0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
Vietnam at a time when the PAVN forces were completing their
modernization program with Soviet assistance.
E. LESSONS
The collapse of South Vietnam less than three years after the US
withdrawal is only partially attributable to the failure of the follow-on
effort. Seeds for the collapse were sown by the errors made du.,ing U•
,ctive involvement, and by the termes of the cease-fire. NonetheIess, a
more comprehens~ve and sustainea follow-on effort would certainly have
postponed the collapse of the RVN -- perhaps indefinitely. Put simply, the
key lesson to emerge from the follow-on effort in Vietnam is as follows:
The US public and Congress must perceive a recipient
nation as sufficiently important to US national interests
to merit continued aid and support; otherwise, no
"follow-on effort will last long enough to enable an
ally to build-up the strength to stand alone.
01 the subject of foreign aid in general, the former chief of RVNAF's
Joint General Staff, General Cao Van Vien, provides some penetrating
lessons:
To a developing nation, foreign aid is essential
in the nascent phase. However, its receipt
must not preclude every effort to strive for
self-sufficiency in the shortest tin.e possible,
for to all aid - economic or military - is usually
attached a political string. It is an ideal thing
if the political system and foreign pclicy of the
two nations involved - donor and recipient - go
hand in hand, but if they don't, a serious breakdown
is bcund to happen,
When a recipient nation is ravaged by war, as
South Vietnam, naturally it needs all the aid it
can get for a longer time than is usually
required. In such a case, foreign aid should be
8-23