11) Conflict in Asia 1955-1963 Flashcards
Geneva peace conference and Vietnam
May 1954
more of a ceasefire than solution
split along 17th parallel
national election in 2 years
US didn’t sign
Domino Theory is Asia
first set out by a speech from Eisenhower in April 1954- if one state were to fall to communism the rest would surely follow
explains the US involvement in French Indochina and then Viet Nam
Kennedy also believed in this policy
JFK as president
Jan 1961- November 1963
why was Vietnam economically important
market place for Japanese goods
Ho Chi Minh and North Viet Nam
-since elections were not held in 1956, Ho Chi Minh focuses on consolidating his power and communism in the North before attempting to unify Viet Nam
-process of the Viet Nam Workers Party and land reforms (starting in 1953) ensured this
-however, the land reforms were aggressive and clumsy in implementation: landowners were publicly denunciated, it was indiscriminatory, many people were executed/put into labour camps
-it was no unpopular that in November 1956, the military had to put down a revolt, about 6000 were killed
-advice in reforms was from China
-resulted in 1 million refugees feeling from the north to the south
-nevertheless, the North remained communist
Ngo Dinh Diem
returns to Viet Nam in 1954 as the PM of a US backed government
autocratic rule
family member in positions of power (brother was prime minister Ngo Dinh Nhu)
corrupt, lots of the US economic aid was taken by Diem and his family for their own use
immensely unpopular
discrimination against Buddhists
did not keep to the Geneva accords
Dulles admitted the US supported him ‘because we knew no one better’
National Liberation front
Vietnamese communist group in the south
‘‘agent of communism’’
very appealing during Diem’s rule
allowed south Vietnamese to infiltrate/build communists support
by 1959, power was consolidated in the North
when was the Viet Nam war
1954-75, in the early years it was largely a guerrilla war
Flexible response
part of Kennedy’s policy, prepared for any kind of war, nuclear or guerrilla
Kennedy was worried about Viet Nam even before his presidency, he valued containment
General Maxwell Taylor
Nov 1961
sent to Vietnam to assess the situation, suggests an increase in pretty much all US support of Vietnam (helicopters, training of troops, combat forces and strategic bombing of N.Vietnam)
Strategic Hamlet Program
March 1962
attempt to reduce communist influence by forcibly relocating the Vietnamese peasants
failed due to bad planning, lack of support and since corrupt officials took the money meant for this program
4 million living in Hamlets by the end of the year
Buddhist crisis
May 1963
Religious conflict due to Diem’s roman catholic upbringing
peaks in may 1963 when Buddhists are prevented from celebrating the Buddha’s birthday- this causes police clashes and people are killed
as a result there are mass organised protests in which the leader Tri Quang meets with US officials in secret- the US are blamed for their issues
Growing disillusionment with Ngo Dinh
growing American and internal discontent with Diem’s rule (Nhu renewed his attack on Buddhism in march 1963) and US ambassadors assess that the crisis would not be easily solved with Diem as leader
-in september 1963, Kennedy sends General Taylor and Robert McNamara to assess the situation, they agree that Diem would not be willing to curtail the oppression of his people or bring Nhu under control
-enforced the view that the war could not be won with them in power
-Taylor and McNamara proposed that the US must reduce its support in order to force Diem, this only further encouraged dissident generals in south Viet Nam to revolt against Diem
Assassination of Diem
-November 1963
-coup against Diem which is successful- results in the assassination of both Diem and Nhu
-the extent to which the US government was involved in this coup has never been determined, while the US ambassador to Viet Nam told Kennedy the coup was purely a Vietnamese affair, he acknowledged that it could not of been initiated without the USA`
