All of Godel’s AGILE projects were tied together. Chemical defoliation would cut off food sources and eliminate ground cover for the Vietcong in the jungle. The South Vietnamese military would be provided, courtesy of ARPA, a host of new technologies—such as new lightweight guns—to fight the Vietcong in the jungles. Finally, the linchpin of the strategy was the strategic hamlet program, which would resettle farmers and their families to areas that could be secured, cutting off opportunities for the Vietcong to terrorize, recruit, and resupply. Or so went the plan.
