Documents / FOIA release

Intelligence and Security Operations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense

Central Intelligence Agency · 1979-12-01 · 120 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is a December 1979 Central Intelligence Agency study published by the Directorate of Operations Counterintelligence Staff. It describes the Enemy Proselytizing Department (Cuc Dich Van) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. The study traces the department's origins from 1941 through the French and Vietnam wars. It covers psychological warfare, fifth column penetration of ARVN and allied forces, the handling of US and allied prisoners of war, and the postwar reeducation of former ARVN personnel. It contains no material on UFOs.

  • p. 13 …MPS components in South Vietnam '-,_- |. ._ ' w__ere tasked with the mission of undermining the power base…
  • p. 29 …15 personnel plus 200 others assigned to six detention camps under its control. The Policy Section…
  • p. 38 …Thus, the CDV was indirectly assisted in its mission ofinducing US military desertions and in fomenting…
  • p. 45 …missions: 1. Destruction of the accelerated pacification program, the assassination of "tyrants," the seizure of control…
  • p. 54 ____ P Y -SEGR-E-T— ‘ . - 1a special 15-man penetration cum (unit) with the mission of…
  • p. 62 …He had the mission of inducing Montagnard tribesmen to resist RVN control efforts in the five…
  • p. 82 …Committee, member of the Central Committee's Control Committee Secretariat, and as a deputy secretary of…
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psychological warfare materials for US military personnel. Anti-American
themes urged US military,_ personnel to refuse to take part in combat
operations, to request the US Government to return them home to their
families, and to stop the killing of Vietnamese civilians. During the year 1968,
over 100,000 English-language leaflets were distributed by the QDSR
Propaganda Section. The armed propaganda cell was responsible for
loudspeaker broadcasts against US and ARVN military bases, and had four
English¢language speaking members. The propaganda proselytizing cell had
five English-langauge speaking cadres who were assigned to US military base
areas with the mission of collecting information on US military attitudes
towards the war which were used later in the preparation of psychological
warfare leaflets against US military personnel.
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Between 1966 and 1969, four US POWs worked in the QDSR EMPS
Propaganda Subsection where they assisted in’ the preparation and translation
of anti-American materials into good colloquial English for distribution by
district and village-level EMPS components near US military bases in the
QDSR. At least one of these Americans was reported to have assisted the
QDSR EMPS Interrogation and Detention Camp Subsection in the
interrogation of US POWs. He assisted in the initial interrogation of US POWs;
attempted to convince them to support the cause of Hanoi's National
Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLFSVN); and monitored the attitudes of
US POWs which he reported to the detention camp commander. After the
QDSR EMPS Interrogation and Detention Camp Subsection was dissolved in
late 1968, he_was moved with other US POWs to the Region 5 EMPS where he
taught Englishélanguage courses to other Region 5 and QDSR EMPS cadres. In
late 1969, he was admitted to the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP) and was
reportedly transferred to North Vietnam for medical treatment.
The Interrogation and Detention Camp Subsection of the Region 5 and
the QDSR EMPS each had 40 personnel organized into a five-man command
group, a 10-man administrative staff, and a 25-man security guard force. The
QDSR EMPS Interrogation and Detention Camp Subsection maintained the
Hon Tau Temporary Camp for US/ ARVN/ Allied POWs in Que Son District,
which transferred POWs to the permanent Tra Khe Camp along the
Kampuchean border area of Tra Bong District, Quang Ngai Province. The Tra
Khe Camp was commanded by CDV Senior Captain Nguyen Phuong. Phuong
was assisted by two English-speaking interrogators, who had graduated from
the Hanoi Foreign Language Institute. Two English-speaking leaflet writers
also assisted in the interrogation and indoctrination of US POWs in the camp.
In late 1968, the QDSR EMPS Interrogation and Detention Camp Subsection
was dissolved, and all POWs along with the camp command group and
administrative staff were transferred to the Region EMPS Interrogation and
Detention Camp Subsection.
In each of the other eight subordinate provinces in Region 5, the
provincial EMPS Enemy Proselytizing Subsections were involved in psycho-
logical warfare operations against the American target. Headed by the deputy
chief of the provincial EMPS, the subsections were staffed with seven English-
speaking personnel. The subsections were responsible for preparing and
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 120 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.