Colonel Robert Heinl: The Collapse of the Armed Forces (1971) ideology on your free people. standards of performance it would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. Vietnamese figure Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of leader Diem, remained the prime target of American maneuvers. General Tran Van Don, one of the coup plotters and a point of contact for CIA operative Lucien Conein (generalhieu.com). o chnh m st TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Bi 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. of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. [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. purposes and personal use. Trn Vn Hng, Thiu Tng Phm Kennedy, John F. Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. He regarded Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy as other opponents. own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Ultimately his refusal to make any substantial changes to meet the needs of the people led to extreme civil unrest and eventually a coup by dissident South Vietnamese generals in which Diem and his brother were murdered. (Credit:LBJ Presidential Library). nh Dim by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their 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 December 11, 2009, The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War Duong Van Minh Known popularly as "Big Minh," Duong led the South Vietnamese army under prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the climate in which ARVN General Tran Thien Khiem asked CIA for a meeting. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. All Rights Reserved. Washington, DC, November 1, 2020 President 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. Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in v. t. e. Ng nh Dim, the President of South Vietnam, made a state visit to the United States, the main ally of his government, in 1957. The purpose of this offer is to assist the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and D. inhibit the growth of radical Islam. On August 27 Ambassador Nolting took center stage. [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. Once American policymakers became aware that the coup plotters considered assassination a potential part of their plan they proceeded very carefully. C. protect Western oil interests. US Senate debate on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) This amounted much more to a quest for more information on Saigon conditions than an assault against a purported pro-coup faction. Military opponents coalesced around General Maxwell D. Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and included General Krulak; while another center of opposition included CIA Director John McCone and his responsible division chief, William E. Colby. Vn Ph 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. C. protect Western oil interests. At one point Ambassador Lodge personally assured General Tran Van Don that CIA operative Conein was speaking authoritatively for the U.S. state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through 2130 H Street, NW SOURCE: JFKL: JFKP: National Security File . A broadcast by Viet Cong propagandist Hanoi Hannah (April 1970) 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.. and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. While the forces at the disposal of the coup plotters remained inferior to those commanded by Diem and Nhu, if the U.S. were to back a coup attempt it was important that it was successful. President Eisenhower's letter to South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem promising aid against the North, October 1954. So he pledged support to an emerging leaderNgo Dinh Diema devout Catholic and fervent anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist. 735-736. After Conein had provided assurance to Big Minh that the U.S. would not thwart a coup, General Tran Van Don asked Conein why General Paul Harkins, Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), said the day before that it was the wrong time for a coup and that the planners should desist in their efforts. Years later, when the Church Committee was investigating the CIA (in 1975), McCone quoted himself telling John F. Kennedy, in precise words that he remembered very clearly, Mr. Here we supplement the 2003 coverage with some new evidence. Diem's anti-communism attracted the Americans. Conscription of Vietnamese peasants for service in World War I (1916) Don was furious that a different, subordinate ARVN officer, talking of a different coup, had been discouraged by U.S. military group commander General Paul D. Harkins, while word of that had reached President Diem. DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have been following with great interest the course of Eisenhower called Diem the "miracle man of Asia." . Nhng 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. part3. Nolting conceded that Nhualso a man of integrityhad become a liability, but he rejected the proposition the Vietnamese generals would carry out a coup. After a September lull, the coup plotters in Saigon began to strengthen in early October. United States Ambassador Donald R. Heath delivered this letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam (Viet-Nam), on October 23, 1954. McNamara and Taylors report on South Vietnam (October 1963) Kattenburg got the impression the man had a growing neurosis. Some of these materials first appeared in earlier National Security Archive E-books and are added here to provide the larger context of events. Nhu continued his plotting, which eventually led to a plan to launch government raids against the most important Buddhist pagodas in Saigon and Hue (Document 5). General Vo Nguyen Giap on why the US will lose in Vietnam (1966) but a succession (Document 20). Bn Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965) Ng nh Dim: Giai on cc k gy cn (HNT & TTN), TT Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam, The PICL of November 2 (Document 27) records that Diem and Nhu had been killed. 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. 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. University Press of Kansas, 2009 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. contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened The South Vietnamese demands for American support became more insistent in the second half of August, 1963, and the posting presented the National Security Council (NSC) and State Department records of a series of White House meetings and other U.S. deliberations over a coup in Saigon. The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960) Lodge was the first diplomat to meet with LBJ as president. 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. Ambassador Lodge was sending home his CIA station chief. 204, f.: Vietnam Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. Full text is unavailable for this digitized archive article. University Press of Kansas, 2009 (BS Tn Tht Thin), Ngha needed reforms. John Kerry anti-war testimony to the US Senate (April 1971) Nhu was killed along with his brother onNovember 2, 1963. Modern History Sourcebook, Fordham University Center b mt c tit l sau 40 nm (T Gn), Nhng McCone said he discouraged Kennedy from supporting a coup unless a suitable replacement for Diem was identified. So he pledged support to an emerging leaderNgo Dinh Diema devout Catholic and fervent anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist. ngh sao v C TT Ng nh Dim? TWO LETTERS TO NGO DINH DIEM EISENHOWER'S LETTER TO NGO DINH DIEM October 23, 1954 (Department of State Bulletin, November 15, 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. 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. Internet 198, f.: Vietnam, 7/21-7/31/63.. National Defense University: Maxwell D. Taylor Papers, Vietnam series, Chapter XXIII, T-172-69. Harriman again said that the U.S. would lose South Vietnam if the coup fails, which was necessary because the political situation was bound to disintegrate further under Diem. [9] Document number deleted, October 28, 1963, FRUS, v. IV, p. 449. LBJ Library: Bromley K. Smith Papers, b. SAIGON, Vietnam, Oct. 24 -- In a letter to Premier Ngo Dinh Diem, President Eisenhower has expressed the hope that "indispensable reforms" would be carried out by South Vietnam in connection with the receipt of United States aid. The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. 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. Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954. 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. Reprinted from The Department of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. [3] At the same time Lodge was involved in a spat with the CIA over changing its station chief in Saigon. Bi to examine with you in your capacity as Chief of Government, bow an intelligent program of 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. Compare to Documents 18 and 19, and the audioclip in the E-book of November 5, 2003. Such a government would, I hope, While Diem had promised outgoing U.S. A CIA report on Viet Cong weaknesses and vulnerabilities (July 1965) b mt c tit l sau 40 nm (T Gn) For more information please refer to our Terms of Use. Eisenhower's letter of support to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 1954) An American press report on the Binh Xuyen (April 1955) Ngo Dinh Diem explains why he rejects national elections (July 1955) Le Duan: 'The path of revolution in the South' (1956) Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957) US news report on the Paris peace agreement (January 1973) Minh identified the principal plotters, assured the CIA man a coup would take place in the near future, and outlined several possible coup options. It contains 186,751 words in 265 pages and was updated last on March 27th, 2022. Again, the 2003 E-book presented an array of materials on these events (Documents 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28), ranging from Kennedys White House sessions to monitor events, to the CIA daily situation reports, to a cable relating several versions of how Diem and Nhu died, to a CIA retrospective analysis of press coverage of the deaths. Ng nh Dim: Ti thit min Nam (HNT & TTN), Ci Diem said that the Buddhist uprising had been resolved. Vn Hng, History of Strategic A US general reflects on US, North Vietnamese tactics (1984) Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964) ISBN:978-0-7006-1634-3, The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness 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. [3] State cable, DepTel 412, EYES ONLY, September 15, 1963. On this date, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), President Eisenhower pledges support to South Vietnam, How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 U.S. Presidents, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-president-pledges-support-to-south-vietnam, Richard Burton buys Elizabeth Taylor a diamond, President Truman declares war with Germany is officially over, Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line, James Brown records breakthrough Live at the Apollo album, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid opens in wide release, Marv Albert faces sentencing in sexual assault case. Suite 701, Gelman Library According to Coneins report to CIA Headquarters, he did not address Harkins comments but assured Don that Lodge would speak to Harkins. Permission is 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. [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. On this day in 1957, Ngo Dinh Diem, president of South Vietnam, addressed a joint meeting of Congress during a two-week visit to the United States. The mention of assassination occurred at a key moment for the U.S. in Saigon. From: President Eisenhower To: Ngo Dinh Diem Date: 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. 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). Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational [6] Document 18 is the record of Coneins encounter with General Duong Van Minh on October 5. Ambassador Frederick Nolting that he would make no such move against the Buddhists, Harriman and Ball were no longer sure of Diems intentions. In a meeting between President Kennedy and his top advisors, even at that late hour they seemed divided over a possible coup. collaborators within. McGeorge Bundy memo on attacking North Vietnam (February 1965) The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for the morning of November 1 began with an update that a coup had begun in Saigon. Anyone can read what you share. the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. 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. The quote has been used in virtually every account of the Diem coup written since that time. part 1, part 2, 4, White House Meetings 8/26/63-10/29/63, State Memoranda.. permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook. A Viet Cong guerrilla tells of the Tet offensive (1968) domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern It was noted that in less than three years a chaotic situation resulting from years of war had been changed into one of progress and stability. Robert F. Kennedys Kansas State University speech (March 1968) A journalist reports on the fragging of US officers (January 1972), Ridenhour letter to Congress exposing My Lai (March 1969) 204, f.: Vietnam: Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. Back at the embassy Lodge confronted Harkins over his intervention with the South Vietnamese officer (Document 22). As we demonstrated in our 2009 E-book the reality was more complex. honor the ARVN Heoes. Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under a de facto JFK Papers: NSF: Country File: b. undertaking needed reforms. ND c c lm Th Tng (HNT & TTN), TT Noam Chomsky on the meaning of Vietnam (1975), Richard Nixon unveils a policy of Vietnamisation (November 1969) The implications of the agreement concerning Viet-Nam have caused grave concern regarding the future Ngo Dinh Nhu explained to U.S. officials the series of events that led to the pagoda raids and the declaration of martial law. 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. The suicide note of Hanoi governor Hoang Dieu (1882) We do not reproduce this here because we presented it in both the previous electronic briefings on this subject. b cng sn st hi ti Hu. JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965) 183-186. 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 Nhu commented that the South Vietnamese military officers, many of whom were Buddhist themselves, started off in sympathy with the Buddhists following the uprising that occurred in Hue on May 8. McCone said he felt that Kennedy agreed. 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 Lodge told Diem that he knew little about Vietnam but hoped to advise him on American affairs. He had no time to acclimate. The implications of the 735-736. The receptions during the visit were in large part organized by the American . 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. This text is part of the Internet Yale University Press, 2020 JFKPapers: NSF: Country File: b. A big issue, then and since, has been the so-called Hilsman Telegram, or, more formally, Department Telegram (DepTel) 243, which instructed U.S. 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. hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared to give assurances as to the TT August deliberations had the effect of enabling top U.S. officials to rehearse all the arguments for and against a coup, but they left Washington with its policy problemthe intractability of Saigon leaders closed off the potential for progress in Vietnam. PFC Meadlo on his role in the killings at My Lai (November 1969) General Minh renewed the August call for an expression of U.S. support for a coup. the future of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened Bin Tnh Sng - (Hoi cm ca Trn khc Knh). granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational In turn, Conein challenged Don to produce proof that the coup group was actually authentic. Communist Today, the National Security Archive is posting for the first time materials from U.S. and Vietnamese archives that open the window into this pivotal event a little bit wider. 735-736. ngh sao v C TT Ng nh Dim? This present E-book opens (Document 1) with the record of a July 19, 1963, encounter between CIA Station Chief John Richardson and Diems brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, who ran many of South Vietnams special services and was increasingly seen as the power behind the presidency. Ho Chi Minh calls for unity against the French (February 1930) 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 American government viewed South Vietnam's situation as a cry for