The Viet Cong Infrastructure: Its Status and Effectiveness

D83683

The Viet Cong Infrastructure: Its Status and Effectiveness

English

United States of America

15 June 1971

Dc-Cam, D83683, 04 April 2025

CENTRAL INTERLLIGENCE AGENCY/DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE

Computer-Typing (tx), 42 pages

Intelligence Memorandum

King Sihanouk, Politics, Communist

This memorandum was prepared by the Office of Current Intelligence and coordinated within CIA.

The most critical struggles in South Vietnam during the past two years have been those waged daily at the grassroots level. The Communists have not been trying to drive the government's military and security forces from the field, nor have their tactics been aimed at altering the balance of forces in the countryside in the near term. Instead, the enemy has been trying to hold on, to stay in contact with the people, and to rebuild local support structures and forces. The main Communist objective has been to keep an apparatus intact and ready to mount a more serious challenge to the GVN after the bulk of US forces has been withdrawn.

The Communists have accomplished much less with these tactics than they hoped. Until now trends have continued to run against them in most parts of the country, and the cadre being lost seem more capable than their replacements. The process is too slow, however, to disable the most vital parts of the Communist apparatus in the next few years. Thus, for the foreseeable future there will be Communist cadre with dedication, administrative know-how, and command experience operating throughout South Vietnam.

© DC-Cam