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toes ue i | ! t i EF SOU te ree ck toy soe . ' ' ee a ee] «eee {eb eet ee ee nee amend poe = Aon. aa 1 ' tmnt, tna: ae he cea ate rE ee a oe a eae ithe see le epee me ee ee Coastal cities like Danang, Quang Ngai, Qui Nhor, : Military officials have told me privately thie-i and, of course, Saigon have Vietcong operating right 9 a4 one to two million men and five years to “d ehe cuburbs and often im the towns themeclves. The mit ae? = BAIL BU ery Gls Wrst ule Balk ERPS he Seem ee ” job.” There was reporied to be a debate within the United States military has responded with H and J fire 4,1) on whether to apply the total-rlestruction or the (Harassment and Interdiction}, which is random shelling whelming-troop-superiority method, bu it now ap to keep the VC of balance. This shelling is done by Navy ghar we may apply both. ships and shore-based batteries. The second-largest pro- ducer of civilian casualties is no doubt machine-gun fire from helicopters. As one GI said, “2f they wave at us we assume they are friendly, but if they run we Jet ‘em All this has produced growing disenchantment o part of Vietnamese who have supported the United 8 One former South Vietnamese Government minister “I cannot afford to be seen with Americans, or my fr am eet”? - « . : have it! , will regard me as a collaborator.” The Buddhists As the war proceeds, more of the population is force- ation ©€° recognized to be a group willing to take their chan ably regrouped, often alter harsh interrogation, in opera- tions carrying prosaic names like “County Fair.” Many Americans of good motive, working as United States Government officials, attempt to make these regrouping operations easier on the civilian population. But the trauma of separation from the jand and from the de- ftroyed home and village still remains. Efforts 10 leave mamese student contacts have said that because the A refugee camps often result In additional] casualties. Teer le Litieee oP BeMace ne tee ccete Cn sy: ican establishment gn South Vietnam is how so ¢ . WRAL BRAD en RELI AIS BY ALLtU VALLVUS BLiasa1tE ZLLLiing whelming they feel the last vestiges of their own 5! eignty drifting away. They speak, perhaps naivel: ‘the recent entry of American troups into the Delta: “ the U.S. leave any area of responsibility for our ennne)” The recut annears to he more and more Pp: troops: Ce ed re" ae See eee eS for International Development's refugee budget for the ity on the part of Ky’s forces. ‘This may account fo: current fiscal year . including materia l aid, is fourtecn American claim of a decline in the rate of desertions million. More millions go into distribution of USAID- 1 believe that, considering the difficulties under w imported foodstuffs. More than a score of volunteer 4. are obtained, most of these figures are suspect erences sdf s«haie hit Se se nl) ere elost meen nee y agencies BGG Geir Gif, OUT Has aul Very MiGdesi Compared As for defections from the Vietcong 10 Ky's sitic, with the war cost. And what aye the results of the mili- figures are again difficult to come by, though a per tary effort? - wisit to. a Chieu Hoi (open-arms) retraining camp rev: Five internationally known war correspondents with so me a pathetic group of men and women living i whom I talked all agree that if the United States persist? mos: total idleness on a tiny patch of treeless waste ¥ the country will be destroyed. As the late Bernard Fall ehe direction of a recently imported Filipino who « said, “It will be the victory of the graveyard.” 4f you iti_go: speak Vietnamese! — -——— quire about American willingness to negotiate, you are SO looked at with amazement. “How can Johnson negotiate? * He hasn't won anything yet.” As for the National Libera- tion Front and Hanoi, there seems to be general apree- - ment that they always have been ready to discuss Ameri- «an withdrawal but have no intention of attending a OO : cot guarrender conference. -—13- negotiations with the National Liberation Front, so political initiatives were crushed. Ai present they a disarray in terms of their ability to cope with Ky’s po aentm tantine Dawever thay ctl! renrecent a oToAUn BLAU CACLILD. AAV ER, RAE Bhdds AR eee SS Be must be taken into account in any seitlement. Other Vietnamese Government leaders and ° fary installations such as the one at Bien Hoa, which stretches as far as the eye can see, or the new 10,000-foo1 jet runway under constructio? at Qui Nhon, aid to re- fugees and the wounded is fractional. The U.S. Agency