Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume II, Vietnam, January–June 1965

172. Memorandum From the Director of the United States Information Agency (Rowan) to President Johnson¹

Washington, February 27, 1965.

Enclosed is a study describing some attitudes and views of the rural population of Viet Nam.² The information is based on a series of interviews obtained by USIA field personnel in Long An Province, an area thirty miles south of Saigon.³ The province is typical of much of rural Viet Nam in that large portions of the province are under Viet Cong control, militarily and politically.

The conclusions drawn from the study are not startlingly new and are what we have long suspected—that the principal problems facing us in obtaining the support of the Vietnamese population are inadequate security and ineffective Government. The report, however, is the first of which I am aware, which places into such sharp clarity the key aspects of the overall problem.

The USIA researchers conclude that the population is largely apathetic and is primarily interested in ending the twenty years of war; they care less as to which side will win, although there appears to be a substantial degree of approval of the Viet Cong.

Insecurity from Viet Cong harassment represents the principal obstacle to changing the apathy to active support of the Saigon Government. In addition, the rural population desires evidence that the Government intends to carry out realistic development programs, and has the staff to direct these programs with honesty and efficiency.

In the eyes of the average rural Vietnamese, Saigon neither knows nor cares about his needs and desires.

In contrast, the Viet Cong has exacerbated these shortcomings of the Saigon Government through potent military insurgency, sabotage of governmental development programs, and terror and assassination directed against the better and more energetic local Government officials. Despite these tactics, the Viet Cong’s rural presence has been characterized by a careful regard for the peasant’s attitude.

I believe you will find the marked passages of the report of particular interest.⁴

Carl T. Rowan

1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXIX. Confidential.
2. Attached, but not printed. The study was entitled “Facts and Attitudes: Long An Province” (R-10–65), and was issued by USIA in February 1965.
3. The interviews were conducted during the first seven months of 1964. For an account by one of the USIS officers involved in the survey, see Jeffrey Race, War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province.
4. In a memorandum of February 26 transmitting the report to Ernest K. Lindley of the Policy Planning Council, Director of INR Hughes called it a “highly discouraging account” and noted that Rusk had seen it. (Department of State, S/P Files: Lot 71 D 273, Vietnam)