0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
0 Negotiations - a description of the extent to which the negotiating
process assisted or detracted from attainment of US goals
will be given. The strengths and weaknesses exploited by each
side in the negotiating process will be identified. A des,
tion will be given of the different approaches to negotiation
taken by the US, North Vietnamese, GVN and VC Provisional Revolutionary
Government (PRG)., Recommendations of how the Ulited
States should approach or conduct such negotiations in the future
will be provided.
0 Follow-on Effort - a description of the post-withdrawal US
commitment to aid South Vietnam and the degree to which it was
carried out will be provided. The physical and psyc.,oiogical
results will be described in detail.
C. THEMES THAT EMERGE IN VOLUME V
Several patterns or themes emerge fromi the analyses developed in this
volume. In brief, they are as follows-
* Neither the fundamental US objectives nor tne USG basic policy
with respe-t to the RVN
were understood completely, aod subtle
changes (i.e., from an independent, non-communist RVN to an RVN
not necessarily non-communist) that occurred over time were apparently
not transmitted to the US leadership in the field.
* As long as the fundamental doctrine of military containment of
communism was the official US foreign policy, the decision to
intervene in Vietnam has to be considered a logical reaction.
The "domino"
theory saw any conflict with the communists as a
test of the US's national resolve and credibility.
The communist;
had threatened to take over "free world" territory in
Berlin, Korea, Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon and the Dominican Republic
and actio;-s taken by the US to prevent the loss of these
territories were viewed by many as American Cold War successes.
Conversely, the communists gaining control over China and Cuba
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