honor the ARVN Heoes. The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for the morning of November 1 began with an update that a coup had begun in Saigon. US Defence pamphlet: Know Your Enemy: the Viet Cong (March 1966) Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai killings (1969) President Dwight Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 23, 1954) 241 National Security Action Memorandum No. McCone shot back that the best line was no line. Kennedy wanted Lodge to make a personal assessment. I am C. protect Western oil interests. nguyn vi C TT Ng nh Dim (Phan Thit) At the same time, Nhu ordered soldiers to fire upon Americans and other foreigners involved in acts intended to be hostile toward South Vietnam. The US recognises self-governing Vietnam (February 1950), Final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina (July 1954) The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960) Another consistent theme among American planners was that there was no clear frontrunner, and it was unclear whether the next government would be civilian or whether it would share power with the military for a time. to give assurances as to the standards of performance it would be able The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) Despite promising to establish a free, Western-style democratic republic, Diem's leadership was far from democratic. One day later, Ambassador Lodge received the infamous DepTel 243, the Hilsman cable (2003 E-book, Document 2; E-book 302, Document 1). Unlike Nolting, who saw no possible candidates, the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) produced an extensive list (Document 16). 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. White House conversations took place without any principal figures changing their minds about the Saigon situation. Lodge set Harkins straight that the United States, while not initiating any coup, was to avoid any action that thwarted or opposed a coup. 35+ YEARS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACTION, FOIA Advisory Committee Oversight Reports, The Diem Coup After 50 Years John F. Kennedy and South Vietnam, 1963, Kennedy Considered Supporting Coup in South Vietnam, August 1963, The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War, William Colby and the CIA: The Secret Wars of a Controversial Spymaster, Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975, The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem. Lodge was the first diplomat to meet with LBJ as president. Here we step back to take a broader view, not just focusing on the events of August but on the full panoply. President Kennedy meets with newly-appointed Ambassador to South VietnamHenry Cabot Lodge. Diem said that the Buddhist uprising had been resolved. 4, f.: Vietnam 9/119/20/63 [II]. So he pledged support to an emerging leaderNgo Dinh Diema devout Catholic and fervent anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist. . I am, accordingly, instructing the American Ambassador to Viet-Nam to examine with you in your capacity as Chief of Government, how an intelligent program of American aid given directly to your government can serve to assist Viet-Nam in its present hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared to give assurances as to the standards of performance it would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. civilians murdered in Hue City in 1968. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. While it was too soon to know the outcome, it appeared that Big Minh had gained the backing of all major combat units. 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. 05/09/2018 12:04 AM EDT. [4] Accounts of the CIA meetings with General Khiem on September 16 (CIA Saigon cable 0940) and 26 (Saigon cable 1222) appear in FRUS, IV, pp. American aid given directly to your Government can serve to assist Viet-Nam in its present Among the findings from the present posting or from our several Diem E-books taken together are the following: Vietnam perplexed American leaders from Franklin D. Roosevelt on. View Full Article in Timesmachine , See the article in its original context from. for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Kennedy did a lot of agreeing, letting Lodge talk, but the two concurred the press in Saigon posed a problem, JFK expressed the sense that something would have to be done about Diem, but he didnt want to be driven to that by the press, and he was not yet certain who, other than Diem, the U.S. could support in Saigon. Assassination Records Review Board release, document 157-10014-10227. Nhu thought it would take involvement by the United States to seek an end to the present crisis. Forrestal also commented, without further elaboration, that others had not been privy to the latest Lodge-JFK private communications. vn hai cu tng Khim v Xun He also wanted to see something on Lodge actually talking with Diem. Kennedy pledges support for Diem, South Vietnam (December 1961) Viet Minh call to arms against the Japanese (March 1945) 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. The American government viewed South Vietnam's situation as a cry for [6] Document 18 is the record of Coneins encounter with General Duong Van Minh on October 5. The Department Lodge spoke with Harkins on the afternoon on October 23. Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954. 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. Such a government would, I hope, be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its people, so enlightened in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected both at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign ideology on your free people. t. e. Ng nh Dim ( / djm / [1] or / zim /; [2] Vietnamese: [ n jm] ( listen); 3 January 1901 - 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954-1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of Vietnam) from 1955 until he . The agreement called for an election to reunify the two zones in 1956. Suite 701, Gelman Library Technical Directorate, VN Coastal Raiders European and World history. Such a government would, I hope, be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its people, so enlightened in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected both at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign ideology on your free people. During his trip the Saigon situation escalated as Nhu went ahead to launch the raids on the Buddhist pagodas he had already planned. Subscribers may view the full text of this article in its original form through TimesMachine. General Tran Van Don, one of the coup plotters and a point of contact for CIA operative Lucien Conein (generalhieu.com). JFK Library: John Newman Papers, Notebook, August 24-31, 1963.. 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. and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. Eisenhower wrote to South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and promised direct assistance to his government. According to Coneins report to CIA Headquarters, he did not address Harkins comments but assured Don that Lodge would speak to Harkins. McGeorge Bundy memo on attacking North Vietnam (February 1965) Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. held his first meeting with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem on August 26. On October 23, Don had another get-together with CIAs Conein (Document 21) where he demanded assurances on the U.S. stance and the intelligence officer was able to answer in a way that satisfied Washington guidelines. [2] Rufus Phillips, Why Vietnam Still Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned. 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. John Prados: 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). The receptions during the visit were in large part organized by the American . and to remember the thousands of [3] At the same time Lodge was involved in a spat with the CIA over changing its station chief in Saigon. At the State Department, W. Averell Harriman and George Ball agreed that Lodge ought to delay his arrival in Saigon until the situation had calmed somewhat (Document 4). 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. JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. President Eisenhower pledges support to Diems government and military forces. President Eisenhower complimented President Ngo Dinh Diem on the remarkable achievements of the Republic of Viet-Nam under the leadership of President Ngo Dinh Diem since he took office in July 1954. The received history on this is that Hilsman, Harriman, and NSC staffer Michael Forrestal advocated going ahead with a coup, while other factions opposed it. Ngo Dinh Diem explains why he rejects national elections (July 1955) Chun Tng L Compare this redaction with the one on page 626 of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, v. III, Vietnam, January-August 1963. Tng nim C 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 . Harkins, a long-time friend of Lodges from their upbringing in Massachusetts and shared time in the U.S. Army, expressed regret for his remarks and said he would inform Don that his comments did not reflect official U.S. Government policy. The PICL of November 2 (Document 27) records that Diem and Nhu had been killed. 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. We have been exploring ways and means to permit our aid to Viet-Nam to be more effective and to make a greater contribution to the welfare and stability of the Government of Viet-Nam. The discussion that followed is remarkable for the unanimity that had developed among nearly all of Kennedys advisors against Diem. the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. articles will be added later. 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. Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965) Tng - Bn c n cn (T Gn) President Kennedy acted mostly as moderator. mi nm ngm ngi (Trng Phu' Th) 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. While Diem had promised outgoing U.S. 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. Dim received a glowing welcome and was heaped with praise as a leader of a "free country" in the midst of the Cold War. Th Ni Lng - Ch S Ng nh Dim (Trn Vit Yn), Vn On the evening of September 7, Ngo Dinh Nhu called a meeting of all senior South Vietnamese military commanders in the Saigon area. The George Washington University The online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives, Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The coup against Diem has been a much-debated passage in the history of the American war in Vietnam. At the same time, there was infighting within the ranks of the South Vietnamese army officers, and the latest turmoil is likely to be only the first phase in a new wave of instability. Conscription of Vietnamese peasants for service in World War I (1916) Ngha [8] McCone ordered Saigon station to drop the suggestion, and the next day Colby reinforced that order with another (Document 19). Your recent requests for aid to assist This amounted much more to a quest for more information on Saigon conditions than an assault against a purported pro-coup faction. Ngo Dinh Diem decrees the death sentence (May 1959) ND c c lm Th Tng (HNT & TTN), TT Luke A. Nichter, For more information, contact They agreed that the coup plotters would deal only with Conein in the future. There was still time to pull back. Primary Source. On August 27 Ambassador Nolting took center stage. John F. Kennedy Library: JFK Papers: National Security File; Country File, b. Diem and Nhu seemed to desire to present Lodge with a fait accompli regarding the Buddhists upon his arrival in Saigon. Don reported that Harkins clarified that his remarks about the non-desirability of a coup were inadvertent.