CHAPTER 5

ASSESSMENT

Much was expected of the Strategic Hamlet Program, and for a time, it seemed that much was being achieved. What remains is to consider the program and its failure in bringing about pacification in South Vietnam.

Pacification, as defined in Chapter 1, was the process by which the Government of Vietnam sought to restore and maintain law and order in the countryside. The Strategic Hamlet Program sought to provide sustained protection for the rural population from insurgent threats. It was also intended to engender support for the government by meeting the needs of the people. An effective pacification program should involve all government agencies, civil as well as military, and be properly coordinated, carefully planned, and adequately resourced.

President Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu presented the Strategic Hamlet Program as a security, economic, social, and political program designed to achieve a 'total revolution' in South Vietnam. These four aspects of the program will be examined to assess the performance of the program.