HOORAY FOR THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• 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
• Publication Date: June 17, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

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