199, f.: Vietnam 9/11-9/17/63, CIA Reports.. Edward C. Keefer. be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its people, so enlightened 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. Ng nh Dim: Th thch u tin (HNT & TTN), TT The Sourcebook is a collection of public Cross examination of Lieutenant William Calley (1970) Yale University Press, 2020 If you would like to contribute or suggest a document for inclusion here, please, Vietnam War memory quiz events 1946-1964, Vietnam War memory quiz events 1965-1975, Vietnam War memory quiz terms and concepts (I), Vietnam War memory quiz terms and concepts (II), Edict of Emperor Minh Mang against Christians in Vietnam (1833), The suicide note of Hanoi governor Hoang Dieu (1882), Augustine Heard, an American traveller, reports on Indochina (1886), Anonymous poem about French oppression in Vietnam (1900), Phan Boi Chau on Vietnams awakening (1914), Conscription of Vietnamese peasants for service in World War I (1916), Ho Chi Minh seeks Vietnamese independence in Paris (1919), Ho Chi Minh condemns French imperialism (1920), Ho Chi Minh on founding the Inodchinese Communist Party (1930), A report into French atrocities in Vietnam (1933), Ho Chi Minh recalls his conversion to Leninism (1967), Ho Chi Minh calls for unity against the French (February 1930), Viet Minh call to arms against the Japanese (March 1945), Ho Chi Minhs declaration of independence (September 1945), The US recognises self-governing Vietnam (February 1950), Final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina (July 1954), Pham Van Dong on Geneva, Vietnamese independence (July 1954), The White Houses response to the Geneva declaration (July 1954), Eisenhowers 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 security briefings on Ngo Dinh Diem and his regime (1958-1960), Ngo Dinh Diem decrees the death sentence (May 1959), The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960), Eisenhower praises the progress in South Vietnam (October 1960), John F. Kennedys inauguration speech (January 1961), John F. Kennedy addresses the UN on Vietnam (September 1961), Rusk, McNamara urge US involvement in Vietnam (November 1961), General Taylors recommendations for Vietnam (November 1961), Kennedy pledges support for Diem, South Vietnam (December 1961), Kennedy responds to a question on Vietnam (February 1962), Program of the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong (1962), A US report on the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam (July 1963), Cable 243 discusses the removal of Ngo Dinh Diem (August 1963), McNamara and Taylors report on South Vietnam (October 1963), NSC memorandum on US policy in South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964), The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964), US Senate debate on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964), McGeorge Bundy memo on attacking North Vietnam (February 1965), Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965), Robert McNamara proposes increases in US troops (July 1965), A CIA report on Viet Cong weaknesses and vulnerabilities (July 1965), A US report on Soviet aid to North Vietnam (November 1965), US MACV memo on winning the Vietnam War (September 1965), Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965), General Vo Nguyen Giap on why the US will lose in Vietnam (1966), Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966), A Viet Cong guerrilla tells of the Tet offensive (1968), An Australian press report on the Tet offensive (February 1968), A US reporter discusses South Vietnamese military weaknesses (1973), A US general reflects on US, North Vietnamese tactics (1984), A Viet Cong member reflects on its approach to war (1985), Robert McNamara reflects on Americas failures in Vietnam (1995), A journalist reports on the fragging of US officers (January 1972), Ridenhour letter to Congress exposing My Lai (March 1969), Quotations about the massacre at My Lai hamlet (1968), Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai killings (1969), PFC Meadlo on his role in the killings at My Lai (November 1969), Cross examination of Lieutenant William Calley (1970), Cross examination of Captain Ernest Medina (1970), Muhammad Ali explains his refusal to fight in Vietnam (March 1967), Martin Luther Kings Beyond Vietnam speech (April 1967), An American draft-dodger explains his actions (1967), Robert F. Kennedys Kansas State University speech (March 1968), John Kerry anti-war testimony to the US Senate (April 1971), Hanoi Jane Fondas broadcast from North Vietnam (August 1972), Noam Chomsky on the meaning of Vietnam (1975), Richard Nixon unveils a policy of Vietnamisation (November 1969), A broadcast by Viet Cong propagandist Hanoi Hannah (April 1970), Nixon announces deployment of US troops in Cambodia (April 1970), North Vietnamese peace proposal (June 1971), US news report on the Paris peace agreement (January 1973), Excerpts from the Paris Peace Accords (January 1973), The War Powers Act curtails the presidents authority to wage war (November 1973), A US intelligence briefing on the situation in Vietnam (August 1974), South Vietnams president Nguyen Van Thieu resigns (April 1975), The inauguration speech of Duong Van Minh (April 1975), US news report on the imminent fall of Saigon (April 1975), President Ford on Americas post-Vietnam recovery (April 1975). Here we present Roger Hilsmans record of that meeting from State Department files (Document 24). General Tran Van Don, one of the coup plotters and a point of contact for CIA operative Lucien Conein (generalhieu.com). Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966) Xin vui lng lu bt tng nim n cc v Anh Hng ca QLVNCH 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. in its present hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared 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. part 1, part 2, Kennedy became more specific when he said, The time may come, though, weve gotta just have to try to do something about Diem, and I think thats going to be an awfully critical period. While never directly speaking about a coup, Kennedy signaled that he was willing to accept regime change under certain circumstances. Episodes 1-4 | National Archives 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. I am glad 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. When, that May, Ngo Dinh Diems government got into a political confrontation with Vietnamese Buddhists, American frustration increased. b mt c tit l sau 40 nm (T Gn) 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. TT 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. JFKL: Roger Hilsman Papers, b. Unless otherwise indicated So did South Vietnamese. Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-63) was the United States-backed leader of South Vietnam from 1954. Tng Thng President Dwight Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 23, 1954) 241 National Security Action Memorandum No. These lists frequently overlooked Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Tho, who would ordinarily have been Diems constitutional successor. This amounted much more to a quest for more information on Saigon conditions than an assault against a purported pro-coup faction. After a September lull, the coup plotters in Saigon began to strengthen in early October. So he pledged support to an emerging leaderNgo Dinh Diema devout Catholic and fervent anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist. President Kennedy decided to replace his ambassador to Saigon, Frederick E. Nolting, and appointed Henry Cabot Lodge to that position. Diem agreed to the needed reforms stipulated as a precondition for receiving aid, but he never actually followed through on his promises. November 15, 1954, pp.735-736. 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. v cc ng bo nn nhn Compare this redaction with the one on page 626 of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, v. III, Vietnam, January-August 1963. [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. by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their subversive Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965) JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. . maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or 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) In a follow-up meeting the next day, another briefing by William Colby summarized the scene in Saigon. It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will Step-by-step explanation In 2009 the Kennedy Library made a release of the tapes that actually covered the White House conversations of late August. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative was approached during the time of U.S. 4th of July festivities by South Vietnamese military officers who wanted U.S. support for a coup detat that might overthrow Diem (2003 E-book, document 1). "I was shocked by the death of Ngo Dinh Diem. Eisenhower made it clear to Diem that U.S. aid to his government during. File : Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington - ARC 542189.jpg President Eisenhower pledges support to South Vietnam - History 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. The next day, Nolting added that the notion of a coup was based on a bad principle and would set a bad precedent, a statement that impressed National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy (Documents 11, 12). They agreed that the coup plotters would deal only with Conein in the future. Kennedy said his two top officials in Saigon should build up the coup forces, since at present it did not look as though they could successfully topple Diem. Vietnam War: The Documents - 1 Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen) The Government of the United States expects that this aid this page, Lodge had an active role in disentangling one of the most important obstacles to the coup when the South Vietnamese were moving into position. Presenting his credentials to Diem on August 26 (Document 8), Ambassador Lodge got 10 minutes to explain the role of public opinion in setting U.S. policy, advising that the Saigon leader release Buddhist prisoners, after which Diem minimized the importance of Buddhists, then treated him to a two-hour harangue on his family and South Vietnam as an underdeveloped country. View Full Article in Timesmachine , See the article in its original context from. I am glad that the United States is able to assist in this humanitarian effort. From that point on, the U.S. embassy and Saigon station became even more active as observers of South Vietnamese coup preparations. of American aid given directly to your Government can serve to assist Viet-Nam Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965) 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. 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 Robert McNamara reflects on Americas failures in Vietnam (1995) A big issue, then and since, has been the so-called Hilsman Telegram, or, more formally, Department Telegram (DepTel) 243, which instructed U.S. National Defense University: Maxwell D. Taylor Papers, Vietnam series, Chapter XXIII, T-172-69. 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. President Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem, October 23, 1954 - Sites JFK Library: John Newman Papers, Notebook, August 24-31, 1963.. He also spoke of how in a previous coup (1960), time had played in favor of Diem, not against him. The cycle of meetings opened on Monday, August 26, after the Hilsman cable had been sent and when the object was whether to confirm the instruction it had contained. In turn, Conein challenged Don to produce proof that the coup group was actually authentic. embassy.[9]. Lodge and Kennedy met in the Oval Office on August 15 (Item 2, Document 3). FRUS, IV, pp. Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Cuc By that time Secretary McNamara and General Taylor were in Saigon on their fact-finding mission. 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. to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. 735-736. 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. While it was too soon to know the outcome, it appeared that Big Minh had gained the backing of all major combat units. Ngo Dinh Diem - Vietnam War Such a government would, I hope, ND c c lm Th Tng (HNT & TTN) of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened Ridenhour's Confession Vietnamese figure Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of leader Diem, remained the prime target of American maneuvers. 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. An Australian press report on the Tet offensive (February 1968) For his part, Nhu also came off as more and more ominous (Document 15). 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. 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). 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.