Office of the Historian

154. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State1

Saigon, April 11, 1962—8 p.m.

1296. Task Force VN. Following is interim reply Deptel 1171.2 In recognition urgent need for complete integration civil and military civic action and rural rehabilitation programs, Task Force Saigon established late March inter-agency committee on province rehabilitation chaired by DCM. Committeeʼs principal role is to coordinate all US programs to maximize our assistance to GVN rural rehabilitation activities. It is working closely with Secstate Thuan and with Col. Lac, newly appointed head of Delta Pacification Program, and expects meet this week with Nhuʼs interministerial committee for strategic hamlets.

Considerable planning already done on US side and there was completed some time ago time phased “Outline Plan for Counterinsurgency Operations” (being pouched)3 which includes overall concept of operations, machinery for control and coordination (that is, who will do what on GVN side), detailed outline of military, political, economic, and psychological counterinsurgency operations; time-phasing and geographic phasing concepts. Plan approved by TF Saigon and is being used as guidelines for above committee. On GVN side, President Diem on March 16 promulgated much of Thompson Delta Pacification Plan in presidential decree no. 1/QP.4 Text will be sent Dept for TF as soon as Col. Lac furnishes us Vietnamese copy to compare with informal English translation we now have. With this decree [Page 323] we have for first time an approved policy framework for provincial rehabilitation programs much as we visualize. Another breakthrough was March 28 issuance OCAG-developed Military Civic Action Program as JGS Directive.5

Re geographical phasing, decree establishes category of first priority provinces in third corps tactical zone compatible with MAAG priorities developed separately. Our next step will be to refine these priorities with GVN to launch across-the-board civil/military rehabilitation operations simultaneously, if possible, in 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Division tactical zones. At same time we proposing separate similar operation for Quang Ngai Province, or, if GVN should prefer, other area outside Delta.

Until provincial priorities assigned and detailed planning for these operations begun, we shall not be in position develop meaningful estimates of material and personnel requirements. We shall have better idea of requirements and magnitude of problem as provincial rehabilitation activities get off ground in days ahead.

Nolting
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751K.5/4-1162. Confidential. Repeated to CINCPAC for Polad.↩
  2. Document 144.↩
  3. Document 11. Pouched in despatch 429 from Saigon, April 16. (Department of State, Central Files, 751K.5/4-1662)↩
  4. Document 113.↩
  5. Not found.↩