Talk:Desmond FitzGerald (CIA officer)

Question on Chronology

An item on the main page states that in 1960/1961, Fitzgerald was assigned to assist the new DCI, McCone. The last sentence in the paragraph reads, "In that period, the French were still struggling to contain the Vietnamese civil war within the struggle for independence from the colonial power.[6]"

The Geneva Accords had been signed by France and the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam in 1954, ending the First Indochina War. French troops had withdrawn from the south--which Diem had proclaimed as the Republic of Viet Nam by 1956, having been replaced by American advisers already under President Eisenhower. I do not understand what is meant by "containing" the war between the DRVN and the RVN within a struggle for independence, which had already been resolved.

Further, in my opinion, L. Fletcher Prouty is a very questionable source, who seems to accept the reality of the High Cabal and other fringe ideas. Usages such as that Fitzgerald was supposed to "indoctrinate" McCone (instead of simply "briefing" him), on behalf of a "faction" in the CIA, and the description of unidentified operations in Viet Nam as being "staged" seem to be to be loaded words consistent with a fondness for conspiratorial explanations, as in Prouty's The Secret Team. In conclusion, I think more work needs to be done on both Prouty and Fitzgerald, as far as this article goes.

Terry J. Carter (talk) 22:15, 24 December 2016 (UTC)

Many cites needed...in proper form.

I removed the para Carter complained about, for the valid reasons he gave. I also removed all the lame cites that directed readers to book covers and expected them to guess the page(s) cited.Georgejdorner (talk) 02:58, 18 March 2017 (UTC)