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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-06218 to 363-06220.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-06218 to 363-06220
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Title
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Article about South Vietnam rebuilding in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive
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Description
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Original title: "REBUILD", Article draft about the South Vietnamese government's attempts to rebuild after the Tet Offensive, for the Christian Science Monitor
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AI Usage Disclosure
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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
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Transcript
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ZCZC SAG
YY LJP
NORMASS/JOHN HUGHES
REBUILD 1
SAIGON, february 12
while the united states grits for a military
contest with the communists at khe sanh, the challenge confronting
the government of south vietnam in saigon is to pluck some gain
from the crisis which has just beset it.
its obvious opportunity lies in a vigorous program of reconstruction.
the faith of many city dwellers in their government's ability to
protect them against the viet cong has been badly shaken, but at least
if their government moves swiftly to rehouse and re-establish them, it
may extract something from the ruins.
the viet cong's lightning tet offensive has sent more than half
a million evacuees pouring into dozens of refugee centres. in saigon alone,
by the government's count, more than 10,000 structures have been destroyed.
hospitals have admitted more than 3,500 civilian wounded in the capital
alone.
more
ZCZC SAG
YY LJP
REBUILD 2 Saigon normass/john hughes
many families have lost their breadwinners & some 1700 south
vietnamese soldiers have been killed in the fighting since tet and more
than 5,000 wounded.
in the government's response to all this there are some positive
elements. but some longtime observers of the vietnamese scene are dubious
that the government is moving mix swiftly enough and imaginatively
enough to rally the people. says one : "the thieu government hadn't
captured the imagination of the people before (the tet ofensive) and now.
they've lost a lot more ground. if they're going to make a breakthrough,
they need to be twice as good now."
the government has, of course, set up a recovery committee headed
by vice-president nguyen cao ky. acting as the program's chief of staff
is major general nguyen duc thang.
more
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ZCZC sag
JJ 1jp
rebuild 3 saigon normass/john hughes
but general thang accepted the assignment only on a short-term
basis during this time of national emergency. recently he resigned
his position as chief of south vietnam's vital pacification program
because the government would not effect various reforms demanded by
him.
acceptance of his present assignment does not repeat not mean that
his confidence in the administration has been suddenly restored. after
completing his assignment he is expected to be given military command of
one of south vietnam's four corps areas.
heading the american team on the recovery program is deputy ambassador
robert www komer, whose optimistic predictions concerning the progress
of pacification have sometimes stirred controversy.
in its daily decisions, the recovery committee is moving rice and
fish and meat to areas short of food. it is establishing refugee centres, and
trying to get the transportation system and other essential services
working normally again.
more
2030 sag
Jy 1jp
rebuild 4 saigon
normass/john hughes
yet somehow the government has yet to create for itself from all this
an image of vitality. president thieu has gone before the national
assembly and announced a series of measures to beef up the army. he
will not release soldiers who have completed their service, he is
recalling veterans who have served less than five years, and he is to
speed up the drafting of younger men eligible for military service.
and to provide an aura of constitutionality following his declaration of
martial law he has "requested" congress to give him the emergency
powers he will use anyway during the next year. all this is considered
intelligent action on president thieu's part. yet somehow the image of
the presidency remains a pale one.
more
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ZCZO sag
JJ 1jp
rebuild 5 saigon normass/john hughes
some officials would like to seexx the saigon government mobilise
volunteers for reconstruction work, giving them a stake in the rebuilding.
but it is understood that saigon police officials have vetoed such
a plan because they are afraid of viet cong infiltration. says one
source : "they see viet cong under every bush. they don't trust the
people. they're afraid of them. that's exactly what (north vietnam's)
general giap wants. when in the world are we going to learn how to
wage people's war ?"
even those who are working for the government apparently have little
faith in its ability to ensure their security. saigon university students
now working for the ministry of social welfare are tearing the ministry
letterheads off their instructions. the reason is simple. they do not want
to be ostentatiously linked with the government for fear of viet cong
reprisal.
more
ZCZC sag
Jy 1jp
rebuild 6 saigon normass/john hughes
some observers believe the government now has an opportunity to
build new, if not necessarily model, housing estates in areas devastated
by the fighting. Sys one : "we've got the opportunity now to put
into action a tremendous slum clearance program."
some experts say provision of this low-cost housing is well within
the capacity of the south vietnamese and united states governments.
local materials, they claim, could be used to provide sturdy structures
cheaper than imported prefabricated units. "but," they say, "the government
has got to move fast."
if the drive is not repeat not coming from the south vietnamese
government should the americans and could they, if they should
pressure the saigon administration for action?
that is the key but
highly sensitive question now under debate. endit hughes.
reuter
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Date
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1968, Feb. 12
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Tet Offensive, 1968; Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B11, F4
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Format
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dispatches
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Collector
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
