STAR OF U.S. EXPERT ON VIET IN ECLIPSE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000300430002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 26, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

NEW YORK WORLD JOURNAL TRIMUNE
26 March 3:967
Cad - Approved For Release : CIA-RP TkkO
.riu. Ja~rr.c: Trib;.'se sprcin!
:c n; d G. Lan-SC, iC, iii
us co .:. er-insurgenvy ex
r; ;ose ..k%r has waxed an
a's w"e"e days to be 1
:pse.
year-old soic er-mPiomat wil
ave V;ct n ni around May 1
po::n say he will sta
o,., ?erfo.- .i:af effectively be
r. t;,e sc:ncs.
Characteristically, , Lansdal
a.;sci is n-iaintaining a dis
Crect siienc-,.
One of tj:e most interestin
u: es or. the Viet Nam seen
asdale s;:rved as the mod
f,, ,c,,'a the hero of William
the villain of Graha
r,c's book, "The Qui
American."
regarded with esteem by
But over t' .c months, he h
seemed oat-of-phase with sor
of the top members of tl
Urhted States embassy.
The t g. ay-haired gener
with the brush mustache ca
.?cassigned Ambassador Hen
Cabot Lodge.
VAGUE TITLE
and rather vague title
U.S. embassy here.
The title carried with
col structure, and as su
Lansdale was a member of t
10-man "mission council," t
top U.S. government team.
Previously; Lansdale 11
served as a special envoy
=:asident Dwight D. Else
:lower to President Ngo Dii
1):eni during the crucial 195
So ye:.oc, when -Diem, agal
his re;:me.
"t was Lansdale's advice.
;,:em durln, this controvers
cial channels and dealing
directly and privately 'with
Vietnamese officials.
The Vietnamese refer `to
Lansdale, as "Mister 'Go-
Between?" , would be vitiated if' he had to
While the Vietnamese off,_, q 1 Vi t mete
a na
t
l
cials might not feel at case
with their, 'American opposite
,numbers, they feel comfortable
going to Lansdale with their
problems and 'grievances.
However, this role of Lans-
dale's did not sit particularly.
well with those U.S. officia s
who insisted that business-with
the Vietnamese be conducted
according to the book.
choice plums and pos ions o
great importance.
For reasons of his own ho
turned down the fob. It wag
said that he felt his influence
i a?
y W
work close
corps commander who did not
have the respect of the people.,
Whatever the case, once
Lansdale declined the offer of
an operative assignment, his
influence within the U.S.
mission seemed to evaporate.
Whether he will stay on tq
play an-effective behind-scene6
role remains to be seen.
'Washing oa Pat-L. A. T1ma Service
INFLUENCE, REDUCED
But as the size of the Amer-
ican mission expanded-and
became more conventionalized
-Lansdale's influence seemed
to be correspondingly reduced.
GEN. EDWARD LANSDALE The broad program of
pacification was placed under.
period that led to his being the over-all responsibility of,
diametrically depicted in the
two best-selling novels of
Americans in Southeast Asia.
In effect, "The Ugly Ameri=
can" praised his abilities .to get
along with the Vietnamese and
understand their problems in
their own terms, while "The
Quiet American" damned him
for meddling in Vietnamese
political affairs.
WARNED DIEM
Lansdale later soured on
Diem and warned' the auto-
cratic president that he must
inaugurate social reforms in
the countryside or face an up-
surge of Communist activity.
Lansdale's fears came tq
Porter, who has acquitted him-:.
self well and won the loyalty
and respect of those who work
for him.
Little.was heard about Lans-
His last public effort was ini
persuading Premier Nguyen
Cao Ky to include a broad pro-
gram of social reforms in his
presentation to the Honolulu
conference in February 196G.
But friends say he played an
effective role in organizing and!
advising on the national elec-
tions for the constituent
assembly An September 1966.
A few months ago, when
-American field operations were.
pass, reorganized within the U.S:
As a young Air Force colonel, mission,. Lansdale was offered,
whose assignments took him in command of. one of., the four,
and out ' of the intelligence regions-which.were.considered,
branch of the service, Lansdale
was a close adviser to Ramon
Magsaysay, the president of the'
Philippines who defeated the
Communist Huk uprising in
Luzon,
Between tours in Viet Nam;
Lansdale served as a counter-,
insurgency adviser to Defense
Secretary Robert S. NcNamasa,,
In Viet Nam,? Lansdale be.
came known for avoidlnv oiil
Sanitized -Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000300430002-6