201. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State1
1760. For the President. Herewith my weekly telegram:
1. Military
The most interesting event of the week was the appearance of military units in South Viet-Nam consisting entirely of North Vietnamese personnel. In addition to the three regiments of the North Vietnamese 325th Division already carried, General Westmoreland has evidence of the presence of the equivalent of one other division and possibly more. The North Vietnamese appear to be giving considerable attention to the improvement of the line of communications through the Laos panhandle. Earthmoving equipment had been observed. This would permit greater support to the Viet Cong.
[Page 570]This adds a third facet to the war. We have hitherto had to cope with (1) the main force Viet Cong units, containing about 35 percent of Viet Cong strength and (2) the guerrilla terrorists containing some 65 percent—all directed by Hanoi. Now come units which are all from the north.
The U.S. First Cavalry heavily engaged elements of four regular North Vietnamese regiments west of Pleiku near the Cambodian border for three days at the beginning of this week inflicting heavy casualties in what may turn out to be the biggest U.S. battle in the war to date.
Prime Minister Ky told me at Tay Ninh today that he believes there are two NVN divisions in SVN and that “they will keep on sending divisions down until the line of communication is cut”.
2. Basic political
Today I went to Tay Ninh where Prime Minister Ky officially inaugurated a GVN program whereby about 700,000 acres of state-owned land goes to about 180,000 farmers. Communism took over China largely on the strength of the slogan “land to the tiller.” In Tay Ninh I saw this slogan actually being carried out. I know of your long-standing interest in this and, as you know, the U.S. has helped a great deal. To me this is a concrete example of what we mean by “true revolution”.
The number of returnees under the Chieu Hoi program again increased over last week’s figure. Analysis of police arrest figures for the first week of November showed a downward trend in the number of deserters and draft dodgers apprehended and an increase in the number of suspected VC and illegal residents rounded up.
3. Economic
For the second successive week prices declined in Saigon, notably in pork, fish, charcoal and rice—the things the masses consume. Rice is actually below last year’s level. This is in particular a vindication of our rice policy and in general none of the above would have been possible without U.S. help—and heroic measures in which many hardworking Washington officials can take pride.
4. Pacification—“Rural Construction”
Minister Thang of “Rural Construction” traveled to I, II and IV Corps to meet new and provisional rural construction committees consisting of Corps and Divisional Commanders and Province Chief. He urged realistic planning, stimulation of local initiative, teamwork between military and civilians and, above all, response to the needs and aspirations of the people. He wants elections for executive leadership in the villages to be held as soon as there is freedom from intimidation. He shows marked enthusiasm and verve in all of this.
Thang is also working on creating groups (cadre) which can go into the village and stay indefinitely, capable of self-defense.
[Page 571]I now have learned that his two top priority objectives will be eight villages each in Quang Nam and Binh Dinh. The talk now is of a team of 60 men for each village of which the 40 man political action team will be the nucleus. These estimates and plans change all the time as they learn more about the realities, I report it as I learn about it.
My feeling about pacification is two-fold: that we are certainly on the right track and all too often, that the train isn’t moving. And then I think of the unfortunate results of going too fast and of striving for flashy effects as the Vietnamese are all too prone to do. I also recall that Minister Thang is not impulsive and is a careful, thorough, though energetic, man. And I conclude that maybe we can’t go much faster at this stage.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Nodis. The source text does not indicate a time of transmission; the telegram was received at 7:21 a.m. McGeorge Bundy sent President Johnson a retyped copy of this telegram under cover of a November 17 memorandum that reads: “Here is Lodge’s weekly telegram. He lays proper emphasis on the fact that this week it is the military developments that are the most interesting, but paragraph 4 on rural construction is of equal long-run importance.” There is an indication on the copy of the telegram that the President saw it. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XVI)↩