Word: south
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...continent in ferment, dissatisfied as never before with the U.S. and itself. Indeed, there are pessimists like Sol Linowitz, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, who believe that if the U.S. continues to ignore Latin America, it may some day face "a series of Viet Nams" south of the border...
WHAT will happen when the U.S. withdraws its ground forces from Viet Nam? The first trial run came at Ben Het, the embattled South Vietnamese outpost near Cambodia that was the well-publicized object of enemy pressure for 55 successive days. For the first time since the massive U.S. military buildup in 1965, South Vietnamese forces (ARVN) bore the brunt of a major ground action in the difficult border terrain. Though the siege last week was lifted and Ben Het remained in allied hands, the results were far from reassuring. "You can see it happening...
Like Khe Sanh and Con Thien to the north, Ben Het, which was completed in 1968, is an isolated fortification of bunkers and barbed wire that sits astride an important infiltration route. Inside its perimeters were 500 Montagnard irregulars led by a South Vietnamese Special Forces team of twelve and twelve U.S. Green Beret advisers. Initially, Ben Het could rely for added protection on the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, which was operating in the surrounding highlands. As part of a redeployment, U.S. infantry forces withdrew from the Ben Het area in April. The responsibility for the base passed...
Ominously, the North Vietnamese in early May began to mass two regiments in the area and occasionally to shell Dak To and Ben Het. In the past, the U.S. would have rushed American infantrymen to the aid of the South Vietnamese. This time they did not. In an effort to head off an attack, Lien sent South Vietnamese battalions into craggy mountains around the two bases. At first the South Vietnamese fought well and aggressively. But after a month in the field, they wearied. Unfortunately, the South Vietnamese still seemed incapable of fighting a prolonged and bloody engagement with...
...ensuing siege strained relations between the South Vietnamese and the American battalion at Dak To. As support troops, the U.S. engineers and artillerymen were counting on the South Vietnamese to provide the security force for their base. But Lien refused. As a result, the Americans had to do double duty guarding their own perimeter, leaving the gun crews and work teams overworked and exhausted...