THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A000500010064-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 4, 2007
• Sequence Number: 64
• Publication Date: April 10, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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10 April 1966
Over the weekend of 9 and 10 April, tension in
Da Nang and Saigon eased considerably as the Ky gov-
ernment did not implement its decision to send the
progovernment marines from the air base into the city.
The weekend was characterized, rather, by nonviolent
meetings and speeches by the Buddhist Institute, var-
ious Catholic groups, and a revitalized non-Buddhist
"United People's National Front." A "Buddhist Forces"
political party organized by Tri Quang in Saigon has
espoused a hard line against the Ky government.
I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam: The
lull in military activity continued over t Me weekend
with only one significant ground action reported
(Para. 1). Two targets in South Vietnam were bombed
by B-52s on 9 April (Para. 2). Operation LINCOLN
ended on 8 April. Two new US ground operations, DEN-
VER and MOSBY I, will be initiated tomorrow in prov-
inces bordering Cambodia (Para. 3).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Tense Da Nang relaxed as General Dinh went into the
city without incident (Paras. 1-2). The civilian
pressure groups are unanimous in the desire for a
civilian government in the shortest time possible
(Para. 3). A "Buddhist Forces" political party is
formed (Para. 4). The president of the Saigon Coun-
cil comments on Buddhist demands (Para. 5). Non-
military and non-Buddhist groups declare their de-
sire for civilian government that is pro-American
and anti-Communist (Paras. 6-8). Non-Directorate
field-grade military officers are irritated by Ky's
decision not to use force in Da Nang (Para. 9).
The Directorate has decided that Ky is not author-
ized to negotiate with the Buddhists (Para. 10).
Hue and Da Nang were relatively quiet (Para. 11).
III. Military Developments in North Vietnam:
There is nothing of significance to report.
10 April 1966
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IV. Other Communist Military Developments: There
is nothing of significance to report.
V. Communist Political Developments: Hanoi and
Peking continue to hail the unrest in South Vietnam
as indicating the inevitability of an eventual US
defeat in Vietnam (Para. 1).
10 April '1966
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THIEN
PH UOC
LONG
CHUONG
THIEN ,
QUANG _
NGAI`
PHU
BON
KH-ANF
HOA.
VINH
BINH
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1. MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. The lull in military activity in South Viet-
nam continued over the weekend with only one signifi-
cant ground action reported. An estimated battalion-
size Viet Cong force launched a five-hour night at-
tack against a government Special Forces outpost in
Kien Tuong Province southwest of Saigon today. Gov-
ernment casualties were 14 killed and 15 wounded.
The enemy lost 40 killed, nine weapons, and a small
quantity of documents and medical supplies. A two-
company government reaction force was subsequently
deployed to ferret out the enemy retreating from the
area. At last report heavy contact had been estab-
lished. One helicopter supporting the reaction force
was downed by ground fire.
2. Two targets in South Vietnam were bombed
by B-52s on 9 April. Fifteen B-52s attacked a sus-
pected Viet Cong/North Vietnamese division headquar-
ters some 63 miles northwest of Da Nang. Six B-52s
struck a major. Viet Cong military and political head-
quarters approximately 95 miles west of Saigon near
the Cambodian border.
3, Operation LINCOLN, a major two-week search-
and-destroy operation conducted by seven US battal-
ions in Pleiku and Darlac provinces, ended on 8 April.
Final results were 450 Viet Cong killed (body count)
and 12 captured. Eighty-eight individual weapons
and eight crew-served weapons were captured. US
losses were 41 killed and 93 wounded. Two new US
ground operations are scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Two brigades of the US 1st Air Cavalry Division will
conduct Operation MOSBY I in Pleiku and Kontum prov-
inces along the Cambodian border. The operation is
designed to locate and interdict enemy logistic
lines and bases. Farther south, elements of the US
173rd Airborne Brigade will conduct a search-and-
destroy operation, designated Operation DENVER, in
Phuoc Long Province near the Cambodian border.
10 April 1966
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II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Over the weekend of 9 and 10 April, ten-
sion in Da Nang and Saigon eased considerably since
the Ky government did not implement the 8 April
Directorate decision to send the progovernment marines
from the air base through the dissidents' road blocks
into the city. The 33rd and 35th Ranger battalions
were not sent to Da Nang from their bases in III
Corps. There were no significant demonstrations in
the restive major cities.
2. General Ton That Dinh, the newly appointed
I Corps commander, was escorted today, one month after
the ouster of General Thi, from the Da Nang Air Base
to I Corps headquarters in the city proper without
incident. He then called a meeting of the unit
commanders and ordered all ARVN units to return to
their proper areas. the
rebel commanders expressed confidence in Dinh 's abil-
ity to control the situation. One battalion of the
marines was flown from the air base to Quang Ngai in
USAF C-123 aircraft by orders from Dinh with the ap-
proval of General Cao Van Vien, chief of the Joint
General Staff.
3. The weekend was generally characterized by
physical restraint in an atmosphere of meetings and
speeches on the part of the Buddhist Institute, the
Catholics, and a newly created non-Buddhist "United
Peoples National Front." Nearly all the civilian
groups espoused pro-US, anti-violent, and anti-Com-
munist themes with the primary demand being for an
elected civilian government in the shortest time possi-
ble. There seems to be no agreement among them, however,
on the means with which to best effect the new government;
there is general agreement, with one exception, that
any forum for discussion, such as the Directorate-
sponsored National Political Congress scheduled for
this week, would have to be organized by civilians,
4. In Saigon, monks Tri Quang, Thien Minh,
Phap Tri, Quang Lien, and Ho Giac held a press con-
ference, elaborating on their three communiques of
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9 April, which have been interpreted by embassy officials
as spelling out a militant hard line, and a virtual
pledge of an all-out attack on the Ky government. The
executive committee of the newly formed "Buddhist Forces"
political party, to be led by Thien Minh and Ho Giac,
will inform the press of future demonstrations. Demon-
strations are to continue if the government does not
comply with the four-point demands, one of which is an
elected constitutional assembly in the shortest time pos-
sible. It appears that government hopes for a split be-
tween the Tri Quang - Tam Chau factions have been tempo-
rarily thwarted, although Chau did not appear at a Bud-
dhist press conference today.
5. The president of the Saigon city council, La
Thanh Nghe, told the embassy that Buddhist leaders Tri
Quang, Tam Chau, and Thien Minh, with 'w"_om he talked, are
opposed to the National Political Congress and adamant
on an elected body to draft a constitution. Nghe feels
that their real wish is for the immediate replacement of
the present government by a civilian administration which
would then organize elections.
6. Several Catholic, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, VNQDD (Na-
tionalist), and Dai Viet groups met this morning in Sai-
gon and formed a new 36-man joint committee of the here-
tofore largely inactive United People's National Front.
The Front read its demands for a civilian government, an
end to violence, and a meeting between the Armed Forces
Congress and religious and nationalist groups. Embassy
officials view the Front as a move by those groups to
counteract Buddhist influence both over the government
and the proposed National Political Congress;,
7. Meanwhile, the Greater Solidarity Force, a
refugee Catholic lay organization, issued a manifesto
which stated that the first step in achieving democracy
and national unification is the establishment of an
elected and anti-Communist national assembly. The
Force called for government action against corrupt
traders, protection of the lives and property of al-
lied military men, and the liquidation of professional
troublemakers.
10 April 196
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8. The US Embassy reports that the Catholic
University Student Association also adopted a resolu-
tion today disapproving violence and calling for the
establishment of a democratic government soon. Ac-
cording to FBIS, a press conference held by a Catho-
lic Students Bloc reiterated similar demands and
stated further that it supports the convening of
the government-sponsored National Political Congress.
The two groups may be one and the same.
9. although
the Directorate retains its unity, senior and ex-
perienced field-grade officers loyal to the govern-
ment might "sweep the generals out" in the contin-
ued absence of action against dissident I Corps
and take appropriate action themselves. General
Khang of the Directorate has been so informed.
10. At the Directorate meeting on 8 April mem-
bers agreed that chairman Nguyen Van Thieu is the
only person authorized to negotiate with the Bud-
dhists on behalf of the government, thus canceling
prior discussions between Ky and Buddhist leaders.
11. Reports of a major Buddhist Demonstration
scheduled for today in Saigon did not materialize,
and the city has been free of disorders since Friday.
Hue and Da Nang were quiet except for periodic anti-
government "struggle force" radio statements. The
Da Nang radio declared at one point that the US pol-
icy of supporting the government is erroneous and
if they do not stop intervening the "people will
not hesitate to sacrifice their blood to restore
self-determination." In Hue, General Nhuan, lst
Division commander, and the Thua Thien Province
chief, Khoa, met with General Dinh on 9 April and
reportedly gave him their support.
Nhuan met with his sub-
ordinate commanders also on 9 April and reaffirmed
support for the struggle movement.
10 April 19.66
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
1. There is nothing of significance to report.
10 April 1966
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IV. OTHER COMMUNIST MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
1. There is nothing of significance to report.
10 April 1966
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V. COMMUNIST POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. Hanoi and Peking are continuing to hail the
unrest in South Vietnam as indicating the inevitabil-
ity of an eventual US'-defeat in Vietnam. The party
daily Nhan Dan declared on 9 April that the "so-called"
National Political Convention to be convened in Sai-
gon on 12 April is a "farce" and an "ill-conceived
US plot" which is doomed to fail. Similarly, the
Peking People's Daily on 10 April asserted that the
recent developments in South Vietnam provide "fresh
proof" that the "rule of US imperialism and its
lackeys" in South Vietnam is "fast crumbling" and
that the situation of the "liberation struggle" of
the Viet Cong is "excellent."
10 April 1966
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