"The Other Regime In South Vietnam" by Takashi Oka, The New York Times Magazine, July 31, 1966

The article explains that the Communist-led National Liberation Front (NLF), directed by the Central Office for South Vietnam (C.O.S.V.N.), was a highly organized force that controlled much of the countryside and rivaled the South Vietnamese government’s authority. Through the story of defectors like Nguyen Oanh, the article shows that the Vietcong’s early ideals of independence and discipline gradually eroded due to harsh conditions, U.S. bombings, and internal corruption.