Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part-V-B-3c.djvu/220

 be prepared to take, to which Vietnamese forces themselves would mare a vital contribution.

(7) Significant progress has been made in attaining National Army support of, and subordination to, the Vietnamese Government following the departure of General Hinh. While it may be too early to say that the National Army is now in all senses the military arm of the government, I believe that this aspect of the program is on the right path end with patient application will be fully realized.

(8) The deployment of the territorial force of the National Army to the provinces has already begun. The objectives and methods of the National Security Action Program have been explained to military and civil authorities having responsibilities throughout the country. his program too is of long range character and will take some months to execute. A good start has been made.

. . Little progress has been made toward strengthening and broadening the Diem Government. This failure is attributable to the fact that more than half of the present cabinet ministers represent the sects and are opposed to accepting into the cabinet any man who might threaten their position there or the place of their respective sect in the society. Prime Minister Diem contends that he wishes to broaden his Government but dares not do so until the National Army hes been rendered capable of neutralizing the private military forces of the sects. The failure of Diem to accept Dr. Phan Huy Quat in the Government was a major set-back. There is still an urgent need for an effective Minister of the Interior, and the Ministries of Information and Agriculture particularly need strengthening. Considerable improvement has resulted from the appointment of Ho Thong Minh as Defense Minister and Diem's relinquishment to him of authority to direct and control the Defense Ministry. The new Commissioner of Refugees, Pham Van Huyen, also represents an improvement. I fear that no further progress on this front, however, will be made for some time to come.

. . This is likewise a long range and complex prob em. It has been under urgent study by members of USOM and the appropriate ministries of the Government. Some progress has been made in developing plans to absorb the hundreds of thousands of refugees into the productive life of the nation, particularly in the field of agriculture.

. . President Diem intends to announce in his New Year's message (January 24) an agrarian reform program Rh