Content created by Alpha History may not be copied, republished or redistributed without our express permission. Officials in Saigon, especially Conein, who acted as intermediary with the coup plotters, were instructed to listen to their plans but to avoid having any input or recommending any specific option especially regarding assassination. 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). Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965) Former Ambassador Frederick Nolting seemed to be the lone dissenting voice, arguing that Diem was the only figure who could hold South Vietnam together. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. held his first meeting with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem on August 26. 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. National Defense University: Maxwell D. Taylor Papers, Vietnam, Chapter XXIII, T-172-68. Tng Thng Ng We have been exploring ways and means Central Intelligence Agency: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000 (declassified February 19, 2009), p. 195. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. 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. President Kennedy decided to replace his ambassador to Saigon, Frederick E. Nolting, and appointed Henry Cabot Lodge to that position. 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. Communist 198, f.: Vietnam 8/21-8/30/63.. Ho Chi Minh condemns French imperialism (1920) In an extraordinary series of notes made by Diem during the coup from his bunker under Gia Long Palace, discovered by Luke Nichter in November 2016 at National Archives II in Ho Chi Minh City, Diem struggled to regain control. nguyn vi C TT Ng nh Dim (Phan Thit) By the time John F. Kennedy was president, the situation seemed hopeful for a momentlong enough for JFK to think of Vietnam as a sort of laboratory where he could try out tactics and techniques. 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. nhng n anh ln (Nguyn Tng Phong), Phn 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. 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 contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. 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 agreement called for an election to reunify the two zones in 1956. This website is created and maintained by Alpha History. 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. In a meeting with Nhu, some officers went so far as to express interest in taking part in a coup. granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational 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. While it was too soon to know the outcome, it appeared that Big Minh had gained the backing of all major combat units. 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. Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964) Lodge spoke with Harkins on the afternoon on October 23. This collection of Vietnam War documents has been selected and compiled by Alpha History authors. Just as Kennedy ended the August round of coup talks, State Department official Paul Kattenburg, who had known Diem for a decade, had his own experience (Document 14). In turn, Conein challenged Don to produce proof that the coup group was actually authentic. 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. 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. 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. Lodge told Diem that he knew little about Vietnam but hoped to advise him on American affairs. 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. 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. He also spoke of how in a previous coup (1960), time had played in favor of Diem, not against him. Reprinted from The Department of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. The Government of the United States expects that this aid Kennedy responds to a question on Vietnam (February 1962) Decisions had yet to be made in Washington. Diem made conflicting claims that the Buddhists were being stirred up by communist cadres and that the crisis was entirely solved. View Full Article in Timesmachine , See the article in its original context from. Minh identified the principal plotters, assured the CIA man a coup would take place in the near future, and outlined several possible coup options. Nhu ordered that ARVN soldiers be instructed to open fire on any foreigners involved in provocative acts., American officials differed on who might follow Diem and Nhu in leading Saigon. 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. Letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954. be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its people, so enlightened We present both the audio of that meeting and a transcription of it crafted by Luke Nichter. South Vietnams president Nguyen Van Thieu resigns (April 1975) 2130 H Street, NW JFK sent a succession of study groups to SaigonHuntington Sheldon of the CIA, Robert McNamara plus Maxwell Taylor, General Krulak plus Joseph Mendenhallall to report to him. 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 . Hilsman dominated the discussion, with Taylor doubting whether Saigon could get along without Diem, and McNamara sought assurances on four points. ngh sao v C TT Ng nh Dim? He regarded Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy as other opponents. both at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign ideology on JFK Library: John Newman Papers: Notebook, August 24-31, 1963.. 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. nguyn vi C TT Ng nh Dim (Phan Thit), V at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will Nhu thought it would take involvement by the United States to seek an end to the present crisis. the future of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened 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. As . 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. Secretary of State Dean Rusk remarked that were on the road to disaster, posing the alternatives as whether to move U.S. troops into Vietnam or get our resources out. 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. Colonel Robert Heinl: The Collapse of the Armed Forces (1971) By that I was saying that, if Diem was removed we would have not one coup . [6] Document 18 is the record of Coneins encounter with General Duong Van Minh on October 5. 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. 336-346. Hoa Tng Nh (Trng Ph Th) 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. Diem agreed to the needed reforms stipulated as a precondition for receiving aid, but he never actually followed through on his promises. Diem's handwritten proclamation to the Army on the day of the coup, November 1, 1963 (Document 26). but a succession (Document 20). 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. Eisenhower praises the progress in South Vietnam (October 1960), John F. Kennedys inauguration speech (January 1961) Following that there is a relative lull, then contact picks up again in early October when the coup forces were more potent and prepared to make their final push. Taylor wrote a lengthy report afterwards which argued the generals had little stomach for government and had been neutralized. "I was shocked by the death of Ngo Dinh Diem. A big issue, then and since, has been the so-called Hilsman Telegram, or, more formally, Department Telegram (DepTel) 243, which instructed U.S. Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Cuc 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. with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly Ng nh Dim: Ti thit min Nam (HNT & TTN), Vng This text is part of the Center for National Security Studies FOIA request. copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history. National Defense University: Maxwell D. Taylor Papers, Vietnam series, Chapter XXIII, T-172-69. 4, White House Meetings 8/26/63-10/29/63, State Memoranda.. The coup against Diem has been a much-debated passage in the history of the American war in Vietnam. Government of Viet-Nam. Don asserted that all plans were complete and had been checked and re-checked. mi nm ngm ngi (Trng Phu' Th) While Colby emphasized that Saigon had stabilized, Kennedy asked numerous questions about the likelihood of success should the disaffected generals move forward with a coup attempt. the Fordham University Center 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 It contains 186,751 words in 265 pages and was updated last on March 27th, 2022. Diem said that the Buddhist uprising had been resolved. President John F. Kennedy was more disposed,than previously understood, to support actions that might change the leadership in South Vietnam. December 11, 2009, The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War collaborators within. North Vietnamese peace proposal (June 1971) of State Bulletin (November 15, 1954), pp. Rufus Phillips describes one White House meeting around this time that ended in complete pandemonium. [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. part 1, part 2, Cuc McNamara and Taylors report on South Vietnam (October 1963) Compare this to Items 6 (audio), 7 and 8 of E-book 302, December 11, 2009. Roger Hilsman-Michael Forrestal, Potential Kennedy-Diem Letter, September 12, 1963. Martin Luther Kings Beyond Vietnam speech (April 1967) 735-736. While Diem had promised outgoing U.S. In this letter, President Eisenhower offered South Vietnamese President Diem financial support and encouraged him to make "needed reforms" to broaden his government and make it more representative. PFC Meadlo on his role in the killings at My Lai (November 1969) McCone shot back that the best line was no line. The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960) Vice PresidentJohnson,Ngo Dinh Diem,and Ambassador Frederick Nolting in South Vietnam's Presidential Palace in 1961(Wikipedia). since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. Despite promising to establish a free, Western-style democratic republic, Diem's leadership was far from democratic. We do not reproduce this here because we presented it in both the previous electronic briefings on this subject. Home | Ancient History Sourcebook | Medieval Sourcebook | Modern History Sourcebook | Byzantine Studies Page They agreed that the coup plotters would deal only with Conein in the future. Bi University Press of Kansas, 2009 (BS Tn Tht Thin), Ngha Please bookmark Colby said the coup forces were roughly equal in strength to those that remained loyal to Diem. So did South Vietnamese. Some of these materials first appeared in earlier National Security Archive E-books and are added here to provide the larger context of events. Such a government would, I hope, be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957) 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. Hanoi Jane Fondas broadcast from North Vietnam (August 1972) mi nm sau tnh hay m (BS Nguyn Tin Cnh ), CS 204, f.: Vietnam: Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. The National Security Archive has participated in these debates by introducing important new evidence and interpretation. by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their Newly appointed U.S. LBJ Library: Bromley K. Smith Papers, b. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Text of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution approved by the U.S. Congress, August 7th, 1964. 735-736. NSC memorandum on US policy in South Vietnam A Viet Cong guerrilla tells of the Tet offensive (1968) In a meeting between President Kennedy and his top advisors, even at that late hour they seemed divided over a possible coup. Robert McNamara proposes increases in US troops (July 1965) This amounted much more to a quest for more information on Saigon conditions than an assault against a purported pro-coup faction. C. protect Western oil interests. 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. 735-736. The implications of the agreement concerning Viet-Nam have caused grave concern regarding The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. 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 receptions during the visit were in large part organized by the American . Diem and Nhu seemed to desire to present Lodge with a fait accompli regarding the Buddhists upon his arrival in Saigon. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Trn Vn Hng, Thiu Tng Phm The mention of assassination occurred at a key moment for the U.S. in Saigon. Thomas L. Hughes Papers, Courtesy of Thomas Hughes. Kennedys associates concluded early on that Ngo Dinh Nhu had to go. 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. purposes and personal use. 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. D. inhibit the growth of radical Islam. Lodge left for Saigon, planning to stop in Hawaii and Japan on his way to receive various briefings and touch base with senior U.S. officials.
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