The Global War 1955–1963: Conflict in Asia - Kennedy's Policies Towards Indo-China and Diem's Assassination Flashcards
Outline the main events in Kennedy’s policies towards Indochina and Diem’s assassination
• 1956
- Kennedy expresses he wants a non-communist Vietnam to ensure democracy for whole of Asia
• November 1961
- General Taylor and Walt Roscow sent to Vietnam to assess situation and create report
• March 1962
- Strategic Hamlet Program begins
• By September 1962
- Regime claimed that over 4 million people were in strategic hamlets
• End of 1962
- There were over 3000 hamlets
• 1963
- Roger Hilsman sent a telegram to Henry Cabot Lodge encouraging him to explore alternative leadership in South Vietnam
• May 1963
- Buddhists were banned from flying flags in honour of Buddha’s birthday, while Catholics, the previous week, were encouraged to fly Papal flags celebrating Thuc
• June 1963
- Elderly monk, Quang Doc, publicly burned himself in Saigon
• August 1963
- Lodge sent Kennedy a message agreeing that the conflict in Vietnam could be resolved satisfactorily while Diem remained in office
- Nhu organises renewed assault on Buddhists
• 1963
- Taylor and McNamara recommend significant reductions in US support to put pressure on Diem
• 1 November 1963
- South Vietnamese rebel generals activated a military coup against Diem and his regime
• 2 November 1963
- Diem and Nhu were assassinated
• 1964
- Strategic Hamlet Program collapses
What did Kennedy think of the situation in Vietnam?
- 1956
- Wanted to ensure South Vietnam remained a non-communist democracy to secure democratic future of Southeast Asia as a whole
- Committed to containment and believed in the domino theory
When did Kennedy express his belief that South Vietnam should remain a non-communist democracy?
- 1956
- Before his presidency
What strategies did Kennedy adopt in Vietnam?
• Flexible response
- Improving US’ non-nuclear capabilities
- To reduce threat of nuclear war
- To protect US from wider-ranging threats e.g insurgency and subversion
• Counterinsurgency
- Tactics used to defeat guerrilla or unconventional warfare; they focus on intelligence gathering, targeting individual leaders, and methods aimed at infiltrating the enemy rather than confronting it head-on
- Guerilla tactics couldn’t be counteracted with nuclear weapons
When was a report made assessing the situation in Vietnam? How many US ground troops were recommended to be sent?
- November 1961
- Up to 10,000 US ground troops
How many militrary advisors were in Vietnam in JFK’s presidency
1600
When was the Strategic Hamlet Program
- Introduced in March 1962
- Officially ended in 1964
Aims of the Strategic Hamlet Program
Aims:
- To create armed enclosures to house South Vietnamese rural peasants
- To isolate peasants from NLF
Effects of the Strategic Hamlet Program
Effects:
- By September 1962, regime claimed that over 4 million people were in strategic hamlets
- By end of 1962, there were over 3000 hamlets
- Often led to increased recruitment of peasants into NLF, locked NLF in with locals
- Programme soon collapsed and officially ended in 1964
By what point had over four million people been placed in strategic hamlets?
- By September 1962
How many hamlets were there by the end of 1962?
- Over 3000
The Buddhist Crisis
- 1963
- Diem’s favour for Catholicism
- In May 1963, Buddhists were banned from flying flags in honour of Buddha’s birthday
- Buddhist Crisis
- Military prevented Buddhists from hearing a speech by Buddhist anti-Diem leader, Tri Quang
- 9 people killed as result
- Buddhists protested across the country: hunger strikes, mass rallies, engaging with foreign press (especially US press)
When was the Buddhist Crisis?
- 1963
How many people were killed when the military prevented Buddhists from hearing a speech from Tri Quang, an anti-Diem leader?
- 9 people
Which Buddhist monk publicly lit themselves on fire? When and where did this happen?
- Quang Doc
- June 1963
- Lit himself in Saigon
