THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001300010024-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 17, 2006
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: October 5, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
NSA review completed
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Information as of 1600
5 October 1966
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
No significant enemy contact has been reported since
the afternoon of 4 October when US forces participat-
ing in Operation IRVING killed 43 and captured 60
following the shootdown of an American helicopter
about 25 miles northwest of Qui Nhon (Para. 1). US
Marines combed through Communist bunkers just south
of the DMZ on 5 October following heavy air and artil-
lery attacks on the area (Para. 2). South Vietnamese
troops taking part in Operation LAM SON 318 reported
killing 18 Communist soldiers on 4 October in an
area of northern Quang Tri Province (Para. 3).
Another North Vietnamese regiment is reported to
have infiltrated into Quang Tri (Paras. 4-5). A
small arms cache was found by US soldiers in the
delta province of Long An on 4 October (Para. 6)
A total of 17 tons of rice and 25 tons of peanuts
were seized early on 5 October by US forces about 27
miles north of Saigon (Para. 7). Two US operations--
KAMUELA and LITTLE ROCK--ended on 4 October in Binh
Duong Province with light casualties reported (Paras.
II...Political Developments in South Vietnam:
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T e ai ing
leddersnip of the u is institute took another
turn for the worse and it appears that the national
Buddhist congress is off again (Paras. 2-3).
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III. North Vietnamese Military Developments:
Intercepted North Vietnamese communications indicate
that one US aircraft lost on 5 October, was possibly
downed by a DRV jet (Paras. 1-2).
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
V. Communist Political Developments: Chen Yi
yesterday reiterated Peking's standard opposition
to any settlement in Vietnam short of complete US
capitulation (Para. 1).
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N V I E T N A M
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OPERATION
PRAIRIE
Ca ~ U.
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gist c nmunist '-,o ', pua,,
a Long
baron c area :a.ms Cache
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1. Elements of the US lst Cavalry Division,
participating in the 15-battalion, joint US-South
Vietnamese-South Korean Operation IRVING, reported
killing 43 Communist troops the afternoon of 4 Oc-
tober in a five-hour battle about 25 miles north-
west of Qui Nhon. The fighting broke out in a
mangrove swamp after enemy gunfire downed an Amer-
ican observation helicopter. Communist losses also
included 60 captured and 208 suspects detained.
American casualties were reported as two killed and
13 wounded. No significant contact with enemy forces
has been reported since this encounter.
2. US Marines taking part in Operation PRAIRIE
just south of the Demilitarized Zone, today combed
through Communist bunkers and fortifications after
calling in air and artillery support to soften up
the enemy installations. The marine reported find-
ing mortar shells, Chinese-made hand grenades, and
nearly 2,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition.
3. Also in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnamese
Army troops have reported establishing contact yester-
day with an estimated Communist regiment approximately
18 miles northwest of Quang Tri city. The friendly
force, part of Operation LAM SON 318, is sweeping an
area adjacent to US Operation PRAIRIE. Initial casut
alty reports show four South Vietnamese killed and 16
wounded. A total of 18 Communist soldiers have been
killed so far in the action.
More Reports of Infiltration into Quang Tri Province
4. Evidence continues to mount that the Com-
munists are infiltrating large numbers of men into
Ouana Tri? South Vietnam's northernmost province
since 18 September. During the period 18 to 25 Sep-
tember, a number of units were reported along a known
infiltration route west of the area of US Operation
PRAIRIE.
I an addi-
tiona regiment has move into western uang Tri
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9 Sepone
V,Savannakhet
U$ ARV1(P? OK
Ax R'VIGM
Kontum?
PHNOM f3PFi1~ ION
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Tay W1 11
SOUTH VIETNAM
L.
NORTH ?Dong Hoi ARYN
7PERAt4`r:
0fMARC1TION LINT
0 ru Quang Tri
`: ft
25 50 75 10OM,Ies
1 1
25 SC 75 l00 Nllometers
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5. There have been numerous previous reports
of heavy infiltration into the area west and south
of Operation PRAIRIE. Information is too fragmen-
tary, however, to make a confident estimate as to
the size of these units, although they are now be-
lieved to be in excess of two regiments. US Marines
operating in this area have reported numerous sight-
ings of Communist forces and several supply camps and
bivouac areas have been uncovered.
6. A company of the US 25th Infantry Division,
participating in Operation LANIKAI 20 miles south
west of Saigon in the delta province of Long An, re-
ported killing 14 Viet Cong on 4 October with the
help of armed helicopters. The US soldiers also
found an arms cache which included 3,000 rounds of
small-arms ammunition, 50 hand grenades, 21 mines,
48 mortar rounds, and assorted weapons.
7. Elements of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade
participating in Operation SIOUX CITY about 27 miles
northeast of Saigon, seized a massive cache of guer-
rilla stores including 17 tons of rice and 25 tons
of peanuts early on 5 October. The captured food-
stuffs were distributed to South Vietnamese civil-
ians by the American paratroopers.
8. Operation KAMUELA, atwo battalion-search-
and-destroy operat'i.on ended on 4 October in horth-
Western Binh Duong Province with light casualties
reported. Five Americans were killed and 16
wounded in this operation which began on 19 Sep-
tember. Viet Cong losses included 13 killed and
three captured. A total of 175 tactical air strikes
supported this operation.
9. The combined US and South Vietnamese opera-
tion LITTLE ROCK ended on 4 October in a portion of
Binh Duong Province about 20 miles north of Saigon.
This operation swept an-area believed to-contain-several
Viet Cong base camps on an old rubber plantation.
However, only four Viet Cong soldiers were reported
killed and three weapons captured. American casu-
alties were five killed and 26 wounded.
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II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
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Buddhist Leadership Problems Continue
2. Militant-moderate differences within the
Buddhist Institute have widened again, and a,
formal split is a distinct possibility. The
latest bone of contention stems from the agree-
ment made by Institute Chairman Tam Chau on 2
October to reoccupy the premises of the national
pagoda. The pagoda grounds were vacated by the
Buddhists after Saigon riot police entered them
in a successful search for the man who shot and
killed a national policeman. Prior to the cere-
mony in which Tam Chau accepted the pagoda's re-
turn from the government, 11 imprisoned monks
were released to his custody.
3. Militant members of the Institute were
not present for either the return of the prison-
ers or the acceptance of the pagoda grounds. The
militant response to Tam Chau's dealings with the
government has been inflexible. The Institute
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deputy chairman, Thich Phap Tri, issued a communique
disassociating the rest of the Institute from Tam
Chau's action. South Vietnamese newspapers report-
edly quoted Phap Tri and the Institute s-ecretary
,general, Thich Huyen Quang, as saying that the extra-
ordinary national congress of the Unified Buddhist
Association, scheduled for 21 October, will not be
held.
5 October 1966
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? Ko-chiu
Lai Chau 9
Qng Saly
( ?
L. Dien Bien Phu
C H\I N A _1
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Lao Cai
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Phuc Yen .\
Son Tay ?
HANOI
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4Nong Khai
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NORTH VIETNAM
linh Linh
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Muong Nong?"~.
T H A I L A N D
5 OCTOBER
64088
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f"---' ` D"d^g Ha
Bo Ho Su
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
1. A US Air Force F-4C was lost to unknown
causes on 5 October about 30 miles southwest of Yen
Bai. The aircraft was providing fighter escort for
a flight of EB-66 electronics countermeasure air-
craft when it was hit by an undetermined type of
fire at high altitude. Both crew members were
forced to eject and one was subsequently picked up
by helicopter despite heavy ground fire. The other
radioed that he had been seriously wounded and was
surrounded by enemy troops.
2. The rescued airman reported that he had re-
ceived a MIG warning from the EB-66 shortly before the
F-4C was hit, but that at no time prior to his ejec-
tion had he sighted any DRV fighters. SIGINT confirms
that at least four Phuc Yen - based MIGs were in close
proximity to the US aircraft at the time of the shoot-
down. The pilot's description of the plane's behavior
after it was hit, however, suggests that it could have
been downed by artillery or missile fire. The last
confirmed loss of a US plane to DRV fighters was on
5 September 1966.
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port.
IV. OTHER COMMUNIST MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
1. There is nothing of significance to re-
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V. COMMUNIST POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. Chinese Communist Foreign Minister Chen Yi
repeated on 4 October Peking's standard opposition
to any settlement in Vietnam short of complete US
capitulation. Speaking at a banquet for a visiting
Tanzanian friendship delegation, he stated that the
"crux" of the Vietnam problem was that US forces
"must immediately withdraw from Vietnam lock, stock,
and barrel." He added that, "without achieving
this, it is absolutely impossible to talk about the
Geneva agreement, to say nothing of the peaceful
settlement of the Vietnam question." Chen declared
that all proposals for a settlement which did not
include the withdrawal of US forces were "only a
cover" for expansion of the war. Chen stated that
the Chinese had "made all preparations" to support
Vietnam. He charged that imperialists and reac-
tionaries had "spread rumors and vicious slanders"
about the cultural revolution.
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5. Meanwhile, intercepted Cambodian messages
indicate that Phnom Penh is still trying to curtail
rice smuggling. Substantial amounts of rice have re-
cently been seized by control posts in two widely
separated areas along the South Vietnam border. Bor-
der outposts were instructed earlier this year to
interdict contraband traffic and other seizures have
been reported.
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