DANANG VICTORY A COSTLY ONE
“To believe the publicity coming: out of Saigon, Ky's moves to. establish military control over the dissident cities of Danang and Hué have been.a huge. success. His troops now occupy Danang and_ appear to be in process of taking over Hué. The sigh of relief emanating from By 8. American "advisers" is audible clear across the Pacific. .
News is filtering out, however, that all may not be as well as Johnson would have the American people believe. The South Viet-
~ adh
namese troopswho were actively. fighting the freedom ’Fighters of the National Liberation Front before Ky attacked Danang seem to have donered., their guns and to. be taking it easy. oo In’ ‘Pact, the offensive on this: front: has: been: paltea” ‘since: a 15," ‘the+ day: Ky took over Danang, according to'a June 4 dispatch _ sent from Hué by New York Timés correspondent'R.W. Apple ,° Jr. 2 "fhe. ‘First Vietnamese Division stopped fighting, and it has not: yet 240 started again." :
‘On top of this, "Allied combat intelligence, ‘the. vital data. on which operational planning is based, has all: but: disappeared ." A. key intelligence officer was dismissed, and with, his departure}, “his ‘intelligence network dried up." ran
. Col. Joffre H. Boston, the senior American "adviser" to the. division said in an interview that the political struggle between . ‘Ky and the dissidents in Danang and Hué has beén™ ~"tremendousiy: =" costly to us." Eco
Apple ended his dispatch with the following illuminating a paragraphs on the situation: foe os ornnce
"For several months the Marines have been operating northwest of Hué in the area around two hamlets, Cobi and Thanhtan, attempting to drive out the Vietcong so the First Division could. set up a new operating base between the hamlets. The final step in the clear~ing process was completed | ‘Thursday. |
““tTt was all a waste, ' a Marine: officer said. -'With the poli-~ tical mess the way it is, we doubt that the Arvin (the South Viet- . namese Army) will ever move | in _ there. mn