FOIA
REPORTING TONE
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP80R01731R002300140002-4
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
K
Document Page Count:
1
Document Creation Date:
December 20, 2016
Sequence Number:
2
Case Number:
Content Type:
MEMORANDUM
File:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 CIA-RDP80R01731R002300140002-4.pdf | 57.46 KB |
Body:
Approved For Release 2006/04/06: CIA-RDP80RO1731 R002300140002-4
19 September 1972
MEMORANDUM FOP; Executive Director-Comptroller
SUBJECT t Reporting Tone
1. All of the statements made in the Memorandum dated
18 August 1972, Subjects OCI's Treatment of South Vietnam's
Performance in Reacting to the Communist Spring Offensive,
are factually correct. My difficulties are with tone rather than
with fact.
2. 1 recall the use of the phrase, "lackluster performance
of the defenders of An Loc". I recall the mood of panic that
characterized the description of the situation in MR-1 following
the fall of Quang Tri to the Communists and the low key in which
the relief of An Loc and the seizure of the Citadel of Quang Tri
were played. Had the North Vietnamese seized a provincial
capital at the end of an 80-day battle, the tone would have been
quite diffe rent. I had to write into the PDB the fact that major
elements of 5 NVN divisions were committed to stop 2 South
Vietnamese divisions from recapturing the city. This was done
over mild protest from OCI. One would not have realized this
fact from reading successive editions of the PDB. A simple
comparison of the presentation of the fall of Quang Tri to the
Communists and its recapture by the South Vietnamese illustrates
my point. Bato. an insignificant district town gets comparable
coverage with Mang Tri. I: inserted into the PDB the sentence,
"If the recapture of Quang Tri is confirmed, it will be a significant
boost to ARVN morale. " This was done over OCI protests.
3. 1 do not challenge the facts. I challenge the form and the
tone.
(sj Vernon A. Walters
Vernon A. Walters
Lieutenant General, USA
Deputy Director
Approved For Release 2006/04/06: CIA-RDP80R01731R002300140002-4
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