REWARDS UP TO $11,000 SET FOR CAPTURED VIETCONG

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R001100060024-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 7, 2004
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: August 2, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2004/10/28: CIA-RDP80ROl 720R001 1
Rewards Up to $11,000
Set for Captured Vietcong
By ALVIN SHUSTER
Special to The New York Times
SAIGON, South Vietnam,
Aug. 1-The United States and
South Vietnam have decided to
start paying the highest cash
rewards of the war-up to the
equivalent of $11,000-for each
of certain key leaders of the
Vietcong's political under-
ground.
Informed sources said today
that the program, to be fi-
nanced by the United States,
would be tried first as a pilot'
project in four of South Viet-
nam's provinces and extended
to others later if successful. It
is designed to stimulate inter-
est among South Vietnamese
civilians in the lagging effort
against the Vietcong's clandes-
tine organization, which re-
mains a serious threat to the
pacification program.
There is continuing concern
among American and South
Vietnamese officials that the
enemy's subversive apparatus)
will step up activities after the
withdrawal of American troops, 1
restore its hold over many
rural areas and again challenge
the stability of the Saigon Gov-
ernment.
"It is the cream of the lead-
ership that we are now after
with those high rewards," said
one official.
The decision to increase the
rewards reflects the difficulties
of the so-called Phoenix pro-
gram, called Phung Hong by the
Vietnamese. The controversial
program, which. its critics say
emphasize s assassination, is
often described as one of the
most important but least suc-
cessful programs in Vietnam.
. -Authorities will now offer
from one million to three mil-
lion ' plasters, or $3,700 to
C
W
to 4'.,
c - 7 /
U L-/
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 Approved For Release 2004/10/28 : CIA-RDP80R01720R001100060024-4
'Rewards Up to $'11,000 Set .for Vietcong
j$11,000 at the official exchange
rate, to civilians who provide
information leading to the cap-
ture of known leaders In the
Vietcong network.
Until now, the usual limit
11under the Phoenix program has
been 100,000 piasters, or about
$370. Higher amounts have
been paid in rare cases.
As part of the pilot program
in the four provinces, the mili-
tary or police units capturing
the Vietcong leaders will also
be rewarded. Sources said they
would share 200,000 piasters, or
about $750, if the leader Is cap-
tured alive, but only half that if
he is killed.
Election Attacks Feared
The four provinces, one in
each of the military regions,
are Quangnam in Region I in
the. north, long a troublesome
area; Binhdinh, a Communist
stronghold in Region II; Bien-
hoa, just north and east of
Saigon in Region III, and Vinh-
binh, a coastal province In the
populous Mekong Delta and an
area where officials fear the
Communists may try to disrupt
this year's legislative and presi-
dential elections.
At this point, officials believe
the Vietcong may operate on
two levels during the elections
for the House of Deputies next
month-remaining relatively
quiet in the -few areas where
they support sympathetic candi-
dates and trying to disrupt the
elections in other places.
Sources report that instructions
have gone out to Vietcong
cadres to attack polling places
with mortars, attempt to in-
timidate the electorate, over-
run local outposts and generally
work to show weaknesses In
the Government's pacification
programs.
In explaining the new pilot
,program of higher rewards,
officials said the goal was qual-
ity rather than quantity. Last
year in the Phoenix program
22,341 Vietcong were "neutral-
ized"-those killed or captured
and sentenced to jail or who
defected. Most of them, how-
ever, were regarded as low-
level operatives.
60,000 Believed in Network
Officials said some details of
the now reward effort were
yet to be worked out, including
how much to pay for which
leaders. They estimate that
there are 60,000 in the network,
celled the Vietcong infrastruc
ture but that the top leaders
sought represent only 2 to 5
per cent of the total.
"You can be sure that if the
leader carries a price of three
million piasters, he's really a
key man" said one official.
The Phoenix effort was con-
ceived by the Central Intelli-
gence Agency in 1967 but was
turned over the next year to
the South Vietnamese, who con-
tinue to receive vital American
help in the form of advisers
and money.
Recent Congressional testi-
mony in Washington showed
that American financial aid fore
Phoenix from 1968 until May,
1971 amounted to $732-million.
The current American contribu-
tion to the program is not
known.
While American officials ac-
knowledge that there are abuses
in the program and some indis-
criminate billing, they remain
convinced that-it must be con-
tinued and Improved if South
Vietnam is to have a chance for
survival after American troops
leave. Officials recognize, how-
ever, that diligent police and in-
telligence work is required to
identify and hunt down tho
Vietcong suspects and that
many South Vietnamese lack
the knowledge and the interest
to make the effort always ef-
fective.
"They will go in and pacify
an area with their troops ano
local forces and think they have
put out the fire," said one Amer-
ican official in the delta re-
cently. "But then they will leave
it shouldering. That's the Viet-
cong underground and therein
lies the real danger."
In defending the bounty sys-
tem, officials note that money
incentives have long been part
of the struggle here and have
had some success. The Vietcong
who go over to the Government
side, for example, have been
paid for the weapons they bring
with them, from the equivalent
of about $2 for a flare gun to
$370 for a heavy antiaircraft
weapon.
Rewards have also been paid
to civilians, not only for infor-
mation on wanted Vietcong,
but also for leading the authori-
ties to weapons and ammuni-
tion caches. Some high
Pentagon officials have called
this program the "most cost-
effective effort we have."
The names of the wanted
Vietcong leaders and when pos-
sible their pictures are posted
in villages and hamlets, much
like the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation's posters in Ameri-
can post offices.
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