432. Memorandum from Bell to Wolf, August 221

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In view of its lateness, I have signed the report to the Special Group on A.I.D. Counter-Insurgency Activities. It does not, however, seem to me to be as informative a report as we should submit. It seems to me to present mainly a series of interesting facts, without putting them into any kind of framework. How are our overall counter-insurgency efforts going? (Indeed, what do we consider our overall counter-insurgency efforts to be?) Are we doing more or less, better or worse? What main problems have we encountered and how many have we solved? And what do we expect by way of major changes and/or achievements in the future? These are among the kinds of questions I don’t find answered in this report.

I would appreciate a chance to see the next one in draft.

David E. Bell
  1. Unhappiness with content of AID report to Special Group on Counter-Insurgency Activities. Secret. 1 p. Washington National Records Center, RG 286, AID Administrator Files: FRC 67 A 1530, Special Group (CI).