eisenhower letter to ngo dinh diem

[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. Our additional records do not change the impression we expressed in 2009 that Nolting had essentially gone native (Documents 9, 10). the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable Hilsman dominated the discussion, with Taylor doubting whether Saigon could get along without Diem, and McNamara sought assurances on four points. Eisenhower asked Kennedy: "Suppose they try to . JFK Library: Roger Hilsman Papers: Country File, b. [3] At the same time Lodge was involved in a spat with the CIA over changing its station chief in Saigon. EISENHOWER ASKS VIETNAM REFORM; In Letter to Saigon Premier, President Links Aid Pledge to Stable Regime There EISENHOWER ASKS VIETNAM REFORM, https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/25/archives/eisenhower-asks-vietnam-reform-in-letter-to-saigon-premier.html. purposes and personal use. Martin Luther Kings Beyond Vietnam speech (April 1967) Augustine Heard, an American traveller, reports on Indochina (1886) They spoke with academic Vietnam experts, the CIA station chief, and President Diem. The quote has been used in virtually every account of the Diem coup written since that time. Ngo Dinh Diem - 1046 Words | Bartleby Here we supplement the 2003 coverage with some new evidence. News of ARVNs request for backing of a coup reached Kennedy as his presidents daily brief (then called the Presidents Intelligence Checklist, or PICL) was reporting that Ngo Dinh Nhu was indeed behind the Pagoda Raids, and that Nhu and Diem were issuing direct orders to military officers, leaving out the ARVN chain of command (Document 7). Vietnam War: The Documents - 1 nh Dim [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. Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Cuc So he pledged support to an emerging leaderNgo Dinh Diema devout Catholic and fervent anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist. LBJ Library: Bromley K. Smith Papers, b. disassembling Kennedy's firm but cautious action in the Cuban missile crisis resulted in the _________ of Russian missiles. Edward C. Keefer. ngh sao v C TT Ng nh Dim? 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. While Diem had promised outgoing U.S. Through September and October, even as Washington sought to make its point by considering evacuation of U.S. nationals, withdrawals of American troops, and halting CIA aid to South Vietnamese Special Forces, President Kennedy tried to understand the situation better. The implications of the agreement concerning Viet-Nam have caused grave concern regarding Ho Chi Minh seeks Vietnamese independence in Paris (1919) Contrary to fears expressed at the October 29 White House meeting, when the coup began on November 1, President Diem and his forces were fairly quickly corralled in the Gia Long Palace. Excerpts from the Paris Peace Accords (January 1973) Nhng The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. Eisenhower's Letter of Support to Ngo Dinh Diem, October 23, 1954 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. 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). John F. Kennedy addresses the UN on Vietnam (September 1961) Your recent requests for aid to assist in the formidable project of the movement of several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under a de facto rule and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. 199, f.: Vietnam 9/11-9/17/63, CIA Reports.. The Documents - The Wars for Viet Nam - Vassar College US news report on the Paris peace agreement (January 1973) with you in your capacity as Chief of Government, bow an intelligent program 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. Some of these materials first appeared in earlier National Security Archive E-books and are added here to provide the larger context of events. The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for the morning of November 2 led with the deaths of Diem and Nhu in the wake of what appeared to have been a successful coup. When, that May, Ngo Dinh Diems government got into a political confrontation with Vietnamese Buddhists, American frustration increased. [2] Rufus Phillips, Why Vietnam Still Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned. Eisenhower supports Ngo Dien Diem 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. 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. 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. We present both the audio of that meeting and a transcription of it crafted by Luke Nichter. 198, f.: Vietnam 8/21-8/30/63.. both at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign ideology on The contact, and the meeting which followed, tipped the Americans to Nhus maneuvers to create channels to Hanoi, reminded them that coup plans still existed, and informed CIA that the generals were awaiting Diems response to their demands for cabinet-level positions in the South Vietnamese government (Document 13).[4]. since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. guestbook to No At one point Ambassador Lodge personally assured General Tran Van Don that CIA operative Conein was speaking authoritatively for the U.S. But within hours he would be deposed and 24 hours later summarily executed by the military. in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected both 204, f.: Vietnam: Subjects: Top Secret Cables (Tab C) 10/3-10/27/63.. Ho Chi Minhs declaration of independence (September 1945) The CIA learned of a talk he had had with ARVN commanders in the Saigon area where Nhu asserted that a cutoff of foreign aid would not be a problem because South Vietnam had enough foreign currency reserves to continue for 20 years. Lodge set Harkins straight that the United States, while not initiating any coup, was to avoid any action that thwarted or opposed a coup. Letter from President Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam, October 23, 1954 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. 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. Ng nh Dim: Ti thit min Nam (HNT & TTN), Ci A US report on Soviet aid to North Vietnam (November 1965), US MACV memo on winning the Vietnam War (September 1965) PDF Chapter 3 'Sink or Swim, with Ngo Dinh Diem' - University of Houston standards of performance it would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. who's Who in South Vietnam | American Experience | PBS The mention of assassination occurred at a key moment for the U.S. in Saigon. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not Phan Boi Chau on Vietnams awakening (1914) . Eisenhower made it clear to Diem that U.S. aid to his government during. Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966) 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. 05/08/1957 ARC Identifier: 542189 Item from Record Group 342: Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations, 1900 - 2000 Cu Compare this to Items 6 (audio), 7 and 8 of E-book 302, December 11, 2009. people, so enlightened in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. Colonel Robert Heinl: The Collapse of the Armed Forces (1971) [9] Document number deleted, October 28, 1963, FRUS, v. IV, p. 449. SOURCE: JFKL: JFKP: National Security File . [5] Joint Chiefs of Staff Memorandum, General Maxwell D. Taylor and Secretary Robert C. McNamara-President John F. Kennedy, October 2, 1963. 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. He had returned to consult with JFK about the coup, learned while en route that Kennedy had been killed, and instead briefed LBJ while still in his EOB office (along with Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, and George Ball). The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. University Press of Kansas, 2009 effective and to make a greater contribution to the welfare and stability of the They agreed that the coup plotters would deal only with Conein in the future. 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. hc t mt s tun tit (TS Lm L Trinh), Cu A US general reflects on US, North Vietnamese tactics (1984) Vn Ph Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965) Letter from President JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. In a meeting with Nhu, some officers went so far as to express interest in taking part in a coup. According to recollections by DCI John McCone, made in the course of interviews conducted by the Church Committee in 1975, he met with President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy on or around October 5 after Conein reported that Big Minh discussed a possible assassination plan. The War Powers Act curtails the presidents authority to wage war (November 1973) 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. honor the ARVN Heoes. 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. An Australian press report on the Tet offensive (February 1968) 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. Diem agreed but believes he should have enough troops of his own to carry out his own defense. 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. 735-736. Minh identified the principal plotters, assured the CIA man a coup would take place in the near future, and outlined several possible coup options. 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. McNamara and Taylors report on South Vietnam (October 1963) A US intelligence briefing on the situation in Vietnam (August 1974) 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. Vietnamese leader addresses Congress, May 9, 1957 - POLITICO The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and 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. Ngo Dinh Nhu explained to U.S. officials the series of events that led to the pagoda raids and the declaration of martial law. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Bn Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Ambassador Frederick Nolting that he would make no such move against the Buddhists, Harriman and Ball were no longer sure of Diems intentions. Ng nh Dim: Giai on cc k gy cn (HNT & TTN) That was one reason for the study missions. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. November 1, 2013, Kennedy Considered Supporting Coup in South Vietnam, August 1963 . Kennedy pledges support for Diem, South Vietnam (December 1961) by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their subversive TT Quotations about the massacre at My Lai hamlet (1968) Full text is unavailable for this digitized archive article. [5] But almost simultaneously in Saigon, the CIA electrified Washington when operative Lucien Conein ran into General Tran Van Don at the airport and the two held a meeting that night where the ARVN officer affirmed that the generals now had a specific plan, and Don got Conein to agree to meet the top plotter several days later. Following the Geneva Convention, President Eisenhower and the United States supported Ngo Dinh Diem. (Credit:LBJ Presidential Library). Diem made conflicting claims that the Buddhists were being stirred up by communist cadres and that the crisis was entirely solved. President Eisenhower authorized CIA agents to undermine Mohammad Mossadegh's political power to Select one: A. apply the domino theory to the Middle East. On November 1 we have the PICL which shows the coup underway (Document 25). Yale University Press, 2020 Communist glad that the United States is able to assist in this humanitarian effort. The former ambassador argued that no one other than Diem could keep South Vietnam together. maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or 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. Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. Step-by-step explanation Eisenhower made it clear to Diem that U.S. aid to his government during Vietnams hour of trial was contingent upon his assurances of the standards of performance [he] would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. Eisenhower called for land reform and a reduction of government corruption. 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. Decisions had yet to be made in Washington. 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. Ng nh Dim: Giai on cc k gy cn (HNT & TTN), TT Trn Vn Hng, Thiu Tng Phm Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2008, pp. 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). Compare this redaction with the one on page 626 of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, v. III, Vietnam, January-August 1963. Photo undated(peacehistory-usfp.org). If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. From that point on, the U.S. embassy and Saigon station became even more active as observers of South Vietnamese coup preparations. General Minh renewed the August call for an expression of U.S. support for a coup. DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have been following with great interest the course of Ho Chi Minh condemns French imperialism (1920) 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. McCone shot back that the best line was no line. The American government viewed South Vietnam's situation as a cry for Rather than revisit all of that debate, here we want to touch on a few points, presenting nuances in the form of the Thomas Hughes notes (Document 6) and meetings with Diem and Nhu that were taking place within this timeframe (Documents 8, 14, 15), amplifying the evidence. The Diem Coup After 50 Years John F. Kennedy and South Vietnam, 1963 The National Security Archive documented this event in some detail in our 2003 electronic briefing book, where we presented the meeting agenda, a tape of the conversation, the NSC meeting record, and two draft cables to Saigon that the participants considered (2003 E-book, Documents 18, 19, 20, and 21 plus audio clip). Robert McNamara reflects on Americas failures in Vietnam (1995) State visit by Ngo Dinh Diem to the United States - Wikipedia He had no time to acclimate. 735-736. They emphasized, we believe that Vietnam is not faced with any serious shortage of effective non-Communist leadership. Thomas L. Hughes, INRs director, remains proud today of the list his experts assembled in 1963. 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. LBJ Library: Bromley K. Smith Papers, b. undertaking needed reforms. 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. The ouster of Diem in a militarycoup that would have major implications for American policy and growing involvement in the country happened 57 years ago today. The visits all confirmed what INR had said in its Problem of Nhu memorandum (Document 17). Ci The George Washington University Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957) President Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem October 23, 1954 [At this Site] Beginning US "humanitarian" aid. The Documents The Final Declarations of the Geneva Conference July 21, 1954; The American Response to the Geneva Declarations July 21, 1954; Protocol to the SEATO Treaty September 8, 1954; Eisenhower's Letter of Support to Ngo Dinh Diem October 23, 1954; Excerpts from Law 10/59 May 6, 1959; Le Duan, "Duong Loi Cach Mang Mien Nam" [The Path of Revolution in the South], circa 1956 The implications of the Viet Cong Program, 1962 [At this Site] Charles de Gaulle: France's Attitude Toward US Policy in Vietnam 1964 [At this Site] Tonkin Gulf Incident 1964 [At Yale] [Internet Archive version here] The Tonkin Bay Resolution 1964 [At this Site] Your recent requests for aid to assist in the formidable project of the movement of several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under a de facto rule and political ideology which they abhor, are being fulfilled. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. Statement on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities. 24, f.: Meetings on Vietnam, August-November 1963.. Thomas L. Hughes Papers, Courtesy of Thomas Hughes. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

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