BEHIND THE HEADLINES U.S. VIET-NAM REPORTS RAISE QUERIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000300490036-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 21, 2000
• Sequence Number: 36
• Publication Date: August 27, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

0
Approved For Release 2000/04200001
AUGUST 27, . 1961 . ,
.FOIAb3b
luo
U0 o.
CPYRGHT
By ALBERT E. PRUDENCE
World News Editor
coupe of government
reports on South Viet-Nam
,s h o u I d ''make Americans
:shudder and raise a. few
'sticky q u e s
,sticky I" -..<
ip
reports -- re-
f e r r I n g
tto neutraliza-
,Viet-Nam
'--could make
French Presi- r'RCrowxcE
dent Charles de Gaulle look
pretty smug.
The reports are by~ the'.
Central Intelligence Agency
and the General Accounting
Office, the watchdog over
possible graft or waste of
the taxpayer's money,
The CIA report Is by Wil-
lard i1 a ias aiid is entitled
"Trends in the World Situa-'
HE WROTE in part:
"If large-scale U. S. sup.
port continues and if further
,Political deterioration within
South Viet-Nam is prevent
d, at least a prolonged4tale-
nate can be attained. ,,
CPYRGHT:
"There is also a chance copy. But if such had beerir'businesses.
hat political evolution with `leaked to a reporter what,
he , country and develop- , lse may:,have been "leaked" LOOK -what happened to
could lead to some kind of'Ithe CIA been penetrated by" fume, according to the GAO.1
At least, 'the Reds In;
Kerosene, which most low-
NEUTRALIZATION is the.; Southeast Asia now know
solution offered by France,-i that possibly the U. S. could
outheast Asia from Dec. 19, and a neutralized South Viet-
1946, until it surrendered Nan. As the poet Thomas
my 21, 1954. Cost of the Campbell wrote more than
ndochina war was put by 100 years ago, - "Coming
and 100,000 dead or missing.;; before."
One big question is what THE . REPORT on use of
U
S
f
d
Na
i
Vi
t
.
.
un
s .
n
e
-
m
s behind the CIA report?
s the U. S. spy agency try- covers the period 1958-1962
d
e b
h
d r some
ng to influence U. S- policy? an
av
een use
s
.
.
gotratea settlement ana
from 1955 through 1962; funds. .
.
ventual withdrawal of U. S. g-ave $1,500,000,000 in aid to
orces from Southeast Asia? South Viet-Nam and that cur-;
State Department Press rent aid amounts to more;
fficer - Robert McCloskey. than '$1,500,000'a' day.
aid, that the report pre- Some of the funds,, of
f . _
-A f- th
CIA's Board
e
o
;
stimates goes not reflect; ,enterprises ;,through private,
S. policy.
ANOTHER big question is
ow the report became pub-',
he CIA is secret.
Orie report is that the re
ort was released because a.,
avrns or h~A.: ~hf~inQrl n3
Approved -For Release 2000/03/26 CIA-RDP75-000018000300490036-3
egotiated settlement based ~he opposition? report.
income groups use for light
ing and cooking, was taxed
by the Viet-Nam government'
at 40%; whisky, only afford-
ed by the rich, had practi-4
cally no tax. Expensive per-'
fume carried a 10?/o tax,!
that used normally by' the
average person-35%.
U. S. inspectors for the
GAO also noted that South
iVet-Namese-accustomed. to
cotton stockings-deevloped
a . yen for, nylon, when the
U
S
began. providing the