THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 3 AUGUST 1966

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968452
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: August 3, 1966

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
3 AUGUST 1966
23
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5 50X1
DAILY BRIEF
3 AUGUST 1966
1. South Vietnam
2. North Vietnam
. Thailand
4. Congo
Voting in Saigon next month could
be hazardous if the Viet Cong are able
to carry out the increased assassina-
tions and sabotage they reportedly are
planning for the capital city.
the
Communists have assigned special terror
squads to Saigon. Their objective is
to cut down the vote in the elections
for a constitutional assembly.
?An article in the party journal
points to some top level disension in
Hanoi. The article is discussed at An-
nex.
The mutiny of Katangese troops in
Kisangani shows signs of spreading.
Other Katangese soldiers northeast
of Kisangani are moving toward the city,
apparently looting and carousing on the
way. Some mercenaries in the area are
also getting out of hand, and are said
to have blown up a bank and then headed
for Kisangani.
This is just the sort of behavior
that could quickly mushroom into a wild
breakdown of public order quite beyond
Mobutu's capability to control.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5 50x1
5. Pakistan
6. Venezuela
Some Pakistani officials, although
less intemperate than the country's press,
are in a dither over alleged Indian
preparations for an early nuclear test.
One foreign office type told our
charg?his week he has it from "unim-
peachable" sources that the Indians plan
an atomic explosion before the elections
next February.
We think these fears are unfounded.
We think it unlikely that India intends
to reverse its policy against nuclear
proliferation, or to renege on its ad-
herence to the nuclear test ban treaty.
Both political and military circles
seem to be more restive than at any time
in recent months.
Their unhappiness, stemming from the
government's inept handling of its legis-
lative program, is egged on by rumors
and reports of Communist infiltration of
the military, guerrilla landings on the
coast, and a general belief that a wave
of urban terrorism may develop.
The present situation does not seem
serious enough to generate a coupi
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5 50X1
7. Nicaragua
S. Cuba
9. Nigeria
President Schick's sudden death is
not likely to shake up the political situ-
ation. The Somoza brothers' well-oiled
political machine is not affected. Gen-
eral Anastasio Somoza, Jr., nominated
for president last weekend, is almost a
sure bet for next February's elections.
The interim president named by con-
gress today
probably will not have an opportunity
to do much harm.
Ironsi's bullet-ridden body has ap-
parently been found.
Public confirmation of his death
could end the surface calm in Lagos,
which many Nigerians regard as a lull
before the storm. Many signs still
point to a possible early breakup of
the country along major tribal lines.
50X6
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
50X6
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5 50X1
10. Yemen
We are not optimistic that another
round of talks--to begin "soon" between
personal representatives of Nasir and
Faysal--will do much toward solving the
Yemen problem.
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5 50X1
ANNEX
North Vietnam: Dissension in the Ranks
Some fairly solid evidence of infighting among
members of the North Vietnamese politburo has recently
come to light.
The July issue of the North Vietnamese party
journal has an article by politburo member Nguyen
Chi Thanh who apparently has been in South Vietnam
directing the war effort. Thanh, a hard-nosed ad-
vocate of the Mao Tse-tung line, takes some hefty
swipes at his critics in top policy-making jobs.
Thanh is rankled by Monday morning quarterbacks
trying to run the war from a desk in Hanoi. He re-
serves particularly caustic barbs for "some people"
who apparently recommended that the Viet Cong con-
centrate their military effort in the highlands even
if it meant abandoning large parts of the coastal
plain and delta.
In keeping with the best tradition of comradely
togetherness, Thanh names no names. But the message
canes through and it is quite clear that one addres-
see is Thanh's long-time rival, General Vo Nguyen
Giap. Giap is North Vietnam's top soldier and the
much publicized victor at Dien Bien Phu.
The very fact that the article appeared indi-
cates the dispute, at least for the time being, has
been resolved in favor of Thanh's strategy for war-
fare throughout the south.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5
TOP SECRET
TOP SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004600290001-5