ABSTRACT
The army's operations in support of pacification ranged from joint operations with South Vietnamese forces to experiments linking military operations and civilian assistance programs under a single manager. Unites States Army civil affairs teams helped construct public works and assisted refugees. The teams coordinated their efforts with Agency for International Development as well as with local government officials. The real criterion in deciding whether an operation aided pacification was to what extent it reduced communist control or enhanced the government's position in the countryside. A fundamental difference separated American humanitarian assistance programs that provided temporary amelioration from the South Vietnamese pacification effort of trying to establish lasting security and ongoing political ties between the villages and the government in Saigon. The administration understood that Americans could not serve as surrogates for South Vietnamese officials or government-run programs. The critical variable in pacification was the ability of the South Vietnamese themselves.
