warfare. The CIA planted sabotaged explosive Budweiser cans and poisoned cigarettes along the Ho Chi Minh trail, and The CIA extracted letters from communist bodies and used them as methods to gain intelligence. Vietnam 1968 Operation Shock Shortly after the Tet Offensive on February 2, a small group of CIA analysts who called themselves "brethren," lead by George Carver, reacted to the attack by devising a plan they called, Operation Shock. The analysts were worried that the generals in the Vietnamese Government grew too comfortable with the American army helping them which lead to growing support for the Vietcong. Their plan was to have the Vice President Ky "supervise a purge of all military and civilian officials guilty of corruption or other abuses." President Thieu would never have allowed the Vice President, who was his rival at the time, to lead a purging campaign, and as if knowing their plan would fail, the "brethren" included alternative solutions to turn the tide of the war including, forcing Thieu to resign and let a war hero come into office, temporarily stop bombardment of North Vietnam and initiate talks to try and negotiate surrender, or initiate talks with the National Liberation Front to possibly form a coalition government. The Director of Central Intelligence, Helms, silently handed off the plan to policymakers in Washington, who then relayed the information to President Johnson. Johnson's response was to talk with the Vietcong, stop bombardments, and announced that he was withdrawing from re-election. Vice President Hubert Humphrey is said to have later thanked Carver for stating that he "had a profound effect on the course of U.S. policy on Vietnam." An important part of the CIA's mission in Vietnam was to constantly monitor what was happening in North Vietnam in order to help the war effort. Since the conflict was part of the Cold War, concerns about aid from the communist powers of China and the USSR constantly remained a concern. One 1968 memorandum demonstrates what was discussed. In the document, titled "Communist Aid to North Vietnam," the types of aid being provided by the Chinese and the Russians are described in detail, with sections on economic and military aid. On October 31, 1968 President Johnson announced a suspension of bombing attacks on the North Vietnam. Vietnam 1969 In November 1968 President Johnson had written something pertaining to the bombing of North Vietnam. Kissinger tried to convince