THE NORTH VIETNAMESE CRISIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01762A000800050018-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2006
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: August 7, 1964
• Content Type: MEMO

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E'T SAL INT`E`LL` E.NCE, AGENCY
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE. CRISIS
Information as of 1300
7 AUGUST 1964
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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7 August 1964
C O N T E N T S
I. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS
A. North Vietnamese Communist Military Activity
B. Chinese Communist
C. Soviet
D. US
II. OTHER COMMUNIST REACTION
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7 August 1964
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
MEMORANDUM: The North Vietnamese Situation
I. CURRENT SITUATION AS OF 1300, 7 AUGUST 1964
A. North Vietnamese Communist Military Activity
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1. Maddox and Turner Joy resumed their De
Soto patrol t iFi s' morning s- ps will proceed from
a point east of Vinh to'an area northeast of Dong Hoi
before retiring to the east this evening. On 8 August,
the ships will continue southward from the Dong Hoi
area to about the 17th parallel, where the operation
.will be terminated.
3. The deployment of US forces to the West
Pacific area continues. 33 of the 36 B-57-.4s ordered
into South Vietnam are in place. Three of the B-57's
ordered into South Vietnam are in place. Three of the
B-57's apparently were involved in accidents en route.
6 RF-101's have now joined the squadron of 12 F-102's
that arrived in South Vietnam yesterday. 10 of the
18 F-100's deploying to Thailand are now in place,and
eight are holding over at Danang. 18 F-105's destined
for Thailand are holding at Clark due to adverse weather.
A special landing force of 1,800 marines and 24 heli-
copters aboard the carrier Valley Forge is now in posi-
tion off Danang.
4. Typhoon Ida, which passed over the northern
tip of Luzon on 6 August, is crossing the South China
Sea and is expected to hit the coast just north of
Hainan Island at 082400Z. Maximum winds---80 knots over
Luzon--were expected to increase ,to 120 knots over open
seas. Bad weather associated with this typhoon may
hamper naval and air operations in the Gulf of Tonkin
in two or three days.
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II. OTHER COMMUNIST REACTION
1. Moscow's reaction to events in the
Gulf of Tonkin continues to be cautious. There
still has been no official Soviet Government state-
ment and the Soviet representatives at the UN and
the Geneva Disarmament talks have not gone to ex-
tremes in condemning the US air strikes against
North Vietnam.
2. The long People's Daily editorial
on 7 August is designed primarily o Buttress'the
public case against US "aggression" which Peiping
is pressing in an attempt to arouse international
opinion against the US. Like earlier Chinese state-
ments concerning the current crisis, the editorial
avoids any firm Chinese commitment to action and
indicates war can still be avoided if US leaders
"come to their senses."
3. A Chinese commentary, broadcast on
7 August, makes it clear that Peiping does not want
to have the problem handled in the UN. It asserts
that the UN is not competent to deal with the issue.
4. Peiping's commentary strikes out'an-
grily at the Soviet Union for agreeing to Security
Council discussion of the US complaint and noted
that the Russian delegate had failed to refute the
"lie fabricated by the US11concerning DRV attacks
on American naval ships.
5. Domestic. demonstrations to stir up
"popular" enthusiasm in Communist China were staged
on 7 August. Frenzied anti-US propaganda campaigns
inside Communist China are a standard technique when-
ever crisis situations involving the US develop any-
where in the world. Such demonstrations are intended
as much for their impact outside Communist China as
for their domestic effect.
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