 Provided with an enemy intelligence windfall accrued during Operations Cedar Falls and Junction City , the CIA members of the group believed that the number of Viet Cong guerrillas , irregulars , and cadre within the South could be as high as 430 @,@ 000 . The MACV Combined Intelligence Center , on the other hand , maintained that the number could be no more than 300 @,@ 000 . Westmoreland was deeply concerned about the possible perceptions of the American public to such an increased estimate , since communist troop strength was routinely provided to reporters during press briefings . According to MACV 's chief of intelligence , General Joseph A. <unk> , the new figures " would create a political bombshell " , since they were positive proof that the North Vietnamese " had the capability and the will to continue a protracted war of attrition . " 
