THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A001900010011-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2012
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: February 19, 1965
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/02 : CIA-RDP79T00472AO01900010011-9
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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THE SITUATION I N VIETNAM
Information as of 0600
19 FEBRUARY 1965
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
19 February 1965
The Situation in Vietnam as of 0600 EST
Political Developments in South.Vietnam
1. The success of the military effort
launched today to oust General Khanh is still in
doubt, but the coup group appears to have substan-
tial support in the Saigon area.
20 The coup group involves many leaders of the
abortive 13 September coup, who were subsequently
cashiered, plus several middle-grade officers com-
manding combat units near the capital,. The organizer
and primary spokesman, however, appears to be Colonel
Pham Ngoc Thao, veteran plotter who has been in hid-
ing.in Saigon after deserting his post about two
months ago as South Vietnamese press attache in
Washington.
3. The coup forces control the Saigon Radio
and have blocked Saigon's airport with tanks and
troops, They have announced that their move is in-
tended to put an end to governmental instability
under Khanh. They state that General Tram Thien
Khiem, now ambassador to the US, is being summoned
back to replace Khanh as commander-in-chief,
4. Despite announcements that Khanh and Air
Force Chief General Ky have been arrested, Khanh is
at his headquarters in Vung Tau, apparently attempt-
ing to rally airborne forces in the area. Ky is at
Bien Hoa airbase near Saigon, and has threatened to
bomb the rebels. Various other "Young Turks" appear
to be targets of the coup. The naval commander,
Admiral Cang, has joined Khanh in Vung Tao. General
Thi, in northern-most I Corps, recently issued a
statement accusing Colonel Thao of being in touch
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with the Viet.Cong. Other: corps commanders at the
moment. appear uninvolved; Marine General Khang
claims that most of the..m:ilitary oppose the coup.
5. The coup group has broadcast a proclamation,
promising to return the armed forces to fighting the
Communists and endorsing a purely civilian govern-
ment. Although Khanh presently is the principal tar-
get, the rebels, if successful, may act later to,
remove the newly installed government of Phan Huy
Quat.
6. Most of the coup leaders have ties with the
southern Dai Viet Party--a rival faction of Quat's
party--and many are Catholics. Their seizure of
power is almost certain to provoke a serious reaction
from the Buddhist leaders, and their prospects of
uniting the military are questionable.
Viet Cong Military Activity
7. Press reports indicate that South Vietnamese
troops drove off Viet Cong forces near Da Nang, cite
of an.important US air base, late yesterday after-
noon. These reports suggest that the Viet Cong had.
planned to launch.an attack on the base similar to
those at-Bien Hoa and Pleiku. No information has
been received from US officials in South Vietnam to
substantiate the press reports.
8. Government troops are attempting to recover
and determine the origin and activities of an apparent
Communist vessel sunk by South Vietnamese air force
planes off Phu Yen province in central Vietnam on
17 February. The vessel was sunk after spotter air
craft and junks were fired on, presumably by Viet,
Cong on shore, as they tried to approach the well-
camoflaged boat.
Communist Military Developments
9. No significant deployment of North Vietnamese
or Chinese Communist forces has been detected in the
past 24 hours.
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Communist Political Developments
11. Communist media have not yet reacted to
last night's coup in Saigon.
12.: The lull in military activity continues
to be reflected.in the diminution of significant
Communist propaganda. No major pronouncement speci-
fically related to the US attacks on.North Vietnam
were issued during the past 24 hours by Hanoi, Peip-
ing or Moscow.
13. A Viet Cong propaganda statement on 17
February appeared designed to maintain its pose of
defiance in the face of possible future US attacks
and its determination to continue the war in the
South. Hanoi is making a concerted effort to line
up support from Communist and left-wing front organi-
zations throughout the world.
The appeals are designed to
arouse sympathy for the Vietnamese people and in-
dignation at the danger to world peace posed by US
.air attacks on.North Vietnam.
14. Although the volume of Chinese propaganda
concerning Vietnam has dropped off, statements by
leaders in Peiping continue to strike an ominous note
calculated to deter the US from stronger military
action.
15. At a banquet for Tanzanian President
Nyerere on 17 February, Liu Shao-chi warned that a
"war crisis" is threatening Southeast Asia. He
declared that the US had "taken the lead" in violating
the demarcation line and would have to bear responsi-
bility for all the consequences.
16. A new formulation of Peiping's promise of
support for Hanoi appeared in Chen Yi's remarks at
the.Nepalese national day reception on 18 February.
Chen asserted that the Chinese have "already made
every preparationW',and are "pledged to give staunch
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backing" to the Vietnamese people. He said that
peace could be ensured only if "imperialists" were
forced to withdraw.and dismissed US demands for a
cease-fire by the Viet Cong as ''sheer drivel."
17. Soviet propaganda contained no new initia-
tives during the past day, but;Moscow again. cautioned
the US of the "danger" of assuming that North Vietnam
stands alone.
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