Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume VIII, Vietnam, January–October 1972

208. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon¹

Washington, July 19, 1972.

SUBJECT

• Psychological Offensive—Vietnam

You had indicated the desirability of infiltrating into North Vietnam small radios to increase North Vietnamese listenership of our six radio programs. There has in fact been progress to date in this project:

—On 21 June, a contract was signed for the purchase of 30,000 small commercial transmission radios made in Taiwan. They will be packed in foam suitable for either airdropping without parachutes or float delivery. We expect to have some radios ready for infiltration by the end of August and all of them by the end of September.²

In addition to our efforts in the radio field, all aspects of our psywar campaign against Vietnam continue at a high level of activity. For example:

• —On 9 July, VOA increased broadcasting time to 19 hours daily from the previous 18 hours.
• —On 13 July, the first successful drone leaflet mission was conducted over the Haiphong area. The drone flew at 800 feet and dispersed about 144,000 leaflets stressing the advantages to the DRV of your 8 May proposals—the culpability of the DRV leadership for the useless bloodshed and the benefits for all of peace.

We continue to receive indications that our psywar campaign is touching a sensitive nerve of the DRV leadership:

—The North Vietnamese journal Tuyen Huan (Propaganda and Training) carried in its May–June issue an article that said in part:

“The brilliant victories of the entire nation are making our people highly enthusiastic and proud. However, the violent struggle is raising new problems to be solved in production, in the implementation of tasks, and in livelihood. Our people are now experiencing temporary, definite difficulties.”

“More than ever it is necessary to pay attention to smashing the enemy’s psywar activities, especially in cities and towns and populous areas.”

“The enemy is trying to distort facts and spread rumors to sow dissension and confusion among the masses. The important factor in resisting the enemy’s psywar effort is to make the masses constantly and firmly grasp developments in current events and in policies and lines of the party and the state through newspapers and through central and regional radio stations.”

1. Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box TS 5, Chronological File, July 1972. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. Haig initialed for Kissinger. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it.
2. The President wrote in the margin beside this paragraph: “good.”