HOORAY FOR THE CIA

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP80-01601R001200790001-5
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 9, 2016
Document Release Date: 
November 6, 2000
Sequence Number: 
1
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 17, 1971
Content Type: 
NSPR
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP80-01601R001200790001-5.pdf44.88 KB
Body: 
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601 R001200790001-5 ROANOKE, VA. TIMES 62,597. S - 106,111 Hooray for the CIA ~, 3r; The, Central 1ntelli fence"agency conies out well in the documentation of the. Vietnam war provided by The New York Times. Asked specifically in June, 1961, whether all of South cast Asia would go Communist if Laos and South Vietnam were ca p- tured, the CIA reported: With the possible excep- 'tion of Cambodia, it is likely that no nation in. the area would q u 1 c k 1 y succumb to communism as a result of the fall of Laos and South Vict- nani. Furthermore, a contin- uation of the spread of cone- munism would not be incaor- able, and any spread which, did occur would take time- time in which the total situa- tion might change in any number of ways unfavorable to the Comm-waist cause. That was an iiitelligeiit estimate provided by what is assumed to be our best intelligence agency in de- fense affairs. It may no longer be good: the devastation caused since 1964 might have had the effect of self-fulfilling the domino theory. With hindsight, the country can greatly regret that its top leaders fol- lowed their hunch rather than the CIA estimate. Not too long ago the United States was playing ping-gong with the Communist Chinese, against whom it did not want to play dome- noes. The domino theory was long the most popular basis offered for the Vietnam involvement. It was not then a good basis and there is some en- couragement in finding that the CIA recognized it as such. STATINTL Approved For. Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601ROO1200790001-5