SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Primarily Department of State cables and CIA intelligence information cables concerning South and North Vietnam. Topics include the Vietnam War, U.S.-South Vietnam relations, South Vietnam's political climate, opposition groups, religious sects, ethnic groups, labor unions, corruption, press censorship, the North Vietnam’s military and economy, peace negotiations, and events in Cambodia and Laos.

QUANTITY
4.8 linear feet (ca. 12,900 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 95-25)

ACCESS
The collection is administered under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, and under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Geir Gundersen, October 1995; Revised by William H. McNitt, March 2000
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Provenance of the National Security Adviser Files

INTRODUCTION

The NSC Vietnam Information Group: Intelligence and Other Reports is one of many subcollections that comprise the National Security Adviser Files.

The Vietnam Information Group consisted of NSC staff members responsible for monitoring cable traffic from other agencies reporting on events in South and North Vietnam. It appears that the staff began receiving these cables during the latter part of the Johnson administration, but this practice may have originated as early as the Eisenhower administration. The collection, consisting primarily of State Department cables and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intelligence information cables, continued to grow as it was maintained by succeeding NSC staffs during the Nixon and Ford administrations. After the fall of Saigon, the collection was placed in NSC storage until its rediscovery and transfer to the Ford Library in 1995.

The bulk of the collection dates from the Nixon administration (1969-1974), although almost a third of the folders contain at least some Johnson administration materials covering August 1967 to January 1969. Many topics contain no materials later than 1973 (the year of the Paris agreements), and only six folders contain materials dating from the Ford administration.

This collection provides important background information on the Vietnamese war and its impact on life in South and North Vietnam. The materials on South Vietnam primarily concern relations with the United States, the country's political climate, and the many problems plaguing the government. There is information on the role and interests of key political figures, the military, opposition groups, communist-sponsored organizations operating in the south, religious sects, ethnic groups, and labor unions, as well as censorship of the press, government corruption, and the peace negotiations.

Materials on North Vietnam primarily concern their military and the diplomatic efforts aimed at gaining peace and ultimately the unification of North and South Vietnam. There is information about the military's operations in the south, Hanoi's attempts to infiltrate and influence the south politically, its relations with China and the Soviet Union, the war's impact on the economy, foreign aid, the Paris peace talks, and subsequent violations of the Paris agreements.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject File, 1967-1975 (Boxes 1‑12, 4.8 linear feet)
Cables, telegrams, reports, memoranda, and clippings concerning South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Vietnam War. Materials on South Vietnam focus on US-South Vietnamese relations; South Vietnam's political climate; the role and activities of the government, including its problem with corruption and censorship of the press; peace process; South Vietnam’s political parties; key political figures; opposition groups; communist-sponsored organizations; religious sects; ethnic groups; labor unions; disabled veterans; Montagnards, National Liberation Front, Provisional Revolutionary Government, and Buddhist and Catholic political organizations. Folders on specific individuals concern Dr. Phan Quong Dan, Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky, General Duong Van "Big" Minh, and President Nguyen Van Thieu. Materials on the peace negotiations discuss the Saigon government's negotiation stances and its reactions to U.S.-Hanoi talks.

Documents on North Vietnam focus primarily on the military, the war's impact on the country, and the peace process. There is information on the leading generals, their tactics and strategy, the number of troops, their deployment and morale, and the types and sources of military equipment funneled south. The materials also address North Vietnamese relations with China and the Soviet Union, the state of their economy, sources of foreign aid, food production, and the general hardships endured by the civilian population. The materials on the peace negotiations document the negotiation stances and tactics of the North Vietnamese government and violations of the Paris agreements.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

• Anti-Americanism, 1967-1971 (1)-(2)
• Buddhists, 1972-1973 (1)-(2)
• Cao Dai, 1968-1973
• Cambodian Communist Terrorism, 1973-1975 (1)-(3)
• Catholics, 1967-1973 (1)-(4)
• Civilian People's Self-Defense, 1968

Box 2 - Subject File

• Communist Shipping to North Vietnam, 1968-1972 (1)-(2)
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Chinese Community, 1970-1972
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Corruption, 1967-1973 (1)-(6)
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Dr. Phan Quong Dan, 1967-1973 (1)-(2)
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Ngo Cong Duc, 1970-1973
• Government of [South] Vietnam - National Salvation Front, 1968-1969 (1)-(2)
• Government of [South] Vietnam - National Social Democratic Front, 1969-1970

Box 3 - Subject File

• Government of [South] Vietnam - Nhan Xa Party, 1969-1973
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Nhan Xa Can Lao Party, 1968-1969
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Au Truong Thanh, 1972-1973
• Government of [South] Vietnam - Tran Van Tuyen, 1968-1973
• Hoa Hao, 1967-1973 (1)-(2)
• Khmer in Vietnam, 1968-1973 (1)-(2)
• Ky, Vice President Nguyen Cao, 1967-1973 (1)-(7)

Box 4 - Subject File

• Ky, Vice President Nguyen Cao, 1967-1973 (8)-(9)
• Labor, 1967-1973 (1)-(8)
• Lien Minh Nationalist Party, 1968-1969 (1)-(4)

Box 5 - Subject File

• Minh, General Duong Van (Big Minh), 1968-1973 (1)-(7)
• Montagnards, 1968-1973 (1)-(3)
• National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord, 1973
• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government, 1968-1975 (1)-(2)

Box 6 - Subject File

• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government, 1968-1975 (3)-(13)

Box 7 - Subject File

• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government, 1968-1975 (14)-(15)
• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government - Alliance, 1968-1971 (1)-(5)
• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government - Central Office for South Vietnam, 1970-1973 (1)-(7)

Box 8 - Subject File

• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government - Central Office for South Vietnam, 1970-1973 (8)-(10)
• National Liberation Front/Provisional Revolutionary Government - Miscellaneous, 1970-1973 (1)-(2)
• National Progressive Force, 1969-1970
• North Vietnam, 1973-1975 (1)-(3)
• North Vietnam - Military, 1967-1972 (1)-(3)

Box 9 - Subject File

• North Vietnam - Military, 1967-1972 (4)-(13)
• North Vietnam - Negotiations, 1968-1973 (1)-(2)

Box 10 - Subject File

• North Vietnam - Negotiations, 1968-1973 (3)-(8)
• People's Republic of China, 1970-1973 (1)-(3)
• Press, 1967-1972 (1)-(3)

Box 11 - Subject File

• Press, 1967-1972 (4)-(7)
• Progressive Nationalist Movement, 1969-1972
• South Vietnam - Negotiations, 1967-1973 (1)-(8)

Box 12 - Subject File

• Taxation, 1969-1971
• Thieu, President Nguyen Van, 1972-1973 (1)-(3)
• USSR, 1967-1975 (1)-(7)
• Veterans, 1970-1972
• Vietnamese Nationalist Party, 1969-1972