I am, accordingly, instructing the American Ambassador to Viet-Nam to examine Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for August 24, 1963 concluded that Nhu is believed to be behind the recent antagonism against the Buddhists and the imposition of martial law in Saigon. the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action. The White Houses response to the Geneva declaration (July 1954) The Presidents Intelligence Checklist for the morning of November 1 began with an update that a coup had begun in Saigon. 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. aid will be met by performance on the part of the Government of Viet-Nam in undertaking 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. October 23, 1954. Trn Vn Hng, Thiu Tng Phm [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. disassembling Kennedy's firm but cautious action in the Cuban missile crisis resulted in the _________ of Russian missiles. Forrestal also commented, without further elaboration, that others had not been privy to the latest Lodge-JFK private communications. It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. JFK Papers: NSF: Country File, b. ideology on your free people. 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. It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. John F. Kennedy, Eisenhower's successor in the White House, would increase the commitment of U.S. resources in support of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South Vietnam and of non-communist. military means. 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. These lists frequently overlooked Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Tho, who would ordinarily have been Diems constitutional successor. 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. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem. The Documents - The Wars for Viet Nam - Vassar College several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing under 183-186. 336-346. This text is part of the Ho Chi Minh seeks Vietnamese independence in Paris (1919) US Defence pamphlet: Know Your Enemy: the Viet Cong (March 1966) The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. By that I was saying that, if Diem was removed we would have not one coup . New documents and extracts will be added regularly. developments in Viet-Nam, particularly since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. Lodge spoke with Harkins on the afternoon on October 23. President Eisenhower pledges support to Diems government and military forces. Bn By Tillman Durdinspecial To the New York Times. On the morning of October 24, Don saw Conein at Tan Son Nhut airport. President Eisenhower then reminded Diem that his territory is protected by SEATO. Don reported that Harkins clarified that his remarks about the non-desirability of a coup were inadvertent. Diem's anti-communism attracted the Americans. Compare this redaction with the one on page 626 of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, v. III, Vietnam, January-August 1963. Among the items we present here are the audio and transcript of the president instructing his ambassador; notes taken during the key week by Thomas L. Hughes, director of the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the handwritten notes on White House meetings by NSC staff deputy Bromley K. Smith; a wider selection of meeting notes from General Krulak; the CIA summary of meetings between its officers and the Vietnamese generals; a selection of CIA field reports, including the early October Vietnamese mention of assassination and the CIA reaction to that; and several items from the immediate period of the coup and assassination, including a desperate appeal for aid from President Diem even as the coup against him was underway. When South Vietnamese military officers renewed their contacts with CIA operatives in early October, the Vietnamese immediately raised the option of assassination. "I was shocked by the death of Ngo Dinh Diem. Modern History Sourcebook. Cht ca TT Ng nh Dim (Aladin Nguyen), Cuc In a meeting between President Kennedy and his top advisors, even at that late hour they seemed divided over a possible coup. While in support themselves, Lodge and Harkins did not feel as though U.S. support had gone so far that the only option was to have a coup. a leaflet calling for the people to rise up against the oppressor Diem; A letter to the Vietnamese Army telling them that Diem is just carrying on French colonialism; a 41-page document alleging Diem crimes against the people; and a leaflet that said "For the past eight years our land . 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. The former ambassador argued that no one other than Diem could keep South Vietnam together. 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. The citizens of America saw this, not as an opportunity, but as a danger to their precious country. 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. nguyn vi C TT Ng nh Dim (Phan Thit), V Suite 701, Gelman Library part3. (BS Tn Tht Thin), Ngha Nhus attempts to fend off criticism or ingratiate himself with Washington failed. Reprinted from 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. This text is part of the Internet In 1963, he became leader of South Vietnam after a coup in which Diem. Ed. copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history. 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. 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.