tons.
7. A quick count of the equipment showed the
following items: approximately 1,000,000 rounds of
assorted small-arms-Ammunition; 1,000?1,500 stick
grenades; 500 pounds of Chinese TNT in prepared
charges; 2,000 rounds of Chinese 82-mm mortar ammu-
nition; 500 Chinese heat grenades; 500 rounds of:`....:.
Chinese 57'mm recoilless rifle ammunition; 1, 0001, 500
rounds of Chinese.757mm recoilless rifle ammunition;
one Chinese :recoilless rifle, two Chinese heavy
machineguns; 2,000 Mauser rifles; 100=plus Soviet
carbines; 1,-000 Chinese submachineguns; 15 Chinese
light machineguns. An additional 500 rifles
by Vietnamese Drees,
were reportedly. found nearby
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP79T00472AO01900010013-7
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8. About 500 pounds of assorted medical supplies
were recovered. These came from North Vietnam, South
Vietnam, Communist China, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria,
Japan, East Germany, and the USSR.
9. Various documents, letters, photographs, and
medical packages taken from the hull of the sunken
ship clearly link the ship with North Vietnam. Among
these documents were three detailed nautical charts,
two of them of the Haiphong and Hong'", Gay areas of
North Vietnam, and the third of the Vinh Binh Province
area in South Vietnam at the mouth of the Mekong.
Communist Political Developments
10. The lull in Communist propaganda bearing on
the Southeast Asian situation continues.
11. An editorial in the Hanoi daily on 21 February,
commenting on the attempted coup in Saigon, attributes
it to a conflict between rival "US puppets," and asserts
it was aimed at Khanh--"a thorn in the flesh of Maxwell
Taylor because he serves another U.S. force antagonistic
to the Taylor group." The editorial uses the coup at-
tempt to underscore its view of "the utterly rotten
situation of the U.S. imperialists," who, it claims,
are attempting to expand the war to stabilize the
political situation in Saigon.
12. A Hanoi editorial on 20 February spoke out
at length for the first time on retaliation, noting
that this is "an extremely grave matter;" However,
in contrast to Peiping's statements that the US air
strikes across the Demilitarized Zone have given the
DRV the right to strike back in self-defense,. Hanoi
merely reiterated that the "rash acts" of the US
imperialists "can only hasten their doom." Hanoi's
continuing references to counter-blows from the
Vietnamese people in "both zones" strongly suggests
that the North Vietnamese are not ready to discard
publicly, the concept of the demarcation line.
13. Soviet President Mikoyan repeated stock
concern over the situation in a reply to a recent
message from the Cambodian Chief of State, Norodom
Sihanouk. The Soviet leader expressed "deep concern"
over the US air strikes on the DRV in his message,
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which was reported by TASS on 20 February.
Asserting that the strikes are incompatable with
both international law and the Geneva agreements,
he stated that only respect for the UN Charter
and the Geneva agreements.can ensure Southeast
Asian security.
Communist Military Developments
14. No Chinese Communist or Vietnamese mil-
itary deployments have been detected in the last
24 hours.
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TOP SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP79T00472A001900010013-7