EXPLOITATION OF U.S. PRISONERS OF WAR

Created: 12/3/1970

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

Intelligence.Information ReportQfJk *

REPORT NO.

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Vietnam, Saigon nap NO. |

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Summary: "ttte. Lao.Dong Party Central Committee, based on experience gained during the French .resistance, established* policies. prisoners of war which includedeach prisoner to the fullest extent possible. Exploitation of the prisoners was carried out by either or both the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the Ministry of Public Securityepending on such criteria as time and circumstances of capture, current tactical and strategic objectives, and long-range potential of individual prisoners. Information on or fronho USSR and Cuba. End Summary*

Comment: In the following reportvague and Inconsistent on tho exact roles playeTTby thethe MND in prisoner of war exploitation, possiblyhis interpretations of the delineation of responsibility the MND and the MPS may be based on only general Beuch larger role to the MPS than didsources whose access to. this information was much more

ed hough lesssource claimed that

the MPS conducted no interrogations at the Hoa Lo Prison, whereas other sourcesimited role for the MPS in this field.)

Vie^namesoij?olicyrtas sot forth by tho Contralof thoo_ ha nd ling andof JJ.S. prisonerswar^ was.whoof prisoner oxploiTtalTon'

acquired froa bothj>gR and ^omaunist China. Tho policy also drew upon tho personal experiences of senior members of the NVN Government who at various times had served in French prisons or prisoner of war camps.

capture. and other prisoners of war wasthe responsibility of every agency, facility andNVN. The initial screening and subsequent exploitation ofprisoner depended on the place, date and circumstancesand tho criteria for classifying prisoners into categories.

/During the period of. bombing of NVN and the resulting destruction of transportation facilities, the established drodedures for handling prisoners of war and for evacuating thorn to central NVN establishments were modified somewhat. Tho proximity to Hanoirovince^risoner was captured and th

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sequenXly, while Hanoi was suoTScleTlo Keavy aorffl"'Bo'm&rnKs. representatives of the MPS and/or HND, depending on-which was in possession of the prisoner, traveled to the. province. .tp exploit tne prisoner locally.,until arrangements could be made.for His transfer to Hanoi.

prisoner at each levollated with that arreTdy'"acqGr3

on .th* prisoner ^Qj^othgr^

aircrafY;ta";rEe"Tpps^

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trora tre^rarianxo^nrTmit

eistablli and to

cal security of the targets. This information was usedit, help

VN's defense of the

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jmjgjwhlcn_he was placed. Tho categorization of prisonersthe affiliation of the initial capturing/screening unit; to which the prisoner had been exploited prior to histo Hanoi; the prisoner's apparent areas of knowiedgeabllity

as established during preliminary screening; the prisoner'sintelligence, position and degree of cooperation;possible compromise of securitylement of thopossibility of escape by the prisoner, and theof tho

handled.by public eocurity service1 elements

lejnents_inlhe .provinces wereND detention, facilities in_jangi_. The MNP Interrogated prisonersaAd strategic military information, and the" MPSlnter-

rngfl Tifsl.Ugal^scientni c. economic and,to somo degree;

ary information. The MND was noTTriTerestec inof prisoners, and it confined its activitiestho collection of tactical and strategic militarylittle time given to longer"range objectives. Thethe MND was considerably broader tBan"that of""the MPS intactical and strategic military information. Informationby the MND was passed to tho MPS Combined Researchreview to determine if requirements from other governmenthad been satisfied. Information collected by the MPSpassed to the MND. (Field Comment:"ot kn*w

what requirements from other NVN agencies were"serviced. Ho' was not acquainted with the specific MND elements involved in this, other than the information was passed to tho MND's Intelligence Department /Cue Tinh Bao/.)

7. The assignmentrisoner to either the.MPS or the MND depended not only on factors enumerated inut also on the prisoner's "Preliminary 1'ornonal Record" and on the MND or MPS screening which occurred at the central level uponprisoner's arrival in Hanoi to determine more precisely the prisoner's areas of knowlodgeability. The ensuing interrogations, whetherby tho MND or tho MPS, Included the following:

nemy combat tactics, techniques and order of battle.morale, fighting spirit and motlva-

espec

c. Enemy weaponry, technical equipment and war materiel, ial attention to enemy use of armor and armored vehicles.

d; Enemy knowledge of tho Viet Cong <VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces in South Vietnam (SVN) generally and specifically in the prieonor's activity and field of interest.

e. History of enemy presence in SVN, units and activities.!

beaupport and reinforcements could

. ,u JNature of coordination and cooperation. and othor Allied units, including relationship between(Alliednd the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. (ARVN) forces.

h. Economic war-making potential ofon information regarding production capabilitiesar-related industries.

PAGU5

ices.social class origin of members. railitaryi se had estferished that most members ofcrsereitr social class,whereas infantry and artillery troops wero from the poorer, less-educated social class.)

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baok*round, psychological makeup and aspirations of the prisoner.

senoral knowledge and comprehension of americans in

other countries 1 and economic situations in svn and

* behavior, mental attitudo and viewpoints of americans while undor combat stress in svn.

.. professional backgrounds and previous assignmentsu.s. prisoners in

n f' fideological indoctrination ofmilitary proselyting

interrogations were aimed at aypiof_avphsonefaft;

cooper-in autt-war

ygrf.agdoctrinated toriendly atmjudjreowah"nvh apdw

uiu not oexieveully proselyted intoevo-

yoners as possible to foment p rnCh government and the governments of french-dominate

prtjsis-oea bedid DOtthat U'S-

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Original document.

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