General Loan: "Probably the most feared man in the country"

And what about General Loan in all of this?  Can he really be characterized as a "good guy?"

It is 1966, and General Loan is responsible for creating a whole mess of turmoil for the Vietnamese government that was in power at the time, before Thieu and Ky would be "elected" in October of 1967. (1)

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

Seems the good General not only dislikes communists but he is not to keen on the "southerners" who were on his side.

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

So how does the General spend his time....

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

A regular J. Edgar Hoover...or Richard Nixon!

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

Remember my last post when I asked WHO are we fighting for?

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

Still a free-press mind you, just nothing to print it on.

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

C'mon....if that's not Hoover and Nixon-like nothing is.  Makes Carl Rove look minor league!

Political Activities of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (LBJ Library)

And if they said "No?"

Another good read is another secret document on the same matter, with this little gem:

CIA summary on the activities of Brigadier General Loan, Jan 26, 1967

Which, if you look at it objectively, tells you the bind the US was in (see last post).  This is the reality we faced.  It was not going to be a fair election, the Vietnamese military had to win or they would have just taken over anyway.  The other reality here, is that because of this, Robert Kennedy's remarks on Feb 8, 1968 were also spot on:

You cannot expect [the South Vietnamese] people to risk their lives and endure hardship unless they have a stake in their own society. They must have a clear sense of identification with their own government, a belief they are participating in a cause worth fighting for. 

So when the New York Times writes:

It kind of sounds like they are accurately describing General Loan, I mean, unless you want to discount all of the secret documents reference above and in my previous posts.

And if the NYT's description of General Loan is true, when the ABC cameraman, who is Vietnamese, said he was "afraid of General Loan" that sounds like a pretty accurate feeling, all things considered.

Once again I ask you; is General Loan a "good guy" because he was one of us or because Eddie Adam's said he was?  Or, is it more likely that he fell somewhere between "good guy" and "most feared man in the country?"

Nevertheless, it would appear that the category one would place General Loan in, "good" or "feared" seems to be wholly dependent on what side of the fence he saw you on.

Next Post: Carl von Clausewitz, the CIA, and General Loan

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