◆ SpookStack

Oe eee eer ees oy ee pe mei appeal apm rdemey mn Soe iil ded eee ee ee A bombing now equal in , tonnege to that dropped in yall of World War II? Vietnam will be crushed between communism and capitalism and we want neither. Vietnamese with no money or jobs are forced to work on your pzyroll and our society is becoming corrupt. Even if the war were to finish now it would take three genera tions to recover." This is typical of the opinions of the nationalists who feel that they cannot resolve their own Vietnamese differences because the Americans 4 asl wet weer f+ Sf Batt MYL POLE +b the Among the nationalists holding this view are some who are currently in ‘the Saigon government itself. They have become increasingly despairing of the ability to maintein programs based on real accomplishment and integrity in a tide wave of corruption surrounding the billions which the United States is pouring ir the Vietnam effort. Two governnent liaders actively working in national programs Btated to ms that the corruption involving USAID materials was "total". In one case one government worker insisted thet no USAID material enter the area in whic he was working as it made his job impossible and it would be better to have no aid than to be surrounded by the corruption which negated his every effort. One would like to quote these individuals by name and identify them but Americans must realize that the Vietnamese live in a tight and rigid police state in which police agents and counter-intelligence agents ere every«xhere. As one student leader put it, "We do not have the money or resources to know the full sory of the penetration of the CIA but let me say we smell. them everywhere." Buddhist leaders are particularly watched by the police and in many ca: must report weekly to the police. Some are unable to return to their own village or cities, such as Hué, from which they came. Interviews with leaders of Buddhi: educational institutions convince one that they are operating under enormous goverrment pressure and surveillance. In fact, the recent mobilization order whi lowered the draft ege from 21 to 18 provides for conscripts into the South Vietnamese army to serve 15 years. Recently ten Buddhist students were drafted out of their university into the army and subsequently staged a hunger strike in protest against the new hobilization order. This mobilization order, of course, came about because of the American pressure to force the Vietnamese to participa’ _ more actively in the war, a thing that they are obviously increasingly reluctant ' to do. In two interviews Thich Tri Quang, the most forceful and well-known " Buddhist leader in South Vietnam, stated that one cannot discuss a coalition goverment or relations with the NLF or even the Americans without first stoppin, the war. Thich Tri Quang also stated that present American policy created communists. He said the policy wes so disastrous that every objective as stated about producing a Vietnam according to American objectives was unobtaineble. He felt, therefore, that the present policy must be reversed before the other ‘questions could be dealt with as the war made these questions impossible to. resolve, There is no doubt that as the war proceeds even the nationalists may be reluctantly driven to closer collaboration with the NLF as moderate and middle ground.is eliminated by the Americans, The very Vietnamese group which could enter into negotiations with the NLF and who could moderate and have substantial effect on arly NLF program, the Buddhists, is being harshly dealt wit by the American establishment in conjunction with the Thieu-Ky government As we press on for elusive military victory. The inability to have free and open. elections, the inability for a press to function within the Saigon-controlled areas, the inability of Yietnemese groups to meet and discuss their own future - makes it unlikely that the Americans can extricate themselves from Vietnam. —___ . a ; _ _ —ib-