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
When was the assassination of President Diem and PM Nhu
November 1963, Diem and Nhu were assassinated
How were the USA involved
Unclear, but evidence suggests US knew about coup and did nothing to stop it
JFK had previously approved messages suggesting searching for alternative leaders
Who replaces Diem
Le Duan
