Among the Dominoes

Saigon: Two years ago, Vietcong rocket attacks were a daily occurrence here. Since July 1970, there have been exactly two such bombardments. Today the visitor to Saigon hasn’t the feeling of being in an island city surrounded by a sea of armed guerrillas. Of the four military regions of South Vietnam, the two in the north have a minimum of action, while the Saigon and Mekong Delta areas, pacified now, are starting to rebuild after thirty years of war.

Another striking contrast: In 1967 about a thousand miles of highway in South Vietnam were considered secure —i.e., traffic could move along them during daylight without military escort. By March 1971 secure mileage had increased to three thousand. Thus 72 per cent of the highways are now secure, while 24 per cent are “open” (handling traffic with military escort) and 4 per cent are “closed” (usually traversed only in the course of military operations). From the southern tip of Vietnam at Ca Mau to the DMZ in the north, only about a hundred of the thousand miles of Routes 1 and 4 are not now considered secure enough for daytime travel. Jungle-locked Ca Mau itself was a guerrilla haven for decades; now it has been cleared, and the army has established a support base.

Saigon: Two years ago, Vietcong rocket attacks were a daily occurrence here. Since July 1970, there have been exactly two such bombardments. Today the visitor to Saigon hasn’t the feeling of being in an island city surrounded by a sea of armed guerrillas. Of the four military regions of South Vietnam, the two in the north have a minimum of action, while the Saigon and Mekong Delta areas, pacified now, are starting to rebuild after thirty years of war.

Another striking contrast: In 1967 about a thousand miles of highway in South Vietnam were considered secure —i.e., traffic could move along them during daylight without military escort. By March 1971 secure mileage had increased to three thousand. Thus 72 per cent of the highways are now secure, while 24 per cent are “open” (handling traffic with military escort) and 4 per cent are “closed” (usually traversed only in the course of military operations). From the southern tip of Vietnam at Ca Mau to the DMZ in the north, only about a hundred of the thousand miles of Routes 1 and 4 are not now considered secure enough for daytime travel. Jungle-locked Ca Mau itself was a guerrilla haven for decades; now it has been cleared, and the army has established a support base.