Vietnam War: Armed Propaganda Teams CIA Handbooks

Vietnam War: Armed Propaganda Teams CIA Handbooks

109 pages of two CIA manuals produced in 1969-1970 for advisors in Armed Propaganda Teams apart of the Chiêu Hồi Program.

Long before United States ground forces became embroiled in the region, Communist forces in Indochina used armed propaganda teams as a psychological operations tool. In the later 1960's U.S. forces along with the Southern Vietnamese developed a similar program.

The Chiêu Hồi (Open Arms) Program involved South Vietnamese personnel encouraging defection by the Viet Cong and their supporters to the side of the Southern Government.

Abstract: Armed Propaganda Teams represent the most effective of all returnee inducement media. The results they obtain will vary proportionately to the skill with which they are employed, their training and their motivation. In the past, much of their full potential has been alleviated by the lack of a complete understanding if not only what they might possibly accomplish but also of the very basic fundamentals of organization, training, tactics, etc.

This handbook has been written to reduce to a reasonable minimum the existing areas of lack of understanding which prevent the APT from achieving results more nearly compatible with their inherent possibilities. We deal here with a factor which is more than ordinarily meaningful to the ultimate success of our mission. Advisors at all echelons can refer to the information contained in this handbook in order to more adequately advise and assist in APT matters.