0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
The overall objective of US
contingency plans for Southeest Asia
was contzinment of communism, specificaly to prevent the takeover of
Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam by communist North Vietnam or by China.
That objective was an integral part of the American "containment" strategy
first proposed by George Kennan, This strategy provided for an "unalterable
counterforce" to the communists "at every point where they show signs
of encroachment".13/
The spectre of possible Chinese military intervention in Indochina
was a central element of US planning. The Chinese inte-venti)n in
Korea had caught some US officials, and General MacArthur in particular, by
surprise, US planners were determined not to overlook the possibility of
Chinese intervention in any conflict in Indochina. General MacArthur had
miscalc'lated the PRC's intentions in Korea a'
first, but he later raised
the possibility of Peking extending its military power into Southeast Asia..
In April 1951, he stated that China was an ;:aggressive imperialist power"
whose vigorous thrusts were evident "not only in Korea but also in Indochina
and Tibet and pointing potentially toward the South".14/
At the same time, US planners were reluctant to commit American
ground forces to yet another long inconclusive war suL: as that in Korea,
The US ground forces were small in number compared to the Chinese Peoples'
Liberation A-my, yet enjoyed a decisive superiority over thc Chinese in air
and naval capabilities. Therefore, the earliest US plans for operations
were tailored to make maximum use of the USAF's conventional and nulear
capability, and to optimize the US Navy's ability to blockade long
stretches of coastline. In that way, US planners believed that the Aimerican
military force would be best employed -- with -elatively few expected
US losses -- to protect the non-communist states of Indochina.
3. Planning Highlights
TWO US contingency plans in support of Frenc. forces in Indochina
during the early 1950s warrant mention,
as they illustrate the considerations
given to joining forces against the communists. As early as 1951,
G-2 and G-3 planners in Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in Hawaii, prepared a
staf study (then Top Secret) dealing with US Navy and US Marine Corps
3-5