than was the commitment of the regime in North Korea in 1950. But knowing the consequences of the latter's undisguised attack, the planners in Hanoi have tried desperately to conceal their hand. They have failed and their aggression is as real as that of an invading army. “The evidence shows that the hard core of the Communist forces attacking South Vietnam were trained in the North and ordered into the South by Hanoi. It shows that the key leadership of the Vietcong (VC), the officers and much of the cadre, many of the technicians, political organizers, and propagandists have come from the North and operate under Hanoi's direction. It shows that the training of essential military personnel and their infiltration into the South is directed by the Military High Command in Hanoi. At the time new types of weapons were introduced in the VC army, for which all ammunition must come from outside sources. Communist China and other Communist states have been the prime suppliers of these weapons and ammunition, and they have been channeled primarily through North Vietnam.” (Bowman)The directing force behind the effort to conqueror South Vietnam is the Communist Party in the North, the Lao Dong (Workers) Party. “As in every Communist state. the party is an integral part of the regime itself” (Clodfelter, p. 83). North Vietnamese officials have expressed their firm determination to absorb South Vietnam into the Communist world. Under Hanoi's overall direction the Communists established an extensive machine for carrying on the war within South Vietnam. The focal point is the Central Office for South Vietnam with its political and military subsections and other agencies. “For about 10 years the people and the Government of South Vietnam, exercising their right of self-defense, fought back against these efforts to extend Communist power south across the 17th parallel” (Karno, p.223). The United States responded to...
