A Massive National Security Leak Just Blew the Lid Off Obama's Drone War

[happyslug]

87. JFK approved the Assassination of Diem, and that meant we were going into Vietnam big time.

Remember Diem was killed on November 2, 1963, three weeks BEFORE JFK was assassinated and it is clear that Diem assassination was coup:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem

Now Diem was a politician the ruling elite of the US love, in 1955 he received 600,000 votes from the 450,000 people who voted in the election to win the Presidency of South Vietnam (yes, 600,000 votes from 450,000 voters, you do the math). Diem had three things going for him, first he was Anti-Communist, second he spoke English, third he was Catholic (His family had been Catholic since the 1600s). The last factor may sound strange, but the Portuguese had introduced Catholicism into Vietnam in the 1600s and the Catholic were favored by the French when France ruled Vietnam. Thus for at least 300 years many of the native elites of Vietnam had embraced Catholicism and it became almost a ruling clique in South Vietnam. Diem's bother became Bishop of Hue, but never returned from Vatican II, which Diem's Brother was attending when Diem was killed.

More on Bishop Ngô Đình Thục, Diem's Brother:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng%C3%B4_%C4%90%C3%ACnh_Th%E1%BB%A5c

Diem's Nephew later became Bishop of Saigon (Just days before it fell to the Communists) and a Cardinal in the Catholic Church:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_Thu%E1%BA%ADn

11% of Ho Chi Minh City is still Catholic (Given that 70-90% of the population of Vietnam is Buddhist that is an achievement):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Ho_Chi_Minh_City

Now, Diem was a master Politican, he used his fellow Catholics as his power base but the evaluatution of him was done by Ho Chi Minh when Ho heard of the Coup:

Upon learning of Diệm's ouster and assassination, Hồ Chí Minh reportedly stated: "I can scarcely believe the Americans would be so stupid."[76] The North Vietnamese Politburo was more explicit:

"The consequences of the 1 November coup d'état will be contrary to the calculations of the U.S. imperialists ... Diệm was one of the strongest individuals resisting the people and Communism. Everything that could be done in an attempt to crush the revolution was carried out by Diệm. Diệm was one of the most competent lackeys of the U.S. imperialists ... Among the anti-Communists in South Vietnam or exiled in other countries, no one has sufficient political assets and abilities to cause others to obey. Therefore, the lackey administration cannot be stabilized. The coup d'état on 1 November 1963 will not be the last."[76]

Sorry, Ho Chi Minh was right, Diem was the person keeping South Vietnam from falling to the Communiusts. He had problems with the Buddhist (for his anti-Buddhist and pro Catholic promotions of Army Officers in addition to people within the Government AND for his tendency to give any aid he received to Catholic Rural Villages).

Please note, he saw his fellow Catholics as his power base, his supporters, much like Ho Chi Minh saw the Communists as Ho's power base and supporters. Religion by itself was secondary, it was the fact he and his family's power based was within the Catholic Minority was why he was able to resist the Communists as well as he did. Yes, he was crooked, but he made sure his supporters received support from him, thus he had a power base, weaker then the Communists but capable of stopping the Communists till he was killed.

As to JFK. JFK said before his own assassination three weeks later, that he had planned the Coup to include the exile of Diem, but when the Presidential palace was taken over it was clear the coup plotters wanted him dead (Diem had to much support within the Country AND within the Army to live, to many people owned Diem favors that they feared would NOT continue under the new rulers and thus would support a counter coup by Diem, if Diem was still alive to do a counter coup). LBJ had voice opposition to the coup when it came up in Cabinet Meetings (LBJ is quoted to have said "You do not kill friends", but LBJ had little power as Vice President in JFK's presidency so LBJ's opposition to the coup could not stop the coup).

Sorry, Ho had it right, Diem's death lead to chaos in South Vietnam that required American Intervention. The only way Diem's assassination makes sense is if JFK had already agreed to send in troops to Vietnam. LBJ would wait till 1965 to send in those troops, but that appears to have been the plan from the start, leave the country's military situation deteriorated and whoever succeeds Diem will do what Diem said he would NEVER do, ask for American Troops. Diem knew that US Troops in Vietnam would look like the French Troops in Vietnam prior to 1954, as an invading force even by Vietnamese people who opposed the Communists, like Diem's fellow Catholics. Thus US Troops would enhance the Viet Cong's image as patriots, and whoever is ruling South Vietnam, American's Running Dogs (To use a phase from the time period). That would lead to the over throw of his Government sooner or later thus Diem OPPOSED American Troops in Vietnam (aid, advisors, yes, actual troops NO).

In a nutshell, when JFK approved the Coup against Diem, JFK committed himself to sending in US Troops. JFK may have said other things to other people, but JFK"s action in approving the Coup clearly shows JFK wanted to send in US Troops into South Vietnam. To claim otherwise is to ignore Diem's death and that coup, and go strictly by what JFK said to people who wanted to hear that the US was NOT going into Vietnam. Most politicians will say to people what they think that person wants to hear, JFK was no different from any other politician, thus go by JFK's action not his words and JFK's action in approving the coup against Diem, meant the US was committed to sending in troops.

Now, people have mentioned JFK's withdraw of advisors for Christmas. Given the large population of Catholics in Vietnam, Christmas was a holiday among both US Troops and many Vietnamese. As a general rule both sides laid down arms before Christmas and did not take them back up til after the Chinese New Year was over (the Tet Offensive of 1968 was an exception to that rule, but the US had intelligence something was up in 1968, but decided to see what happened before doing anything, in previous years, no such intelligence was found so even the US would send advisor's home for that time period, starting in the late 1950s and continuing till the fall of South Vietnam). I bring this up, for JFK's order withdrawing those advisors from Vietnam in late 1963, was something JFK and even Eisenhower had done in previous years, thus it meant nothing but that everything was "Normal" in war torn South Vietnam in 1963.

Now, if JFK thought he was going to solve the problem of Vietnam by removing Diem he was a fool (and JFK was no fool). Such a plot would have been an issue in the 1964 Campaign, AND no President would oppose what the Majority of American people wanted and in 1964 the Majority of Americans supporting sending in troops to Vietnam if that what was needed to stop the Communists. The majority of Americans had that attitude till the middle of 1968, it is only in the summer of 1968 that most American switched to opposing the war in Vietnam. Thus JFK could NOT leave South Vietnam fall for the same reason LBJ could not leave South Vietnam fall, it would be another "Who lost China" campaign used against JFK and whoever would have been the Democratic Presidential Candidate in 1968. Thus JFK could NOT leave South Vietnam fall and that was what was going to happen due to the assassination of Diem.

Now, the North Vietnamese were NOT prepared for the death of Diem, they were shocked that JFK would be so stupid as to kill off Diem. While the North Vietnamese were unprepared, they reacted quickly, forming the Viet Cong into Battalions in 1964 (Previous to that time period the Viet Cong only operated on Company size basis). Do to that change in tactics, the US had to send in the 1s brigade of the 101st Air Mobile unit with its Helicopters in mid 1965 to stop the expansion of Viet Cong Activities and that really started the US intervention in South Vietnam.

Now, as to the coup itself, the US Defence Department opposed it, but the State Department was all for it. JFK appears to have been shocked at the death of Diem, but JFK did welcome that change in Government. The biggest problem was the people of South Vietnam had no faith in the leaders that succeeded Diem:

Following the coup, chaos ensued. Hanoi took advantage of the situation and increased its support for the guerrillas. South Vietnam entered a period of extreme political instability, as one military government toppled another in quick succession. Increasingly, each new regime was viewed by the communists as a puppet of the Americans; whatever the failings of Diệm, his credentials as a nationalist (as Robert McNamara later reflected) had been impeccable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War#North_Vietnamese_involvement

Diem's death meant the US was going to intervene in Vietnam, JFK knew that for to say otherwise is to call him a fool and JFK was no fool.