Office of the Historian

48. Memorandum From the Director of the Vietnam Working Group (Wood) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Harriman)1

Washington, February 28, 1963.

SUBJECT

  • Status of Strategic Hamlets
1.
5,000 strategic hamlets, with a population of 7 million (58% of the rural population) have now been built. Of these 5,000 the VC attacked 9 and gained entry into 5 during the week of February 13-20.
2.
There are three basic problems connected with the hamlets:
(a)
Their defense. DOD is finding out urgently about what is being done to train village militia.
(b)
Their administration. Far too few existing strategic hamlets have trained officials. AID is sending out a very capable man, Gus Herz, who with 5 assistants, will work full time to speed training of those Vietnamese who will in turn train hamlet chiefs and their subordinates. Herz has just returned from a 30-day survey in Viet-Nam. He reports that the Vietnamese Government recognizes the serious need for training hamlet officials and is most willing to cooperate with Herz and his people in speeding up and improving these training programs.
(c)
Their cost. The 10 million dollars with which we bought piasters to finance the strategic hamlet program will soon be expended. We believe that the Vietnamese can assume this burden from their own funds, but time is growing short. We are preparing a draft telegram which will contain a suggested letter from you to Secretary Thuan on this subject. It will also review the whole problem of financing the strategic hamlets. Our thought is to ask Fritz in the telegram [Page 131] whether such a letter from you to Thuan would give him the support he needs in the difficult negotiations which will be required to persuade the Vietnamese to increase their own expenditures.
3.
Risks of Interdiction Bombing of Populated Places. I have talked with Mike about this yesterday and he agrees that we should try to stop, or at least severely curb, this practice which will probably cost us more in good will than it is likely to achieve in destroying VC installations. We recently bombed a strategic hamlet by mistake. I will try next week to get Bill Bundy’s support and will keep you informed.
  1. Source: Department of State, Vietnam Working Group Files: Lot 67 D 54, Pol 26-1 Counterinsurgency. Secret. Sent through Rice.↩