THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001300010061-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 20, 2006
• Sequence Number: 61
• Publication Date: October 20, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
~e~romn~urn.
THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
Information as of 1600
20 October 1966
NSA review completed
State Dept. review completed
ARMY review(s) completed.
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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HIGHLIGHTS
One of the seven South Vietnamese cabinet minis-
ters who had submitted his resignation has been ap-
pointed by Premier Ky to serve as acting prime minis-
ter while Ky attends the Manila Conference. The
status of the other dissident cabinet members remains
in doubt and probably will not be resolved until.Ky
returns fromthe'Philippines sometime next week.
I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
Light, sporadic activity has been reported by US
Marines participating in Operation PRAIRIE in north-
ernmost Quang Tri Province (Para. 1). Viet Cong
leaders have decided to withdraw all weapons from
village guerrillas as a precaution against their
defecting to government forces on a large scale
with their weapons. (Para. 2).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Premier Ky designated his civilian deputy premier,
one of the dissident cabinet ministers, to act as
premier while Ky is in Manila next week (Paras. 1-5).
A special national congress of the Buddhist church
is scheduled to convene on 21 October (Para. 6) .
III. North Vietnamese Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
V. Communist Political Developments: There
is nothing significance to report.
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VI. Other Mayor Aspects: Reported shortages
of POL in North Vietnam are apparently (aue to dis-
tribution difficulties tParas. 1-4). Prospects for
the 1966 rice crop in the DRV are poorer than in
previous years (Paras. 5-6).
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YSavannakhet
NORTH Dong Hai
"~ VIETNAM
Kontum?
SOUTH VIETNAM
25 50 75 100 Miles
25 50 i5 100 K.lorn Iers
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Although heavy monsoon rains are slowing
military activity in northernmost Quang Tri Province,
US Marines participating in Operation PRAIRIE re-
ported light, sporadic contact with North Vietnam-
ese Army soldiers of the 324B Division just south
of the DMZ on 20 October. Also on 20 October, two
battalions of US Marines were deployed to the
southwestern part of the operational area to join
with South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) forces which are
conducting search-and-destroy operations against
a Communist buildup reportedly taking place there.
2. An order to withdraw all weapons from
village guerrillas in coastal Binh Thuan Province
until the end of this year has been promulgated
by Viet Cong leaders,
Recent us military activity--
probably US Operation BYRD--conducted by one bat-
talion of the US 1st Air Cavalry Division in Binh
Thuan Province--has reportedly demoralized the
village guerrillas and there was concern that they
would attempt to rally to the GVN with their weap-
ons. The guerrillas also have been prohibited
from wearing their distinctive rubber sandals in
order to disguise themselves more easily,
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II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Premier Ky, attempting to maintain a sem-
blance of unity in his cabinet, told reporters at a
half-hour press conference on the morning of 20 Oc-
tober that civilian-Deputy Premier Nguyen Luu Vien,
one of thedissident ministers, would act as premier
while Ky attends the Manila Conference. Ky presented
a general outline of South Vietnam's role at the sum-
mit conference which opens Monday. He did not name
the delegates who will accompany him nor did he dis-
cuss the cabinet crisis.
2. According to the US Embassy, three of the
dissident cabinet members, Economy Minister Thunh,
Education Secretary Truong, and Social Welfare Sec-
retary Lieng, were absent from the meeting. I
3. Press accounts-of which ministers were
still in the government on the 20th were contradic-
tory, probably an indication that even the seven
ministers, who have been in contact with the press,
are themselves still undecided.: The final 'shake-up
in the cabinet will probably not be clarified until
Ky returns from Manila in the middle of next week.
It appears now that two of the ministers, Hung (La-
bor) and Thuan (Transportation), might stay on and
that the other five will leave the government.
4. According to one press release, the Saigon
University Students Union held a press conference
protesting the arrest of the Health Secretariat of-
ficial three weeks ago by police director Loan,
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the act which precipitated the current crisis. The
students reportedly charged that the arrest is evi-
dence of a "police state regime," echoing similar
charges by the southern-oriented ministers who are
in the midst of the controversy over alleged north-
ern military influence in the government.
5. This is the first overt sign that the so-
called cabinet crisis is more than a topic of con-
versation outside the government. Members of the
Constituent Assembly and of the Peoples-Army Council
have reportedly been gravitating toward either the
northern or southern factions involved in the cri-
sis. If the crisis continues unresolved over the
next few weeks, it could have serious repercussions
in the larger government offices as well as among
other organizations outside the government.
National Buddhist Congress to Convene on 21 October
6. The extraordinary national congress of the
Unified Buddhist Association is scheduled to open on
21 October in Saigon. The need for the congress re-
flects the disorganization within the Buddhist In-
stitute following the unsuccessful antigovernment
struggle movement last spring. The council of the
Institute resigned last week at a special meeting and
will presumably be replaced by a new steering com-
mittee chosen at the congress. Decisions made dur-
ing the congress should reflect a test of strength
between the Tri Quang militants, who favor the con-
gress, and the moderate Thich Tam Chau, whose job as
chairman of the Institute is at stake. It is possi-
ble that Tam Chau will be replaced. The supreme
patriarch of the Buddhist church, who convened the
congress, is thought to follow the decisions of Tri
Quang.
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
1. There is nothing of significance to report.
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IV. OTHER COMMUNIST MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
1. There is nothing of significance to report.
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V. COMMUNIST POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. 'There is nothing of significance to reporte
20 October 1966
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