THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM (INFORMATION AS OF 1300 EDT) 20 SEPT 1963

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00429A001400060008-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 5, 2004
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: September 20, 1963
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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THE SITUATION IN
SOUTH VIETNAM
(Information as of 1300 EDT)
20 Sept 1963
ARMY, JCS REVIEWS COMPLETED
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20 September 1963
THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
(Information as of 1300 EDT)
SUMMARY
Saigon has virtually returned to normal, and
there has been little significant reporting from
South Vietnam since outlast report.
The government has released the senior South
Vietnamese Buddhist after 29 days of detention and
escorted him ceremoniously to a lesser Saigon pagoda
serving as headquarters for the regime-sponsored re-
organization.of the Buddhist movement.
I I
cla ms his group has joined forces with
and plans, w
assurances of some military support in Saigon, to
mount a coup this weekend. We cannot discount the
report, but the past record ofthese elements has
not demonstrated the capability to launch or succeed
with such a plan.
General Harkins reports that Diem has finally
agreed to go ahead with the recommended transfer of
the Ninth Division from central Vietnam-to the delta,
a move which had been delayed by the crisis and the
resultant martial law.
Viet Cong attacks, with major operations concen-
trated almost wholly in the delta, last week reached
their highest level of the year. This is in part
seasonal, but probably also reflects Viet Long desire
to exploit every possibility for impeding a return
to normal.
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I. GENERAL
Almost all outward signs of the South Viet-
namese crisis have disappeared from Saigon. Troop
cordons formerly thrown around schools and such areas
as the central market have been replaced by a few
guards, and the schools have reopened.
II. THE REGIME
1. The ranking and oldest Buddhist monk, 80-
year-old Thich Thinh Kiet, has been released after
29 days of detention in a Saigon military hospital,
and escorted to the An Quang pagoda. This pagoda
now is the headquarters for the regime-sponsored In-
tersect Committee for the Defense of Pure Buddhism.
Buddhist nun Dieu Hue, the mother of scien-
tist-diplomat Buu Hoi who heads the South Vietnamese
UN observer delegation, was also released from the
military hospital and taken to An Quang. She had
threatened to take part in the Buddhist self-immola-
tion campaign before martial law was proclaimed.
2. Officers of the Vietnamese Special Forces have
been given verbal orders to restrict all "personal
and friendly" contacts with Americans except for of-
ficers given special permission,
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IV. MILITARY SITUATION
1. General Harkins reports that President Diem
has accepted his advice and is shifting the Ninth
Division from central Vietnam (II Corps) to the delta
region (IV Corps), with the move scheduled to begin
19 September,
This transfer had been in the works for
some time in recognition of the greater need for
troops in the Viet Cong-infested delta, but was
delayed by martial law and the uncertain political
situation of the past month.
General Harkins remains optimistic over the
military progress being made in South Vietnam. He
feels that the joint US-Vietnamese counterinsurgency
program is moving steadily forward.
2. MACV reports that the number of Viet Cong
attacks last week--137--was one-third higher than
during the preceding week, reaching the highest point
of the year to date. The total included two battal-
ion- and 11 company-sized attacks, all but two of
which were in the delta area.
MACV comments that the Communists apparently
intend to use,every available means to keep the pop-
ulation upset and hinder the government?s efforts
to settle its problems. We tend to concur, but note
that in any event there usually is a seasonal in-
crease in Viet Cong attacks in the fall.
V. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
1. Madame Nhu flew from Belgrade to Athens
today and plans to remain there overnight on her way
to Rome. She told reporters at a US Embassy party
in Belgrade last night that she planned to spend
four or five days in Rome before continuing to Paris.
We have also had reports that she plans to spend as
much as two weeks in London, which would put off
her arrival in the US to mid-October. She tentative-
ly plans 14 lecture dates to "re-educate" Americans.
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