LETTER TO:(Sanitized) FROM: PAUL N. MC CLOSKEY, JR.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2005
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 5, 1975
• Content Type: LETTER

PAi.JL~1V. iU1~:CvC3S}~~Y,.JR.
1:.TH ZJi$TPICT, CALlrD14N1A
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R~005001 a-~?~? 20575
(202) 725-5d11
G~t?VERN7v7ENT O~EF2AT10N5
ANO
COMMITTEE ON
~9.ERCHANT MAwTINE
ANY F751-7ERIES
~~r~~~ ~ ~1~$~ SYS~&~~iat C3iG~~~~~F.7
~~~:~~ o~ ~i.e~re~~~~t~#[b~~
~i~~ttt~fAtC, ~.~. 20Jg~
P?Iarch 5, 1975
25X1
a F,oom 7E 47
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia
Of STRICT OFFlC ~:
303 GRANT AVENUE
PA60 ALTO, CALIFORNIA 99306
(973) 326-738J
25X1 dear
I am circulating this paper proposing factual data to the
other members of the delegation for review and comment. I would
very much appreciate it if you would have your staff check for
any factual inaccuracies and return their comments to me by tomor-
row afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
I would also appreciate your noting any information which
you feel should bear a security classification,
Thank you,
PNMcC:jj
THIS ~r~P~1~F~Q~Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
i TEC] 9N PAPER [MADE bViTH RECYCLED P(BERS
 25X1 gpproved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
Next 10 Page(s) In Document Exempt
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
 Approe~1 Fof~Releas 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B0149~000500190012-7
I't:lls' ~~l~iz ~~_IC)}t L~r C;E?t~T.cZ:~I=. ~i~'~'F,LI..t:;r~'C~f.':
~~al'Cil t) , 1 ~)
r1 ~ 1 ... i~~l ~ 1 0 ~~ r.~ (~ _l ~.', T~ .._ I, i ~ i~~i ~ ; ~-l~ ~ .~ V J ~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~.r ?' .
iJni-ted States Flouse of Represen~tat__ives
I'rashington, D.C. 2~51~
Dear 1~1r. I~1cClaskey:
~~"t- ?.S
I'le have checked your paper on Vietnam for factual.
inaccuracies in those areas ti~rhere the inte113_gence com,-nunity
has competence . Our colnments are attached.
One general note a.E a factual. nature.: >Ilarry of the
:facts and Figures in the p~per.whichconcern.the South _
VI_etnarnvse side a:lre not pri_marzly ti~rith_i.n the purvie:~r of
tale .i.niWelligznce coTlunurlity ~tnd are' not the r~si~I.~t, o.E
a.ll~`lysis poriorrred. by us. Figures on Sol:th Vietnaliese
c~!.sual-t_i.es, military strongtns. anc~. vrc?e-r-of-battle, and
arnr:TUnit=ion stocks on hand now are essentially given to us
by the ncn--ante 1. .[._igonce components of the Depart.r?errt of
I7aiense, or (~_n the cr:Lsc.~ oz casual t~ es} by t',le South
Viei.IraTTTase t.h:;msely?s. 1`dc~ hrive chc~~Iced thos? figuz-es as
best IAre COl:ild In the G:tIne e.Va11abi_~, hilt ive dC3 nOt VCU::II
.For their ca.~Ip:iete accura:-y.
I recognize that you IIa~.Te nog as?:ed for my comment on
any part of the paper other than t~:e factual cla.%a. Never-
theless, I cannot let this letter go to you ti~rithout care~nenting
on .the last paragx-aph (bottom of page 10 and top of page 11} .
Large num'oers of dedicated. and holiest professionals- in -the
U.S.~ in.telligence community iYill regard the last paragraph
as unjust and untrue criticism o_E' tllair efforts over the
years. to onP ti~rho is perhaps over)}T sensitive, thL para-
graph seeds slanted towaxcl blame o# the inte_llil,ence organs
oz the government. First, the itiord "intelligence" ~2ppears --
gratui~tously and inaccurately in my opinion -- in the subtitle
o.E the paragraph. Second, the last sentence singles out the
intelligence comrrlunity in a ti,ray i~~Ilich is unfair. Is th=is
the note on ti~;hich you really ltiTant to end the paper?
Nat~.ona me ~ tgence O__ficer
fcr 5outll arld Southoas c_ :1sia
2:5X1
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
 Approved For~Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B0149~R'0005001 (QT2-7~'
SPECIFIC SUGGF:STIUNS ON :P~tiPE',R
1. Page .1, first paragraph, line 2: acid. a:Fter "20 million
('. 1.c [I, 1t the words , "grotti z.ng at about 3 perceIlt a year . "
2. P~Ige 1, paragraph 2. Chanz~e first sentence to read:
"~iOLlth V_ietna,~I has a G~~P o.-~ ~3. "(. b"i~'_1_ion, as comp..ir_.d to ,;ortrl
Gietntirn~'s GNP of about X2.0 bill_ion.De~Lete ~l~.st sel~cence of
paragraph 2.
3. Page 1, first Table: Under FY 1974, rnili.tary aid,.
according to our figures, should bE: I.0 billion. US$ v=ice 1.2 billion.
4. Page 1, sentence above second table: Change to read:
"For North Vietnam, in the calendar years 1972-1974, the total
estimates ..."
In this second table on pagE: 1, change FY 1973
to CY 1972, FY 1974 to CY 1973, and FY 1975
to CY 1974.
5. Palle 7. , first paragraph, _l~ist sentence above table
Change to read: "U.S. and South Vietnamese est~_rnates o:E' t}lose
lcillecl , .." (These are not intelli?~,ence es"Llitatcs -- they are
pr.ovidecl to the intelligence community by the South Vietnamese
and the non-'intelligezlce components of the Uepa.rtment of Defense.)
b. Page 2, paragraph just below the table: .Change ".
LJ.S. intelligence estimattes..." to "South Vz_ctnamese estimates,
accepted by the U.S. ..."
7. Page 2, second paragraph below the table. The reference
to Cambodia here is a non-sequitur. Bombing irI Cambodia-did
not have an e:~fect on casualties in South Vietnam.
--Sixth line in paragraph: 1Ve have not specifically
checked all the figures in this table with the
De:Eense Intelligence llgency. They look okay, but
we cannot vouch for t}ie total accuracy of each
figure.
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
 Approved For Ruse 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495Rfii1Q~500190012-7
8. Page 3, top four sr-Lb--paragraphs : In each case,- .For
security r.casons, it ~~rould be better not to identify specifically
the ARVN regiments . Sa iclentifiecl, the specific casualty f:ie;ures
are CONFIDEN'.TIAL. The first one could read: "Art FsZVi~? reg:irnent
operating in the richest ." The second subpara"xaph might
read: "t~zz ARViv' regiment presently serving in Quang Nara Province,
south of Danang _" The othex two cases could be s.3_milarly
changed. Any other wording is also appropriate at the unclassif:iecl
Level, so long as i~t eliminates the spec~if=ic unit designators,.
9. Page 4, second paragraph: Change "U.S. intelligence
sources . ." to read, "U.S. sources . ."
In the Same sentence, change "suspect" to "believe",
and delete. C{LlOtatlOn T1Lar1~S .
10. Page 4, first paragraph under sub-heading S, Orcler of.
battle: Begin sentence with: "According to data provided by
the U.S. Mission in Saigon, the total military . ." (apparently
most of the figures fram this point in the paper on were provided.
by the Mission. Except as noted below, they are all close to,
but in many cases not identical iv:ith, those used in 15laslz=ington.
If you add the "according to ... ." phraso cited above, it elimin-
ates the problem.)
lI. Page 4, secozYd paragraph under subheading 5: Delete -the
phrase '"as of I~?oveml7er 30, 1.974" and change the nc.~t word from
"were" to "are". (`1'he order-of-battle data. on page 5 and top of
page 6 are not as of November 30 -- they are more recent. In.I~l2 2,
for example., there jvere only three Communist infantry clivi.sions
as of that elate, nat the four cited. In ItiIR 4, there were no or-
ganized Communist infantry divisions a.s of November 30.)
12. Page 5 and tap of page 6: The order of battle bulo~v the
divisional Level is CONFIDEVTIz'lL, at least for the Communist forces.
Can you gat by deleting everything belotiv the divisions, and. stating,
fox exarnple in MR 1 --
NVA/VC: 122,000-138,000 men RVNAIr: 158,000 men
including including
4 Infantry Divisions 5 Infantry Divisions
2 Antiaircraft Divisions
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
 Approved For Re#~se 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R~500190012-7
.13. Page. ~i, :First two paragraphs under. the MP~ 4 order of
battle: 'I'lle 357 RVi1~lF tanks, 87~ P.V~d~1F ~~rrnorecl personnel. carriel-s
and 1003 artillery p:i-eces are, we believe, not F~V~tiTAF's total inven--
tory. They are probably the numbers assigned, to units; there are
ot:Ilers in inventory, or clown for maintenance;, etc. A check should
be made with the Department of Defense to veri:Ly the correct figures.
l~. Page 6, second paragraph from bottom of page, last sen-
tence of par~~~.graph: 1Ve would amecld this sentence as follows
''`~'~le RjT_ti'l~'' `; mon-thly ave'r`a ge :For 19 74 eras 11 , 500 to:15 per mouth
against the i~;VA/SIG's 310 tans per month." (The latter figure,
according -to,~c~ata, should be 310 and no-t 3,120. On a weight basis,
ARVN's use of amrnuni-t:ion is far higher than a seven-t:o-one ratio,
because ARVN uses more big artillery and less mortars, rockets, and
small arms than the NVA/VC. On the basis of rounc3_s, the ratio is
about 12 to 1.)
15. -Page 6, last paragxaph: Delete the phrase "west of
Saigon." The figures apply to all of 1~1R 3.
Adct the words, "according to the US Mission in Saigon"
to end of paragraph. (Our numbers are slightly
different.)
I6. Page 7, bottom paragraph: Change first sentence to
read:- "The South Vietnamese 'controlled' 75 to 80 percent of
the 1anc1 area of South~Vietnam, and as of 1 February 1973 92
percent. of tlie. population."
14dc1 a footnote appended to this sentence to read:
"'Thais includes IIES-rated A, B, and C hamlets."
Reason: Many people both in Saigon and in 1Vashington
pre_Cer to dc_Eine "GVN control" as applying only to
A and B hamlets. Others prefer to use A, B, and C
hamlets. The footnote at least spells aut what you
are doing,
I7. Page 8, top paragraph, line three: Change the words
"96 to 98 percent" to "94 percent".
18. Page 8, third paragraph on page: Change beginning of
paragraph to read: "By 1 January 1975, the NVA/VC hacl reduced
government control over the population by seven percent, from 94
percent to 87 percent. They have thus far taken 11 district
cap-itals and one provincial capital., and now control all of Phuoc
Long Province. They are now threatening Tay Ninh City, and
already control much of Tay Ninh Province and most of Binh Long
Province. Some U.S. officials estimate that . ."
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7
 Approved For Rei~'se 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495Rb}~500190012-7
19 . Page S , last parag raph ol~ page : Change begi.nninb to
read: "For Vietnam's 12,000 villagc;s and ham~l.ets, _~=_i_rst the
U.S. and 'then since 1J73 the South Vietnamese have maintained .
20. Pa~,c 9, second line on page: Change number at end of
:1i_ne from 52~, 776 to 566, 776.
21. Page 9, third para~;r.aph on page: Adel an "at Least"
i_n Lront o f "10 percent" .
22 . Pa?e 10 , second paragraph : Urge zvho:le paragraph be
deleted. It is whol:ty wrong factual:Iy. The NVI1/VC outnumbered
the .South Vietnamese personnel and used more artillery ammunition.
23. hPage 10, third paragraph up from bottom of page: Change
second setencc to read as follows: "They have infiltrated more
than 10,U~`00 neiv -men a month on the average since the ceasefire,
they . ."
Approved For Release 2005/07/22 :CIA-RDP80B01495R000500190012-7