Editing Strategic Hamlet Program (section)

==Background and precursor program==
In 1952, during the [[First Indochina War]] (19 December 1946 – 1 August 1954) French commander [[François de Linares]], in [[Tonkin]] began the construction of "protected villages," which the French later named [[agrovilles]]. By constructing quasi-urban amenities, the French designed the agrovilles to attract peasants away from their villages. This policy was known as "pacification by prosperity." In addition to offering social and economic benefits, the French also encouraged villagers to develop their own militias, which the French trained and armed. "Pacification by Prosperity" had some success, but it was never decisive, because the settlers felt insecure, a feeling which the numerous French guard posts along the perimeter could do little to dispel so long as the [[Việt Minh]] operated at night, anonymously, and intimidated or gained the support of village authorities.<ref name="vietnam.ttu.edu">[[Vietnam Center and Archive]], Texas Tech University; [http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2002_Symposium/2002Papers_files/peoples.php 2002_Symposium Paper]</ref>

Between 1952 and 1954, French officials transplanted approximately 3 million Vietnamese into ''agrovilles'', but the project was costly. To help offset the cost, the French relied partially on American financial support, which was "one of the earliest objects of American aid to France after the outbreak of the Korean War."  According to a private Vietnamese source, the U.S. spent about "200,000 dollars on the 'show' ''agroville'' at Dong Quan."<ref>''The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military ...'' edited by Spencer C. Tucker : Dong Quan Pacification Project : 1953 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=qh5lffww-KsC&pg=PA307 Google_books extract])</ref> After visiting the villages of Khoi Loc in [[Quảng Yên Province]] and Đông Quan in Ha Dong Province, noted Vietnam War correspondent [[Bernard B. Fall|Bernard Fall]] stated that, "the French strategic hamlets resembled [[Briggs Plan|British [Malayan] prototypes]] line for line." However, in contrast to the British, the French were reluctant to grant Vietnam its independence, or allow the Vietnamese a voice in government affairs; therefore, the agroville program had little effect.<ref name="vietnam.ttu.edu"/>

The [[First Indochina War]] terminated and the [[1954 Geneva Conference]] partitioned Vietnam into communist (north) and non-communist (south) parts and the terms [[North Vietnam]] and [[South Vietnam]] became the common usage.

Beginning in 1954, [[Việt Minh]] sympathizers in the South were subject to escalating suppression by the Diem government, but by December 1960 the [[National Liberation Front of Southern Vietnam]] had been formed and soon rapidly achieved de facto control over large sections of the South Vietnamese countryside. At the time, it is believed that there were approximately 10,000 Communist insurgents throughout South Vietnam.

In February 1959, recognizing the danger that the guerrillas posed if they had the support of the peasants, [[President Diem]] and his brother, [[Ngô Đình Nhu]], made a first attempt at resettlement.  A plan was put forth to develop ''centers of agglomeration''. Through force and/or incentives, peasants in rural communities were separated and relocated. The primary goal of the centers was to [[Concentration camp|concentrate]] the villagers, so they were not able to provide aid, comfort, and information to the [[Viet Cong]].

The Government of Vietnam (GVN) developed two types of centers of agglomeration.<ref name="vietnam.ttu.edu"/>
:The first type, qui khu, relocated Viet Cong (VC) families, people with relatives in North Vietnam, or people who had been associated with the Viet Minh into new villages; thus, providing easier government surveillance.

The second type of relocation center, qui ap, relocated into new villages those families that supported the South Vietnamese government but lived outside the realm of government protection and were susceptible to Viet Cong attacks. 
By 1960, there were twenty-three of these centers, each consisting of many thousands of people.<ref>Zasloff, J.J. "Rural Resettlements in South Vietnam: The Agroville Programme", ''Pacific Affairs'', Vol. XXXV, No. 4, Winter 1962–1963, p. 332.</ref>

This mass resettlement created a strong backlash from peasants and forced the central government to rethink its strategy. A report put out by the [[Caravelle Manifesto|Caravelle group]], consisting of eighteen signers, leaders of the [[Cao Đài]] and [[Hòa Hảo]] sects, the Dai Viet, and dissenting Catholic groups described the situation as follows:

<blockquote>Tens of thousands of people are being mobilized… to take up a life in collectivity, to construct beautiful but useless agrovilles which tire the people, lose their affection, increase their resentment and most of all give an additional terrain for propaganda to the enemy.<ref>Osborne, Milton E. ''Strategic Hamlets in South Viet-nam: A Survey and Comparison'', Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1965, p. 25. {{ISBN?}}</ref></blockquote>