Strategic Hamlet Program

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The Strategic Hamlet Program (SHP; Vietnamese: Ấp Chiến lược) was implemented in 1962 by the government of South Vietnam, with advice and financing from the United States, during the Vietnam War to combat the communist insurgency. The strategy was to isolate the rural population from contact with and influence by the National Liberation Front (NLF), more commonly known as the Viet Cong. The Strategic Hamlet Program, along with its predecessor, the Rural Community Development Program, attempted to create new communities of "protected hamlets". The rural peasants would be provided protection, economic support, and aid by the government, thereby strengthening ties with the South Vietnamese government (GVN) which was hoped would lead to increased loyalty by the peasantry towards the government. Most hamlets involved restructuring existing villages with a defensible perimeter. This led to the relocation of villagers living on the outskirts. In other instances, entire villages were relocated...

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