◆ SpookStack

oe eee wep he Ht awe Seo ape niles ne ae rie roe cenie miei t+ Pen eee eee eo oe Oh - f™ ; <= +, - . 9 . The map indicated that there was Some progress in some of the hamlets directly along the branch of the Mekong River and perhaps along one main canal but, by and lerge, the entire province could be classified as thoroughly unpacified and militarily insecure. The map showed the location of all ARVN (Seigon) troops and éreas under the control of the VC. It indicated in colored circles the range of 105 m. cannon for Haressnent and Interdiction Nre. The VC were alleged to have a main route for moving supplies fron Cenbodia down into the Delta and across to some of the regrouping areas further to the south and west of Ba Xuyen Province. I was informed that the objectives for 1968 were the pacification of ‘the entire province in the first six months with some mop-up activity for the second six months. Based on the very Small progress to date, this seemed to me | a totally unrealizable objective and I inguired of the Provrep whether or not he felt the objective to be wholly unrealistic. He felt that the objective was vnrealistic given his present troop level but indicated that there were consider- able pians in Saigon at American military headquarters to supply him with additio _@l 2id in the form of additional American and Vietnamese troops. However, he lamented thet his South Vietnamese military counterpart, the military governor, had not heard of these plans to date from his superiors. Subsequent to the briefing we were joined by the editor of the Chattanooga Times who flew in for a visit from Saigon. At one point he asked the Provrep whether or not the pacification of the province and the country Benner rally eould be done for Jess than the $36 billion a year currently being spent. This brought a wry smile to the Provrep who responded that if aid was not increased but decreased the job of pacification would stretch out ad infinitum. The psychological warfare office then took the editor of the Chattenooga Times and myself by U. S. Army helicopter to a pacified hamlet which he said was tne best one in the province and known as Soc Dong. This is a hamlet east of Soc Trang in an area inaccessible by road but accessible by small canals where fourteen Vietnamese families have had their village augmented by 100 additional families and then barbed wire erected around their village with a mud-welled military post built in one corner of the village. We landed on .a small paddy dike and stepped out of the copter which promptly departed and proceeded to meet the hamlet chief. We were informed by the psychological warfare officer that the pacification of this ‘hamlet had proceeded first with a major military effort to sweep the VC regulars from the area. Then one of the Vietnamese 59-man revolutic ary development teams had entered the hamlet to proceed with its pacification. This meant rooting out the VC cadre and then, in cooperation with the American USAID progran, distributing goods, In addition the hamiet was surrounded with barbed wire, three small concrete foot bridges were built over waterways, 2 smal] generator was supplied so each hut could have one light bulb and finally a post wes erected in the center of the village on which a-television set was piaced. The psychological warfare officer said the heretofore the VC had conscripted their young people and often taken rice. Now the Saigon government -personnel were paying them cash for their rice and some measure of prosperity was therefore achieved for the first time by the hamlet. During the visit the hamlet chief asked the psychological warfare offic for a gift of a transistor radio, which would seem to indicate that the wants would probably be pretty endless as time went on. However, the revolutionary development team had now moved on to another village, leaving these Vietnamese to uefend themselves against any incursions the VC might make. During the tour the psychological warfare officer happened to mention that only last week & WC -cadre Birt was discovered within the hamlet and she had been removed. —25-