Primary Source. in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected both Ridenhour's Confession Back at the embassy Lodge confronted Harkins over his intervention with the South Vietnamese officer (Document 22). Vietnamese leader addresses Congress, May 9, 1957 - POLITICO American aid given directly to your Government can serve to assist Viet-Nam in its present 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. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via ourContact form. This primary source comes from the Collection DDE-EPRES: Eisenhower, Dwight D.: Papers as President of the United States. President Dwight Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 23, 1954) 241 National Security Action Memorandum No. Bin Tnh Sng - (Hoi cm ca Trn khc Knh). Ho Chi Minhs declaration of independence (September 1945) State visit by Ngo Dinh Diem to the United States - Wikipedia December 11, 2009, The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War [2] In an EYES ONLY cable on September 15, Secretary Rusk warned Ambassador Lodge that the coup envisioned in the Hilsman cable was definitely in suspense and that no effort should be made to stimulate any coup plotting. The Government of the United States expects that this 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. 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. [1] Thomas L. Hughes, telephone interview, September 12, 2020. I am own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Cross examination of Lieutenant William Calley (1970) Eisenhower's Letter of Support to Ngo Dinh Diem, October 23, 1954 - The CIA Saigon Station Chief John Richardson met with Ngo Dinh Nhu for a conversation that focused primarily on the evolving Buddhist crisis. US Defence pamphlet: Know Your Enemy: the Viet Cong (March 1966) A US general reflects on US, North Vietnamese tactics (1984) Photo undated(peacehistory-usfp.org). Cross examination of Captain Ernest Medina (1970), Muhammad Ali explains his refusal to fight in Vietnam (March 1967) Neither message, nor the McCone quote, appears in the Foreign Relations of the United States for example, and only the October 6 cable is in a study the agencys Inspector General subsequently did of the Diem coup. On August 27 Ambassador Nolting took center stage. In one case we also had a record made by a senior Pentagon participant, Major General Victor Krulak. President Eisenhower then reminded Diem that his territory is protected by SEATO. FRUS, IV, pp. From that point on, the U.S. embassy and Saigon station became even more active as observers of South Vietnamese coup preparations. The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for the morning of November 1 began with an update that a coup had begun in Saigon. Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Diem, and Madame Nhu. V JFK Library: John Newman Papers: Notebook, August 24-31, 1963.. b mt c tit l sau 40 nm (T Gn), Nhng This text is part of the Internet Subscribers may view the full text of this article in its original form through TimesMachine. Central Intelligence Agency: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000 (declassified February 19, 2009), p. 195. Here we present Roger Hilsmans record of that meeting from State Department files (Document 24). but a succession (Document 20). Attorney General Kennedy said he did not think a coup made sense in terms of U.S. policy objectives, while Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara echoed concern about the effect a coup could have on war progress. Conscription of Vietnamese peasants for service in World War I (1916) During his trip the Saigon situation escalated as Nhu went ahead to launch the raids on the Buddhist pagodas he had already planned. Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957) nhng n anh ln (Nguyn Tng Phong), Phn On the morning of October 24, Don saw Conein at Tan Son Nhut airport. Our additional records do not change the impression we expressed in 2009 that Nolting had essentially gone native (Documents 9, 10). aggression through military means. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. Le Duan: The path of revolution in the South (1956) University Press of Kansas, 2009 The purpose of this offer is to assist the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through military means. D. inhibit the growth of radical Islam. Cuc A broadcast by Viet Cong propagandist Hanoi Hannah (April 1970) General Tran Van Don, one of the coup plotters and a point of contact for CIA operative Lucien Conein (generalhieu.com). Eisenhower asked Kennedy: "Suppose they try to . [8] This quote appears in the Church Committees interim report on Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (p. 221), as well as the note card we present here, compiled by committee staffer Rhett Dawson on June 29, 1975. File : Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington - ARC 542189.jpg 24, f.: Meetings on Vietnam, August-November 1963.. The United States' changing connection with Vietnam is demonstrated by the letters from Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy to President Ngo Dinh Diem, as Anderson's chapter "The United States and Vietnam" in-depth examines. the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action. Such a government would, I hope, 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. disassembling Kennedy's firm but cautious action in the Cuban missile crisis resulted in the _________ of Russian missiles. His methods and policies, particularly his persecution of South Vietnam's Buddhist population, were divisive and controversial. Eisenhower praises the progress in South Vietnam (October 1960), John F. Kennedys inauguration speech (January 1961) Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research Thomas L. Hughes made notes of White House conversations with National Security Council staff member Michael Forrestal and Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Roger Hilsman during August 24-28, 1963, which he referred to as coup planning week. Vietnam took up most of the discussions, including criticism of Nhus explanation for the series of events that led to the pagoda raids which Forrestal said was what he wanted us to hear. They agreed that the Diem government could not survive another 12 months. (Credit:LBJ Presidential Library). [7] CIA, Saigon cable 1447, October 5, 1963, cited in Thomas L. Ahern, CIA and the House of Ngo: Covert Action in South Vietnam, 1954-1963. subversive collaborators within. General Taylors recommendations for Vietnam (November 1961) The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960) In reviewing the different ways to achieve a change in government, assassination, Minh said, was the easiest plan to accomplish although he disavowed any political ambitions himself. Today's posting also features a dramatic handwritten proclamation on November 1, 1963, from the doomed Diem demanding thatthe South Vietnamese Army follow his orders. He actually reached Saigon two days after their conversation (August 23, Washington date). By the end of the meeting, Kennedy asked for a cable to be sent to Lodge and Harkins to get their appraisal whether a coup could be successful. Description: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (from left) greet South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington National Airport. I have been unable to find the claimed McCone quote in any contemporary record. of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. Eisenhower supports Ngo Dien Diem Ng nh Dim: Giai on cc k gy cn (HNT & TTN), TT Ng nh Dim: Th thch u tin (HNT & TTN) President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem 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. Compare this to Items 6 (audio), 7 and 8 of E-book 302, December 11, 2009. Deputy Director of the Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, Paul Kattenburg met with President Diem for three hours on August 28. Ngo Dinh Diem - Vietnam War Hoping that forces from the south would liberate Saigon, as had occurred during the coup attempt in 1960, Diem ordered all armed forces and paramilitary units to rise up to join me in fighting off the traitors. Diem would be killed within a matter of hours. Here we add Krulaks records on the other meetings (Documents 9, 11) and Bromley Smiths handwritten notes, from which he derived the records we had previously posted (Documents 10, 12). Nhng One of themthe easiest, Minh saidwas to assassinate two of Diems brothers while keeping Diem himself as a figurehead. with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly The George Washington University A US report on Soviet aid to North Vietnam (November 1965), US MACV memo on winning the Vietnam War (September 1965) The National Security Archive has participated in these debates by introducing important new evidence and interpretation. The E-book contained a selection of documents that showed how Washington considered South Vietnamese who might be alternative candidates for leadership, and jumped ahead to the final days before the coup. Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1991, p. 212 (hereafter cited as FRUS with page number). The American government viewed South Vietnam's situation as a cry for Reprinted from The Department of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp.
