Bevill, James P. Spies in Saigon

CIA Covert Operations in French Indochina and South Vietnam, 1950-1963

The United States' involvement in Vietnam began in the early 1950s. Using personal stories, eyewitness accounts and recently declassified CIA reports from the field, author James P. Bevill describes the agency's secret efforts to prevent Vietnam's independence and subsequently help establish the Republic of South Vietnam. Among the most important primary sources are the CIA files of Paul L. Springer. Springer arrived in Saigon in May 1950. In 1951, he was appointed the first CIA station chief in Indochina. In this role, he laid the foundation for the American spy network in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the French war against Ho Chi Minh and the Chinese-backed Viet Minh revolutionary movement. After the successful conclusion of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case in 2019 to obtain Paul Springer's files from the CIA, the CIA's information examiner argued that the plaintiff's FOIA request could reasonably be expected to cause harm to national security by disclosing intelligence activities, sources and methods. However, this overlooks the fact that all intelligence documents relating to Paul Springer's activities as station chief were over 55 years old. The countries to which they referred no longer existed, and all alleged opponents had long since passed away.