THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001200010027-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: September 8, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
Information as of 1600
8 September 1966
State Department review
completed
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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8 September 1966
In a wide-ranging discussion with newsmen on
8 September Premier Ky discussed the possibility of
his future candidacy for South Vietnam's presidency,
expressed his belief in a 60-percent voter turnout
in the 11 September election, and reiterated previous
remarks on the necessity of an invasion of North
Vietnam.
I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
The only contact reported between allied and Commu-
nist forces today occurred in Phu Yen Province when
US troops participating in Operation SEWARD killed
seven Viet Cong (Para. 1). US Marines and South
Vietnamese soldiers initiated Operation FRESNO/
LIEN KET 58 today on both sides of Route 1 in Quang
Ngai Province (Para. 2). Two new US Army operations
--SEASIDE and BANGOR--began today in Binh Duong
Province north of Saigon (Paras. 3-4). US Marines
begin Operation PAWNEE II in the area of Thua Thien
Province where 300 Viet Cong are believed opera-
ting (Para. 5). Two Australian battalions began
Operation VAUCLUSE today in Phuoc Tuy Province
(Para. 6).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
In a wide-ranging discussion with newsmen today,
Premier Ky qualified his unavailability as a presi-
dential candidate for next year's elected govern-
ment, expressed confidence regarding the 11 Sep-
tember election, and reiterated his remarks on the
necessity for an invasion of North Vietnam (Paras.
1-3). The government has arrested two prominent
French businessmen, reportedly for financing Viet
Cong antielection activities (Paras. 4-5). Scat-
tered reports of Viet Cong terrorism continue to
be received (Para. 6). In. Hue, however, police have
arrested a number of Viet Cong, one of whom was in-
volved in a recent antielection bombing which in-
jured 26 persons (Para. 7). Approximately 200
monks and nuns have begun a hunger strike in Saigon
protesting the election in accordance with a Bud-
dhist Institute announcement on 6 September (Para-8).
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III. Military Developments in North Vietnam:
There is nothing of significance to report.
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
V. Communist Political Developments: An
Indian report on the DRV position on negotiations
is discussed (Paras. 1-2).
VI. Other Major Aspects: A Cambodian Foreign
Ministry official has provided a copy of the draft
accord which Phnom Penh is using in current border
negotiations with the Viet Cong (Paras. 1-3).
8 September 1966
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Light contact was reported between Commu-
nist troops and US forces participating in the multi-
battalion search-and-destroy Operation SEWARD in
coastal Phu Yen Province early on 8 September (Viet-
nam time). There were no American casualties; how-
ever, seven Viet Cong were killed and six captured.
2. One battalion of US Marines began Opera-
tion FRESNO today in Quang Ngai Province. This
search-and-destroy operation will be conducted to
the west of Route 1 in conjunction with South Viet-
namese Operation LIEN KET 58 which will take place
to the east of the same highway. Three enemy bat-
talions with an estimated troop strength of 1,000
men are reported to be in the area.
3. One US Army battalion began Operation SEA-
SIDE today in an area of Binh Duong Province about
15 miles north of Saigon. There has been no report
of contact wtih enemy forces.
4. Operation BANGOR, a one-battalion search-
and-destroy operation, began on 6 September in Binh
Dinong Province about 18 miles north of Saigon. Five
Americans have been wounded and four Viet Cong killed
to date.
5. Operation PAWNEE II, a continuation of the
search-and-destroy Operation PAWNEE, was initiated
today by one battalion of US Marines. This opera-
tion is in Thua Thien Province about 20 miles north-
west of Da Nang. The enemy has an estimated 300-man
force in the area.
6. Two battalions of the 1st Australian Task
Force began Operation VAUCLUSE today. This search-
and-destroy operation is being conducted in Phuoc
Tuy Province about 35 miles southeast of Saigon.
8 September 1966
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.II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. In a wide-ranging discussion with newsmen to-
day, Premier Ky qualified his unavailability as a
presidential candidate for next year's elected govern-
ment. Under prodding from journalists, Ky stated that
the lack of any other qualified candidate would pose a
"dilemma" for him, and indicated that his "destiny"
might force him to accept the nomination. Chief of
State Thieu, whom Ky had previously mentioned as a
likely candidate, recently declared that he did not
intend to run. Ky observed that November 1967 had
been mentioned as a tentative date for national elec-
tions in a recent Directorate meeting, but also offered
the opinion that they could be held earlier.
2. Regarding the constitutional assembly elec-
tions on 11 September, Ky said he expected a voter turn-
out of 60 percent, which he would consider a success
for the government. He remarked that he did not think
that Viet Cong terrorism would keep people from voting.
3. Ky also reiterated his previous remarks on the
necessity of an invasion of North Vietnam, but stated
that no such plans had yet been drawn up. Other press
accounts reported that Ky announced his acceptance of
an invitation from a US press association to visit
southern California on 11 November. Ky held his dis-
cussion today in Tay Ninh Province on a visit to the
headquarters of the Cao Dai sect.
Two French Businessmen Arrested for Antielection Activ-
ities
4. The government's military security service ar-
rested two of the most prominent members of the French
business community in Saigon on the afternoon of 6 Sep-
tember. According to the US Embassy, the French consul
general has protested to Foreign Minister Tran Van Do
the arrest of Phillipe Grandjean and Abel Goxe, the di-
rectors of a brewery and soft drink distributing com-
pany and an import-export firm, respectively.
8 September 1966
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5. No reason for the arrests have officially been
disclosed. Late press reports, however, quote Premier
Ky as charging the two men with having supplied US
$500,000 to an organization which is trying to sabo-
tage the constitutional assembly elections. Ky report-
edly remarked that if the two were guilty, their sen-
tences could range from deportation to execution.
Deputy Premier Co was also reported by the press to
have said that the two men had paid money to the Viet
Cong some months ago.
Viet Cong Antielection Terror Continues
6. According to the press, at least four ex-
plosions injured 12 Vietnamese in Saigon today.
Elsewhere, the Viet Cong reportedly killed a village
chief and several other civilians 'ifithe delta area about
100 miles south of Saigon. US military authorities
also reported that the Viet Cong established road-
blocks today on two highways in Lam Dong Province,
stopping traffic and collecting voter identity cards.
7. Meanwhile, police in Hue have arrested 11
Viet Cong, one of whom was caught with a large supply
of medicines and a number of hand grenades, ammunition
clips, and documents. The arrests stemmed from infor-
mation supplied by a 16-year-old member of the Viet
Cong who was captured at the scene of a recent terrorist
incident which injured some 26 persons in the city.
Buddhist Developments
8. The US Embassy reports that as of 6 p.m. this
evening (Vietnam time), some 200 monks and nuns had
gathered in the compound of the An Quang Pagoda in Sai-
gon to conduct a hunger strike protesting the election
and to pray for Tri Quan'g in accordance with the Buddhist
Institute's announcement on 6 September.
8 September 1966
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I I Some 200 quiet onlookers,
mostly women and children, were also reported to
have gathered outside the compound of the pagoda,
which serves as the temporary headquarters of the
Buddhist Institute. The 6 September Buddhist press
conference which announced this campaign has not
been reported in the Saigon press.
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
There is nothing of significance to report.
8 September 1966
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1. There is nothing of significance to report.
8 September 1966
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1? According to an Indian diplomat in Moscow,
a DRV official has stated that North Vietnam is
willing to start peace negotiations if the US would
(1) unconditionally and permanently cease bombing
the DRV and (2) give "public understanding of a
withdrawal of troops according to a definite time-
table." The Indian diplomat gave this information
to the Australian ambassador and asserted that it
derived from a conversation between the Indian
consul general in Hanoi and an unnamed high-ranking
DRV official.
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1. A Cambodian Foreign Ministry official has
provided a copy of the draft accord which Phnom
Penh is using in current border negotiations with
the Viet Cong. The terms of the draft agreement,
which Sihanouk has already alluded to in public
statements, is. contained in three articles. The
first two call for recognition of the "present
frontiers...as they were assigned at the time of
the Paris accords of 1954" and mutual respect for
the independence, national sovereignty,and "in
particular" political and social institutions.
The third article, which has been contested by the
Communists, calls on the Viet Cong to recognize
the special status of the ethnic Khmer community
in South Vietnam.
2. Sihanouk has still not made clear his in-
tentions with respect to signing an agreement with
the Viet Cong. In a mid-August press conference he
said that a border agreement would "probably" be
.signed before the end of the year. A Cambodian
diplomat has reported, however, that beside the
ethnic Khmer issue, technical aspects of defining
the border were proving troublesome. He claimed
that the North Vietnamese were pushing for a rider
to the agreement stating that the boundary will
be subject. to further examination.
3. In a 4 September press conference, Sihanouk
claimed that the Viet Cong had recognized Cambodia's
border in "statements" and would therefore be
accorded "official representation" before an agree-
ment was formally signed. It still seems doubtful,
however, that Sihanouk will be willing to risk
signing an accord with the Vietnamese Communists
that still left open the question of border align-
ment.
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