Nhng Ho Chi Minh seeks Vietnamese independence in Paris (1919) Under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, the USA had given millions of dollars to prop up the French in Vietnam, and had sent military advisers to support Ngo Dinh Diem's corrupt, anti-communist . General Minh renewed the August call for an expression of U.S. support for a coup. Here we present Roger Hilsmans record of that meeting from State Department files (Document 24). V Don asserted that all plans were complete and had been checked and re-checked. John F. Kennedy Library: JFK Papers: National Security File; Country File, b. So did South Vietnamese. Ngo Dinh Diem - Vietnam War The coup against Diem has been a much-debated passage in the history of the American war in Vietnam. Cross examination of Lieutenant William Calley (1970) Plus, we've got an entire learning guide devoted to this document. Tng - Bn c n cn (T Gn) Modern History Sourcebook, Fordham University Center . JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. The assistant chief, left to comment on General Minhs options, advised Washington not to dismiss the assassination too quickly, as the other possibilities basically meant civil war. Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964) 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. the source. Diem agreed but believes he should have enough troops of his own to carry out his own defense. In our 2003 and 2009 postings, and the 2013 update, the story of what Kennedy and his officials actually decided about the Saigon coup in August was at the heart of our inquiry. Colby said the coup forces were roughly equal in strength to those that remained loyal to Diem. Cuc Ci hc t mt s tun tit (TS Lm L Trinh) the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable Other History Sourcebooks: African | East Asian | Indian | Islamic |Jewish | Lesbian and Gay | Science | Women's | Global, Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem, October 23, 1954, Letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of When South Vietnamese military officers renewed their contacts with CIA operatives in early October, the Vietnamese immediately raised the option of assassination. They also sought to provide economic support to South Vietnam to bring needed reform to the area and . The CIAs chronology of its contacts with ARVN plotters (Document 13) shows that the initial contacts which plunged Washington into a frenzy of deliberations on whether to support a coup in Saigon occurred that day. civilians murdered in Hue City in 1968. Such a government would, I hope, copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history. Instead, JFK spoke not of opposing a coup, but of not conducting one just because the New York Times was pushing italmost a repeat of what he had expressed to Lodge in their meeting 10 days earlier (Document 3). 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. . Among the items we present here are the audio and transcript of the president instructing his ambassador; notes taken during the key week by Thomas L. Hughes, director of the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the handwritten notes on White House meetings by NSC staff deputy Bromley K. Smith; a wider selection of meeting notes from General Krulak; the CIA summary of meetings between its officers and the Vietnamese generals; a selection of CIA field reports, including the early October Vietnamese mention of assassination and the CIA reaction to that; and several items from the immediate period of the coup and assassination, including a desperate appeal for aid from President Diem even as the coup against him was underway. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives. This primary source comes from the Collection DDE-EPRES: Eisenhower, Dwight D.: Papers as President of the United States. SOURCE: JFKL: JFKP: National Security File . Ngha At the same time, there was a growing view within the South Vietnamese government that Nhu was disliked, hated, feared, or distrusted at all levels in the bureaucracy, the military establishment and urban elite circles., JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b.200, f.: Vietnam 10/610/14/63, CIA Reports.. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. Central Intelligence Agency: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000 (declassified February 19, 2009), p. 195. An Australian press report on the Tet offensive (February 1968) No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook. Tng Thng Home | Ancient History Sourcebook | Medieval Sourcebook | Modern History Sourcebook | Byzantine Studies Page several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under But it was too late. [8] McCone ordered Saigon station to drop the suggestion, and the next day Colby reinforced that order with another (Document 19). The Henry G. Sanders Web Site -- Vietnam Ngo Dinh Nhu explained to U.S. officials the series of events that led to the pagoda raids and the declaration of martial law. in its present hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared Dim received a glowing welcome and was heaped with praise as a leader of a "free country" in the midst of the Cold War. Assassination Records Review Board release, document 157-10014-10227. For you, for President Eisenhower, and for the American people, the choice in Vietnam was whether to 'sink or swim with Ngo Dinh Diem.' A Strong Anti-Communist Leader in South Vietnam At Geneva, Ho Chi Minh agreed to stop fighting in part because he was sure he'd win an election in South Vietnam. 328 (April 6, 1965) 242 Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense: Excerpt from Memorandum for President Lyndon Johnson (April 21, 1965) 244 Ho Chi Minn: Letter to Lyndon Johnson (February 15, 1967) 245 in the formidable project of the movement of several hundred thousand loyal state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through Noam Chomsky on the meaning of Vietnam (1975), Richard Nixon unveils a policy of Vietnamisation (November 1969) LBJ Library: Bromley K. Smith Papers, b. Washington, DC, November 1, 2020President John F. Kennedy was more disposed to support the removal of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in late 1963 than previously appeared to be the case, according to a recently released White House tape and transcript. The Government of the United States expects that this aid will be met by performance on the part of the Government of Viet-Nam in undertaking needed reforms. Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966) Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen) This website is created and maintained by Alpha History. Add all page(s) of this document to activity: The 1954 Geneva Accords had called for a temporary partition of Vietnam at the 17th Parallelcreating a Communist state in the North and a French-backed non-Communist state in the South. purposes and personal use. Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957) The coup would take place in a window of late October-early November. Ed. Silence from the Vietnamese generals made Washington officials wary of getting too far ahead of Saigon politics. 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Unless otherwise indicated Ngo Dinh Diem head of the South Vietnamese government Khrushchev Russian premier backed The Central Intelligence Agency ______ the Bay of Pigs invasion of Castro's Cuba. Hilsman dominated the discussion, with Taylor doubting whether Saigon could get along without Diem, and McNamara sought assurances on four points. Kennedy's views on removing Diem become more explicit in a tape recording of his meeting with newly-appointed Ambassador to Saigon Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., in mid-August 1963, just before Lodge set out for Saigon. v cc ng bo nn nhn He represented the Pagoda Raids as some sort of victory for Diem, absolved Nhu of responsibility for them, pictured Diem as a man of integrity who had tried to carry out all the promises he had made to the United States, and framed Vietnamese Buddhism as manipulated by Cambodia. DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. 204, f.: Vietnam Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. Kennedy responds to a question on Vietnam (February 1962) US news report on the imminent fall of Saigon (April 1975) Oval Office, August 15, 1963 (Photo: Abbie Rowe; JFK Library,AR8072-A). Modern History Sourcebook. JFKPapers: NSF: Country File: b. Reprinted from Joint Statement Following Discussions With President Diem of Viet-Nam Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965) and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. In turn, Conein challenged Don to produce proof that the coup group was actually authentic. Even now the views of Kennedy and some of his top aides about the advisability of a coup specifically have been shrouded by an incomplete documentary record that has led scholars to focus more on the attitudes of subordinates. Ngo Dinh Diem explains why he rejects national elections (July 1955)