Word: saigon
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...assistant. In practice, some chiefs are well known and some remain under deep cover, depending on the nature of the country. In London, for example, practically anyone who is interested can learn the identity of the CIA station chief; his arrival was even disclosed in the Manchester Guardian. In Saigon, the station chiefs identity is well known but, by tacit agreement, never publicized by reporters. In politically turbulent countries, the identity of the station chief is a closely
Earthy Soldier. The same gift for deftness and diplomacy, still widely unsuspected, emerged in his dealings with South Vietnamese officers. Assigned in 1967 as deputy to General William Westmoreland, Abrams courted top Saigon officers, accepting slights with patience and devouring a Vietnamese meal intended to make him gag-chicken heads, goat meat and paddy...
...Money. As one of the many hubs of illicit trade between Communist and government zones, the dingy little town northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border provided extra earnings to the underpaid local soldiers (less than $30 a month for privates). They collected bribes whenever a merchant carrying such items as gasoline and medicine headed into the Communist zone, and again when he returned bringing back fruit or fowl...
Corruption does not usually increase fighting tenacity, as it did for the Saigon troops; they killed 300 Communist soldiers. More often Saigon's fighting effort is being bled by industrious attempts to make a buck out of the war, according to a secret report by psychological-warfare officers that was recently submitted to President Nguyen Van Thieu...
...Charging for artillery support. Two years ago, it was common practice to fire off 20 artillery rounds for every one round fired by the Communists, thus generating a salable mountain of brass shell casings. With the reduction of American military aid, the Saigon command usually limits each big gun to four or five rounds a day. Still, there is profit to be made, and some artillery officers are most likely to offer fire support to battalion commanders who pay. The going rate is $1 or $2 per round...