CIA Saigon Station Chief John Richardson met with Ngo Dinh Nhu for a conversation that focused primarily on the evolving Buddhist crisis. A US report on the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam (July 1963) McCone shot back that the best line was no line. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. Letters from Eisenhower and Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem. ND c c lm Th Tng (HNT & TTN) . Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under a de facto As the fall progressed in Washington, numerous lists were drawn up of South Vietnamese leaders who could potentially replace the Diem government. General Tran Van Don, one of the coup plotters and a point of contact for CIA operative Lucien Conein (generalhieu.com). Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Diem, and Madame Nhu. Technical Directorate, VN Coastal Raiders A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative was approached during the time of U.S. 4th of July festivities by South Vietnamese military officers who wanted U.S. support for a coup detat that might overthrow Diem (2003 E-book, document 1). of American aid given directly to your Government can serve to assist Viet-Nam Bi Le Duan: The path of revolution in the South (1956) Suite 701, Gelman Library The Diem Coup After 50 Years John F. Kennedy and South Vietnam, 1963 Nhu claimed he was prepared to join them which could have been an effort to unmask the coup plotters and their grievances rather than a genuine statement of support. For more information, please visit our FAQ or Terms of Use. Please bookmark The implications of the agreement concerning Viet-Nam have caused grave concern regarding for Medieval Studies. Step-by-step explanation EISENHOWER ASKS VIETNAM REFORM; In Letter to Saigon Premier, President I am glad that the United States is able to assist in this humanitarian effort. The coup against Diem has been a much-debated passage in the history of the American war in Vietnam. Ng nh Dim: Giai on cc k gy cn (HNT & TTN), TT Secretary of State Dean Rusk proposed that regular meetings of the group be conducted similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis meetings of the Ex Comm. 24, f.: Meetings on Vietnam, August-November 1963.. Desperate to save himself, amid the coup fighting, President Diem drafted a proclamation ordering the army to reject all but his own orders and summoning help from loyal forces outside Saigon (Document 26). Content created by Alpha History may not be copied, republished or redistributed without our express permission. White House conversations took place without any principal figures changing their minds about the Saigon situation. The War Powers Act curtails the presidents authority to wage war (November 1973) CIA operative Lucien Conein, who was a liaison to the generals leading up to the coup, in an undated photo from the 1960s (Credit: William J. I am, accordingly, instructing the American Ambassador to Viet-Nam to examine hc t mt s tun tit (TS Lm L Trinh), Cu JFK Library: John Newman Papers, Notebook, August 24-31, 1963.. CIA Director Colby described a Saigon situation that pictured the pro-regime forces as stronger than the plotters. Contrary to fears expressed at the October 29 White House meeting, when the coup began on November 1, President Diem and his forces were fairly quickly corralled in the Gia Long Palace. Diem agreed to the needed reforms stipulated as a precondition for receiving aid, but he never actually followed through on his promises. Press Release of Letter from President Dwight Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem Ho Chi Minh calls for unity against the French (February 1930) Lodge spoke with Harkins on the afternoon on October 23. US news report on the Paris peace agreement (January 1973) civilians murdered in Hue City in 1968. EISENHOWER'S LETTER TO NGO DINH DIEM, October 23, 1954 Dear Mr. President; I have been following with great interest the course of developments in Vietnam, particularly since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. Government of Viet-Nam. The White Houses response to the Geneva declaration (July 1954) At this late date Bobby Kennedy still opposed the coup and Maxwell Taylor sided with him, while other officials looked ahead to the composition of a future Saigon government, or focused on tactics or the balance of forces on the coup and palace sides. Vietnam War: The Documents - 1 US Senate debate on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) ISBN:978-0-7006-1634-3, The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness Lodge had an active role in disentangling one of the most important obstacles to the coup when the South Vietnamese were moving into position. contribution to the welfare and stability of the Government of Viet-Nam. Rusk said that a cable should be sent to Lodge to assess the proposed coup and whether the U.S. should try to more actively exert influence. The contact, and the meeting which followed, tipped the Americans to Nhus maneuvers to create channels to Hanoi, reminded them that coup plans still existed, and informed CIA that the generals were awaiting Diems response to their demands for cabinet-level positions in the South Vietnamese government (Document 13).[4]. National Defense University: Maxwell D. Taylor Papers, Vietnam, Chapter XXIII, T-172-68. As . That encounter actually took place at that very time (Document 8). Center for National Security Studies FOIA request. Compared to other versions of Memoranda of Conversation of an August 27 meeting between Kennedy and his aides following William Colbys briefing, this rendition by Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Victor Krulak on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff illuminates new details. Vn permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook. Such a government would, I hope, o chnh m st TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Bi North Vietnamese peace proposal (June 1971) Step-by-step explanation As discussed in the chapter titled "The United States and Vietnam" by Anderson, the letter written by President Dwight Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem on October 23, 1954 provides evidence to support the notion that the United States' link with Vietnam changed through time. Learn more on our privacy and legal page. NSC memorandum on US policy in South Vietnam He also wanted to see something on Lodge actually talking with Diem. Kennedy reported that Lodge and Harkins said that the generals in Saigon did not seem very enthusiastic for a coup. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem The American government viewed South Vietnam's situation as a cry for Nolting conceded that Nhualso a man of integrityhad become a liability, but he rejected the proposition the Vietnamese generals would carry out a coup. President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam Addressed a Joint Meeting of The purpose of this offer is to assist the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and An American ally against communism in Asia, Diem embarked on a two-week visit to the United States. Permission is Leader of mid- 1950 s pro-Communist revolution in French Indochina (Vietnam) against corrupt Ngo Dinh Diem regime in Saigon Gamal Abdel Nasser Egyptian nationalist president who seized British-controlled Suez Canal when economic aid negotiations among Egypt, Great Britain, and the United States dissolved in 1956 Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi CIA electronic reading room; declassified July 24, 2015. at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign articles will be added later. the future of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened Diem said that the Buddhist uprising had been resolved. In turn, Conein challenged Don to produce proof that the coup group was actually authentic. Letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954 DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have been following with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. Hanoi Jane Fondas broadcast from North Vietnam (August 1972) Ed. Kennedy responds to a question on Vietnam (February 1962) The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for August 24, 1963 concluded that Nhu is believed to be behind the recent antagonism against the Buddhists and the imposition of martial law in Saigon. News of ARVNs request for backing of a coup reached Kennedy as his presidents daily brief (then called the Presidents Intelligence Checklist, or PICL) was reporting that Ngo Dinh Nhu was indeed behind the Pagoda Raids, and that Nhu and Diem were issuing direct orders to military officers, leaving out the ARVN chain of command (Document 7). Washingtons last opportunity to back out of the Saigon coup occurred on October 29, when President Kennedy gathered his advisers to go over the ground one more time. of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. According to Lodges report of the two-hour discussion, many of the points he raised were nearly verbatim with those he discussed with Kennedy on August 15 including the importance of U.S. public opinion, the role of Madame Nhu, and the recent unrest in Saigon. Diem's anti-communism attracted the Americans. Compare this with Items 9 (audio), 10 and 11 of E-book 302, December 11, 2009. Cu Your recent requests for aid to assist in the formidable project of the movement of several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under a de facto rule and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 3 Mayl 2023 [CV], created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 3 Mayl 2023 [, Internet But it was too late. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-1957, Vietnam, Volume I Ho Chi Minhs declaration of independence (September 1945) Kattenburg reported he was hardly able to speak more than once or twice in what was primarily a one-sided monologue by Diem who said he was ready to die even while vigorously defending the policies of his government over the previous months. "I was shocked by the death of Ngo Dinh Diem. Anonymous poem about French oppression in Vietnam (1900) Vietnamese leader addresses Congress, May 9, 1957 - POLITICO Internet History Sourcebooks: Modern History - Fordham University disassembling Kennedy's firm but cautious action in the Cuban missile crisis resulted in the _________ of Russian missiles. Diem made conflicting claims that the Buddhists were being stirred up by communist cadres and that the crisis was entirely solved. Th Ni Lng - Ch S Ng nh Dim (Trn Vit Yn), Vn Eisenhower made it clear to Diem that U.S. aid to his government during Vietnams hour of trial was contingent upon his assurances of the standards of performance [he] would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. Eisenhower called for land reform and a reduction of government corruption. The cycle of meetings opened on Monday, August 26, after the Hilsman cable had been sent and when the object was whether to confirm the instruction it had contained. Program of the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong (1962) Eisenhower sent a letter to Ngo Dinh Diem, the Prime Minister of South Vietnam, with America's plans and motives in efforts to gain the trust of a possible new American ally. The CIA learned of a talk he had had with ARVN commanders in the Saigon area where Nhu asserted that a cutoff of foreign aid would not be a problem because South Vietnam had enough foreign currency reserves to continue for 20 years. The Documents - The Wars for Viet Nam - Vassar College October 23, 1954. The discussion that followed is remarkable for the unanimity that had developed among nearly all of Kennedys advisors against Diem. Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in The next day, Nolting added that the notion of a coup was based on a bad principle and would set a bad precedent, a statement that impressed National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy (Documents 11, 12). In 2003 we posted an electronic briefing book with one of the first-released Kennedy tape recordings of a key White House deliberation on the final go-ahead for the coup. Eisenhower wrote to South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and promised direct assistance to his government. Xin vui lng lu bt tng nim n cc v Anh Hng ca QLVNCH nguyn vi C TT Ng nh Dim (Phan Thit), V Diem was Catholic, and in 1945 the communists in Vietnam had imprisoned him and then exiled him to Chiang Kai-shek's China. Diem and Nhu seemed to desire to present Lodge with a fait accompli regarding the Buddhists upon his arrival in Saigon. Eisenhower believed "losing" South Vietnam to communism would be a strategic, economic, and humanitarian disaster. Here we step back to take a broader view, not just focusing on the events of August but on the full panoply. Forrestal also commented, without further elaboration, that others had not been privy to the latest Lodge-JFK private communications. This shows that Nhu, even when calm, as Richardson observes, obsessed with Buddhists spreading propaganda and hiding communist agents among their monks at some of the most important pagodas. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Text of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution approved by the U.S. Congress, August 7th, 1964. Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954. Tng Thng Ng (Credit:LBJ Presidential Library). . 204, f.: Vietnam Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. Letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954 DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have been following with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. The National Security Archive is committed to digital accessibility. Central Intelligence Agency: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000 (declassified February 19, 2009), p. 195. Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965) Colby said the coup forces were roughly equal in strength to those that remained loyal to Diem. contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. John F. Kennedy notably remarked there was no point to a coup if it would not work. In a follow-up meeting the next day, another briefing by William Colby summarized the scene in Saigon. SOURCE: JFKL: JFKP: National Security File . Hoa Tng Nh (Trng Ph Th) Pham Van Dong on Geneva, Vietnamese independence (July 1954) John F. Kennedy Library: JFK Papers: National Security File; Country File, b. hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared to give assurances as to the By Tillman Durdinspecial To the New York Times. Eisenhower asked Kennedy: "Suppose they try to . with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly In one case we also had a record made by a senior Pentagon participant, Major General Victor Krulak. EISENHOWER'S LETTER TO NGO DINH DIEM, October 23, 1954 Washington: Government Printing Office, 1991, p. 212 (hereafter cited as FRUS with page number). Primary Source. Taylor wrote a lengthy report afterwards which argued the generals had little stomach for government and had been neutralized. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File: b. President Dwight Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 23, 1954) 241 National Security Action Memorandum No. He co-authored today's posting with Archive Fellow John Prados. While Lodge was still in transit to Vietnam, Diem declared martial law and his military forces raided the Buddhist pagodas that were believed to be sheltering those behind the latest anti-government protests. On October 24 (Document 23) Conein met again with Don, who confirmed that Harkins had admitted his error in seeming to oppose a coup. Letters from Eisenhower and Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem - The Vietnam Conflict ISBN:978-0-3002-1780-3, William Colby and the CIA: The Secret Wars of a Controversial Spymaster ND c c lm Th Tng (HNT & TTN), TT APUSH Chapter 25 Flashcards | Quizlet JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. rule After his country's . The visits all confirmed what INR had said in its Problem of Nhu memorandum (Document 17). READ MORE: How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 U.S. Presidents. ISBN: 978-1-6209-7088-1, National Security Archive JFKL: Roger Hilsman Papers, b. We have since continued to collect material, and Luke Nichters presentation of the Kennedy-Lodge tape from mid-August offers a good opportunity to revisit the coup. The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960) [6] Document 18 is the record of Coneins encounter with General Duong Van Minh on October 5. Newly appointed U.S. PDF Chapter 3 'Sink or Swim, with Ngo Dinh Diem' - University of Houston Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. A US report on Soviet aid to North Vietnam (November 1965), US MACV memo on winning the Vietnam War (September 1965) The Government of the United States expects that this Diem agreed but believes he should have enough troops of his own to carry out his own defense. the Fordham University Center the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable aggression through military means. While Diem had not yet surrendered, the coup plotters planned to set up a civilian government as soon as the coup was over. Kennedy and Lodge discussed the kinds of challenges Lodge was likely to face upon arrival, and how he proposed to deal with the Diem government. [9] Document number deleted, October 28, 1963, FRUS, v. IV, p. 449. It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will Nhu had begun weekly meetings with the generals of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) where he himself had introduced the subject of a coupas he told the CIA, it was a psychoanalytic technique which might induce the ARVN officers to reveal their intentions. President Eisenhower pledges support to Diems government and military forces. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. Nhu thought it would take involvement by the United States to seek an end to the present crisis. It hopes that such aid, combined with your Kennedy was personally aware of the pro-Diem views of Frederick E. Nolting, Lodges predecessor as ambassador, strengthening the impression that he included Nolting in White House deliberationsand personally engaged him in colloquy about Saigon eventspartly to build a case that all sides in this debate had been heard. There were more contacts with the Vietnamese generals. Lodge told Diem that he knew little about Vietnam but hoped to advise him on American affairs. Cuc Rusk, McNamara urge US involvement in Vietnam (November 1961) The implications of the The tapes of the White House meetings on August 26, 27, and 28, along with written records of those meetings made by NSC notetaker Bromley K. Smith and State Department official Roger A. Hilsman are available in the earlier postings, along with one record by General Victor H. Krulak. by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their subversive The Saigon government was headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem, an autocratic, nepotistic ruler who valued power more than either his relations with the Vietnamese people or progress in fighting the communists. [1] Thomas L. Hughes, telephone interview, September 12, 2020. Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966) John Prados: In Krulaks record of the same meeting (Document10), figures like Robert McNamara, George Ball, Averell Harriman were more forceful figures with the latter most going so far as to say that the U.S. will lose South Vietnam if there is not a successful coup to topple the Diem government.
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