World: And Now the Delta

Since American manpower in South Viet Nam has been engaged most spectacularly with the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese regulars in the northern half of the country, the daily headlines tend to overlook another sprawling sector of the war: the Mekong Delta below Saigon. In terms of bullets fired and casualties recorded, the Delta is a good deal quieter than it was two years ago. But it has hardly lost its importance.

Every day there are bloody clashes by the dozen between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese troops, which carry almost all the Delta load. The three divisions of government...