WAR PRISONER SWAP ATTEMPTS ARE AGONIZING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000300610005-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 1, 1998
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 7, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

Sanitizea - ApproVe
L Polo Pcpo Pago
ISAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
LIGHT
J E - 111,492
; S - 131,594
APR 7 1966
mar Prisoner Swap Attempts
CPYRGHT
By MARIA
scenes of the Viet Nam war
agonizing attempt goes on
swap prisoners of war with t
Viet -Gong.
But the failure of all effor
thus far is forcing a reapprais
if the U.S. government's ro
if wartime prisoner exchange
fight things being done?
It is natural that in a w
1 u
blic con
cern should be
dire
11 d
primar
ily at the m
ounts
is
ts of de
ad and wounde
d.
a
pse of
a hoped for
sw
ionat
Deve pment
offici
it
SETS PATTERN
The secret efforts to
f r e
JlCong while riding a bicycle
have involved Sen. Robert Ke
Its mbrof?ttte bureau of secu
pity and consular aJfairs,_as, w
nd several ?prilate citizens.
CPYRGHT
_Are Agonizing
States has no apparatus for wNcL, wuv iwL uM n n
l staff last month, would
keeping track of the late of H
like to see a new emphasis and
efforts
prisoners; no one agency or in-to free direction put prisoners upon of U.S. war He is
dividual with specific responsi
bility for attempting, to,,g a I n
their freedom; no system f or
.
now preparing a long report
which he plans to send to the
St'
a;e De
artment next week in
p
'ante, or possibly a little com?ji
fort, to their families; and noiWIrich he will propose a new
inter-agency prisoner coordinat-
organized me:hod of coordinat- in- g committee.
ing the efforts of the U.S. gov. er`nment and independent Such a committee was first
bodies u
like the internatioiwl,Red,Cross.1i uggested by A. Burke Hertz, a
The Vfli"Xlam prisoners are [Virginia lawyer who is t h e
the current problem, but t h e iprisoner's brother. Hertz f e l t
way they are handled sets thelthat a special body was needed
pattern for possible future d to stimulate the efforts of the
I Red Cross andothers and- to
ficuities elsewh
if
h
ere -
t
e
_ United States should find itself' coohid the
one day fighting in the Domini-
can Republic again, for in-
stance. There are now 212 U.S.
military men missing and be-
lieved to be prisoners of t h e
Viet Cong. Five U.S. civilians
are captive, Including H e r t Z.
three missionaries, and Douelas
Ramsey, a foreign service of-
ficial assigned to AID.
A variation of the problem
exists in Cuba, where 1,900 U.S.
citizens and their dependents
have applied to leave, the coun.
try but are forbidden to go by
the Castro government. T h e y
are not prisoners In the strict.!
Fand the Depal'tmerft- of D'! 'tiSj:
SENATE ROLE
Because of his chairmanship
of a subcommittee on r,?efugees,
Sen. Edward Kennedy has also
become interested in improving
the techniques of attempting
prisoner exchanges. K e n n e d y
has insistently pressured t h e
State Department to pay more
attention i to both the question
of caring for refugees and of
rescuing prisoners In f o r e I g n
countries.
Kennedy believes the Red
Cross is the best
agency to ne-
ne-
est sense, for the are not'
y gotiate an exchange and h at
held behind barbed wire; y e t ! had several conferences w i t h
they are not free to d6. as they;:Red Cross nffieinln an fhn ink,
scheduled for early May. i
Concerned officals, of course.
realize that negotiations f o r
prisoner swaps are very sensi-
tive and must be conducted in
secret. And they know that if
the Viet Cong Is n no m6od fort
exchanges, no exchanges can be;
made, no master what the Unit-
ed Stales does.
Yet there Is ample precedent{
for prisoner of war exchanged
and therefore enough hope to,
warrent continued efforts. ,Dur-i
Ing the Indochinese war, for ex-
ample, the French and Viet.
ese were able to, e x c h a n g e-,
prisoners despite their b Jl t t e
hatred. i
- .Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000300610005 0