Aug. 27, 1962 - South Vietnam’s massive campaign against Communist guerrilla strongholds at the southern tip of the country appears to have achieved some significant successes during its first 12 days. However, there is no sign that President Ngo Dinh Diem’s Government plans to try to convert the military gains into political advantages. No political advisors have been sent into the areas where an estimated 4,000 troops have been operating since Aug. 15. Some Vietnamese army officers who have braved death in flooded rice paddies and tortuous mangrove swamps during Operation Binh Tay have told U.S. correspondents that “this will change nothing.” Their view is that the Viet Cong have been going back to the “cleared” villages as soon as the Government troops leave. They believe the Reds’ losses in manpower and material will be made up quickly by the region’s population, the majority of which was anti-Government even before Government soldiers and aircraft turned their guns on entire villages.
