AN INTERVIEW WITH FRANK SNEPP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100120044-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2007
• Sequence Number: 44
• Publication Date: November 22, 1977
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/08/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100120044-3 STAT
The Today Show
STATION W R C TV
NBC Network
DATE November 22, 1977 7:00 AM CITY Washington, D. C.
SUBJECT An Interview with Frank Snepp
JANE PAULEY: The Vietnam war ended more than two years
ago, and, as you no doubt watched on television, the end of was
chaos. Tom's guest this morning, however, says we weren't told
how badly it was bungled until now.
TOM BROKAW: You'll recall that on April 29th and 30th,
1975, the final evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon was
carried out by a fleet of helicopters. It was a bizarre scene
in what was many ways a bizarre war. Thousands got out; thou-
sands more did not.
In the hysterical crowds who stormed the Embassy
Compound in those final hours were many who had contributed
information to the Central Intelligence Agency. Now, two and
a half years later, this man has accused the American govern-
ment of abandoning most of the ninety thousand Vietnamese who
had worked with the CIA. He's written a book about it. It is
called De-ent Interval. The CIA does not like the book, nor
do many of the former members of the Ford administration. The
man's name is Frank Snepp. His credentials are that he was the
CIA's strategy analyst in Saigon at the time.
Mr. Snepp, first of all, you say that the top officials
in Washington and at the Embassy, Graham Martin, the Ambassador
there, ignored the information that you had been providing, and
others of your colleagues in the CIA, about the closing days in
Saigon, what was likely to happen.
Isn't it possible that they weren't ignoring it, that
they were just trying to cope with what was a rapidly changing
situation?
Approved For Release 2007/08/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100120044-3