Krulak Mendenhall mission
Encyclopedia
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in early September 1963. The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate the progress of the war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
by the South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
ese regime and their US military advisers against the Viet Cong insurgency. The mission was led by Victor Krulak and Joseph Mendenhall
Joseph Mendenhall
Joseph A. Mendenhall was U.S. State Department official, known for his advisory work during the Kennedy administration on policy towards Vietnam and Laos. He is best known for his participation in the Krulak Mendenhall mission to South Vietnam in 1963 with General Victor Krulak. Their vastly...
. Krulak was a Major General in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, while Mendenhall was a senior Foreign Service Officer
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
experienced in dealing with Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese affairs.
The four-day whirlwind trip was launched on September 6, 1963, the same day as a National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
(NSC) meeting, and came in the wake of increasingly strained relations between the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and South Vietnam. Civil unrest gripped South Vietnam as Buddhist demonstrations
Buddhist crisis
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963 characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist monks....
against the religious discrimination of President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
's Catholic regime escalated. Following the raids on Buddhist pagodas
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
on August 21 that left a death toll ranging up to a few hundred, the US authorized investigations into a possible coup
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
through a cable
Cable 243
DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high-profile message sent on August 24, 1963 by the United States Department of State to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US ambassador to South Vietnam...
to US Ambassador
United States Ambassador to South Vietnam
After World War II, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, which they had lost to Japan in 1940. Following the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the north and the south. The southern part was named The State of Vietnam under the leadership of Bảo Đại...
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
.
In their submissions to the NSC, Krulak presented an extremely optimistic report on the progress of the war, while Mendenhall presented an extremely bleak picture of military failure and public discontent. Krulak disregarded the effects of popular support for the Viet Cong. The general felt that the Vietnamese soldiers' efforts in the field would not be affected by the public's unease with Diem's policies. Mendenhall focused on gauging the sentiment of urban-based Vietnamese and concluded that Diem's policies increased the possibility of religious civil war. Mendenhall said that Diem's policies were causing the South Vietnamese to believe that life under the Viet Cong would improve the quality of their lives.
The divergent reports led US President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to famously ask his two advisers:
The inconclusive report was the subject of bitter and personal debate among Kennedy's senior advisers. Various courses of action towards Vietnam were discussed, such as fostering a regime change or taking a series of selective measures designed to cripple the influence of Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
, Diem's brother and chief political adviser. Nhu and his wife Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu
Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu
Trần Lệ Xuân , popularly known as Madame Nhu, was considered the first lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngo Dinh Nhu who was the brother and chief adviser to President Ngo Dinh Diem...
were seen as the major causes of the political problems in South Vietnam. The inconclusive result of Krulak and Mendenhall's expedition resulted in a follow-up mission, the McNamara Taylor mission
McNamara Taylor mission
The McNamara-Taylor mission was a 10-day fact-finding expedition to South Vietnam in September 1963 by the Kennedy administration to review progress in the battle by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and its American advisers against the communist insurgency of the National Liberation Front of...
.
Background
After the Hue Vesak shootingsHue Vesak shootings
The Huế Phật Đản shootings refer to the deaths of nine unarmed Buddhist civilians on May 8, 1963, in the city of Huế in South Vietnam, at the hands of the army and security forces of the government of Ngô Đình Diệm...
on May 8, civil unrest broke out in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Nine Buddhists were gunned down by the Roman Catholic regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
after defying a government ban on the flying of Buddhist flag
Buddhist flag
The Buddhist flag is a flag designed in the late 19th century to symbolise and universally represent Buddhism. It is used by Buddhists throughout the world.-History:...
s on Vesak
Vesak
Vesākha is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia...
, the birthday of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, and marching in an anti-government protest. Following the shootings, Buddhist leaders began to lobby Diem for religious equality and compensation and justice for the families of the victims. With Diem remaining recalcitrant, the protests escalated. The self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc at a busy Saigon intersection became a public relations disaster for the Diem regime, as photos of the event made front-page headlines worldwide and became a symbol of Diem's policies. As protests continued, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(ARVN) Special Forces
Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces were the elite military units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . Following the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam in October 1955, the Special Forces were formed at Nha Trang in February 1956...
loyal to Diem's brother Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
raided pagodas across the country
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
on August 21, leaving a death toll estimated to be up to a few hundred, and causing extensive damage under the declaration of martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. Universities and high schools were closed amid mass pro-Buddhist protests. In the meantime, the fight against the Viet Cong insurgency had begun to lose intensity amid rumours of sectarian infighting amongst ARVN troops. This was compounded by the plotting of a coup by various ARVN officers, which distracted attention from the fight against the Viet Cong insurgency
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In the aftermath of the pagoda raids, the Kennedy administration sent Cable 243
Cable 243
DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high-profile message sent on August 24, 1963 by the United States Department of State to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US ambassador to South Vietnam...
to the US Embassy, Saigon, ordering an exploration of alternative leadership possibilities.
Initiation and expedition
At the end of the National Security CouncilUnited States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
(NSC) meeting on September 6, it was agreed that the first priority was to obtain more information on the ground situation in Vietnam. US Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
proposed sending Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Major General Victor Krulak on an immediate fact-finding trip. The NSC agreed that Joseph Mendenhall
Joseph Mendenhall
Joseph A. Mendenhall was U.S. State Department official, known for his advisory work during the Kennedy administration on policy towards Vietnam and Laos. He is best known for his participation in the Krulak Mendenhall mission to South Vietnam in 1963 with General Victor Krulak. Their vastly...
—a Foreign Service Officer with Vietnam experience—would accompany him. The pair began the mission later the same day.
On their return trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Krulak and Mendenhall were to bring John Mecklin
John Mecklin
John Martin Mecklin was an American journalist and diplomat. He wrote for the New York Times, Time magazine and Fortune magazine. He also served as the Public Affairs Advisor for the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development of the United States Information Agency...
and Rufus Phillips
Rufus Phillips
Rufus Phillips, Born in rural Virginia and educated at Yale, was a young C.I.A. officer in Saigon in the 1950s. He was a protege of the legendary Colonel Edward Lansdale. Phillips was one af the architects of the Chieu Hoi program to persuade Vietcong fighters to defect.Phillips is the author of...
back from Saigon to report. Mecklin was the United States Information Service
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
(USIS) director, while Phillips served as the director of rural programs for United States Operations Mission (USOM) and as an advisor for the Strategic Hamlet Program
Strategic Hamlet Program
The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the Communist insurgency by means of population transfer.In 1961, U.S...
. The State Department sent the Saigon embassy a detailed cable containing questions about Vietnamese public opinion across all strata of society. In Krulak's own words, the objective was to observe "the effect of recent events upon the attitudes of the Vietnamese in general, and upon the war effort against the Viet Cong".
In a fast paced four-day trip, the two men traveled throughout Vietnam before returning to Washington to file their reports. Krulak visited 10 locations in all four Corps zones of the ARVN and spoke with US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
, the head of US forces in Vietnam General Paul Harkins and his staff, 87 US advisors, and 22 ARVN officers. Mendenhall went to Saigon, Hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
, Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, and several other provincial cities, talking primarily to Vietnamese friends. Their estimates of the situation were almost completely opposite. Mecklin wrote afterwards that it "was a remarkable assignment, to travel twenty-four thousand miles and assess a situation as complex as Vietnam and return in just four days. It was a symptom of the state the US Government was in." The mission was marked by the tension between its leaders. Mendenhall and Krulak intensely disliked one another, speaking to each other only when necessary. Mecklin and Krulak became embroiled in a dispute during the return flight. Krulak disapproved of Mecklin's decision to bring television footage that had been censored by the Diem regime back to the US, believing the action was a violation of sovereignty. After a long and bitter argument aboard the aircraft, Krulak called upon Mecklin to leave the film in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
during a refueling stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base
Elmendorf Air Force Base
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
, further suggesting that the USIS director remain with the film in Alaska.
Report and debriefing
Elbridge Durbrow
Elbridge Durbrow was an American Foreign Service officer and diplomat who served as the Counselor of Embassy and Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow in the late 1940s and later the US ambassador to South Vietnam from March 1957 to April 1961.-Early life:Durbrow was born in San Francisco, California...
. Durbrow had urged Diem on a number of occasions to implement political reform. Krulak was a marine known for his belief in using military action to achieve foreign affairs objectives. His temperament earned him the nickname "Brute", which originated from his wrestling career at the Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. The Deputy Secretary of Defense Ross Gilpatric noted that Mendenhall was regarded "with great suspicion on the Virginia side of the river
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
[the Pentagon, headquarters of the Defense Department]", whereas Krulak was "universally liked and trusted in the Pentagon, both on the civilian and military side".
The backgrounds of Krulak and Mendenhall were reflected in their diametrically opposite analyses of the war. Krulak gave a highly optimistic analysis of the military progress and discounted the effect of the Buddhist crisis
Buddhist crisis
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963 characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist monks....
on the ARVN's fight against the Viet Cong. His general conclusion was that "[t]he shooting war is still going ahead at an impressive pace. It has been affected adversely by the political crisis, but the impact is not great."
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, which was regarded as the Viet Cong's strongest region. Krulak asserted that all levels of the ARVN officer corps were very conscious of the Buddhist crisis, but he believed that most had not allowed religious beliefs to negatively affect their internal military relationships to a substantial degree. He believed that the ARVN officers at all levels were obedient and could be expected to carry out any order they regarded as being lawful. Krulak further asserted that the political crisis had not significantly damaged bilateral military ties. Moving along to the Vietnamese view of their leaders, Krulak predicted that there was dissatisfaction among the officers, which he believed was mainly directed at Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
, the younger brother of Diem who was widely seen as the power behind the regime. Krulak believed that most officers wanted to see the back of Nhu, but that few were willing to resort to a coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Krulak reported that three US advisers strongly criticized the Nhus and advocated the pair's departure from South Vietnam in order to avoid a public relations disaster at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. However, Krulak felt that these problems were outweighed by what he believed to be a successful military effort. Krulak felt that the war would be won irrespective of the political leadership. He predicted that the ARVN had little ability to facilitate an improvement in governance and felt that they would not flex whatever muscle they had. Krulak optimistically concluded:
Mendenhall strongly disputed Krulak's assessments. He argued that the anti-Diem sentiment had reached a level where the collapse of civilian rule was possible. He reported a "reign of terror" in Saigon, Huế and Da Nang, observing that the popular hatred usually reserved for the Nhus had spread to the generally respected Diem. Mendenhall asserted that many Vietnamese had come to believe that life under Diem worse than being ruled by the Viet Cong. Mendenhall thought that a civil war on religious grounds was possible. He predicted that the war could only be won with a regime change, otherwise South Vietnam would collapse under sectarian infighting or a massive communist offensive. The diametrically opposite nature of the two reports prompted Kennedy's famous query, "You two did visit the same country, didn't you?"
Debate
Krulak attempted to explain the contrasting assessments by pointing out that Mendenhall had surveyed urban areas, while he ventured into the countryside "where the war is". Krulak asserted that political issues in Saigon would not hamper military progress, stating "We can stagger through to win the war with Nhu remaining in control." Assistant Secretary of State Roger HilsmanRoger Hilsman
Roger Hilsman is an author and political scientist. He served as an American soldier in Merrill's Marauders and then the Office of Strategic Services in China-Burma-India Theater of World War II during World War II and as an aide and adviser to President John F. Kennedy...
asserted that the contrasting reports "was the difference between a military and a political view". During the debate over the differences in outlook, Mendenhall asserted that Saigon had suffered "a virtually complete breakdown" following the pagoda raids
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
. Mendenhall reported that Vietnamese public servants feared being seen with Americans. He recalled one visit when he had to remain quiet while his Vietnamese host crept around the room, searching for hidden microphones. Mendenhall asserted that "Saigon was heavy with an atmosphere of fear and hate" and that the people feared Diem more than the Viet Cong. He reported many public servants no longer slept at home due to a fear of midnight arrests by Nhu's secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
. Many officials had recently spent the bulk of their day negotiating the release of their children, who had been incarcerated for participating in pro-Buddhist protests. Mendenhall asserted that internal turmoil was now a higher priority than the war against the communists.
Mendenhall denounced Saigon's reconciliation and goodwill gestures towards the Buddhists as a public relations stunt. He reported that monks
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
from provincial areas who had been arrested in Saigon for demonstrating were not returned to their places of origin as promised. Mendenhall noted that when the monks were released, Diem's officials retained their identification papers. This resulted in their re-arrest upon attempting to leave the capital. The monks were then branded as Viet Cong because they did not have government identification papers. As news of such tactics spread across the capital, some monks sought refuge in the Saigon homes of ARVN officers. Mendenhall insisted that the United States was responsible for the situation because it had helped the Ngo family gain power, armed and funded it. He reasoned that as Diem used the arms against his own people, Washington also shared responsibility. He stated that "a refusal to act would be just as much interference in Vietnam's affairs as acting".
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
, "the critical failure of both reports was to understand the fundamental political role that the army was coming to play in Vietnam". The papers concluded the ARVN was the only institution capable of deposing and replacing Diem. Diem and Nhu fully realized the potential threat, responding with the divide and conquer
Divide and conquer
Divide and conquer may refer to:* Divide and rule, in politics, sociology and economics, a strategy to gain or maintain power...
paradigm. They usurped the prerogative of senior officer promotion and appointed generals based on loyalty to the palace, giving orders directly to officers. This action caused deep distrust among the senior officers and fragmented their power. Krulak failed to realize that if the situation deteriorated to the point where discontent with Diem posed the possibility of a communist victory, the generals would intervene in politics because of what would happen to them under communist rule. Neither Krulak nor Mendenhall seemed to anticipate that if a military junta came to power, the divisive effect of Diem's promotion politics would manifest itself as the generals vied for power. Neither of the pair put any emphasis on the detrimental effects that would have been caused by political infighting among the generals.
During the NSC meeting, Frederick Nolting
Frederick Nolting
Frederick Ernst Nolting , was a World War II naval officer and United States diplomat.-Early life and education:...
– who preceded Lodge as US Ambassador to South Vietnam
United States Ambassador to South Vietnam
After World War II, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, which they had lost to Japan in 1940. Following the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the north and the south. The southern part was named The State of Vietnam under the leadership of Bảo Đại...
– took issue with Mendenhall's analysis. Regarded as a Diem apologist
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
, Nolting pointed out that Mendenhall had been pessimistic about South Vietnam for several years. Mecklin, reinforced and pushed Mendenhall's view further, calling on the administration to apply direct pressure on Saigon by suspending non-military aid, in an attempt to cause a regime change. In Mecklin's words:
The Pentagon Papers opined that Mecklin understood the pitfalls of a military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
that Krulak and Mendenhall had overlooked. Regardless, Mecklin concluded that the US should proceed in fostering a regime change, accept the consequences, and contemplate the introduction of US combat troops to stop a possible Viet Cong victory.
The NSC meeting then heard Phillips' bleak prognosis of the situation in the Mekong Delta. He claimed that the Strategic Hamlet Program
Strategic Hamlet Program
The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the Communist insurgency by means of population transfer.In 1961, U.S...
was a shambles in the delta, stating that they were "being chewed to pieces by the Viet Cong". When it was noted that Phillips had recently witnessed a battle in the delta, Kennedy asked Phillips for his assessment. Phillips replied: "Well, I don't like to contradict General Krulak, but I have to tell you, Mr. President, that we're not winning the war, particularly in the delta. The troops are paralysed, they're in the barracks, and this is what is actually going on in one province that's right next to Saigon." Phillips asserted that removing Nhu was the only way to improve the situation. Phillips asserted that the only means of removing Nhu was to bring in Colonel Edward Lansdale
Edward Lansdale
Edward Geary Lansdale was a United States Air Force officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency. He rose to the rank of Major General and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1963. He was an early proponent of more aggressive US actions in...
, the CIA operative who had consolidated Diem's position a decade earlier, a proposal that Kennedy dismissed. Phillips recommended three measures:
- Terminate aid to the ARVN Special ForcesArmy of the Republic of Vietnam Special ForcesThe Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces were the elite military units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . Following the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam in October 1955, the Special Forces were formed at Nha Trang in February 1956...
of Colonel Le Quang TungLe Quang TungColonel Lê Quang Tung was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngo Dinh Nhu, the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngo Dinh Diem. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage...
, who took his orders directly from the palace and not the army command. Tung had led the raids on Buddhist pagodasXa Loi Pagoda raidsThe Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
on August 21 in which hundreds were killed and widespread physical destruction occurred. The Special Forces were used mainly for repressing dissidents rather than fighting communists. - Cut funds to the Motion Picture Center, which produced hagiographic films about the Nhus.
- Pursue covert actions aimed at diving and discrediting Tung and Major General Ton That DinhTon That DinhMajor General Tôn Thất Đính is a retired officer who served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He is best known as one of the key figures in the November 1963 coup that deposed and resulted in the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the first president of the Republic of Vietnam .A favourite of...
. Dinh was the military governor of Saigon and the Commander of the ARVN III CorpsIII Corps (South Vietnam)III Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
. Dinh was the youngest general in the history of the ARVN, primarily due to his loyalty to the Ngo family.
In the ensuing debate, Kennedy asked Phillips what would happen if Nhu responded to the cuts by diverting money away from the army to prop up his personal schemes. When Kennedy asked if Nhu would blame the US for any resulting military deterioration, Phillips replied that the ARVN would revolt, because the ARVN officers were on Viet Cong hit lists would not allow the communists to run loose. Phillips said that if Nhu tried to divert military aid away from the troops to prop up his personal schemes, the Americans could deliver the money straight to the countryside in suitcases.
Robust disagreement
Long An Province
Long An is a province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province comprises one town and 14 districts:#Bến Lức#Cần Đước#Cần Giuộc#Châu Thành#Đức Hòa#Đức Huệ#Mộc Hóa#Tân Hưng...
adjacent to Saigon, had reported that the Viet Cong had overrun 200 Strategic Hamlets in the previous week, forcing the villagers to dismantle the settlement. McNamara shook his head at the radically divergent reports. When Krulak derided Phillips, Assistant Secretary of State Averell Harriman could no longer restrain himself and called the general "a damn fool". Phillips diplomatically took over from Harriman and asserted that it was a battle for hearts and minds rather than pure military metrics.
Mecklin generated more disquiet by advocating the use of American combat troops to unseat the Diem regime and win the war. He asserted that "the time had come for the US to apply direct pressure to bring about a change of government, however distasteful". Mecklin asserted that there would be a backlash if aid was simply cut, so US troops would have to directly fix the problem. Mecklin later wrote to USIS head Edward R. Murrow to insist that US troops would welcome combat in the case of a communist escalation. On the journey back to the United States, he had asserted that the use of American combat forces would encourage the coup and lift morale against the Viet Cong. He also called for the engineering of a coup. He called for the US to show more intent.
The pessimism expressed by Phillips and Mecklin surprised Frederick Nolting
Frederick Nolting
Frederick Ernst Nolting , was a World War II naval officer and United States diplomat.-Early life and education:...
, who preceded Lodge as the US ambassador in Saigon. Nolting said that Phillips' account "surprised the hell out of me. I couldn't believe my ears." Nolting asserted that Mecklin was psychologically vulnerable to being brainwashed because he had recently split with his wife. At the time, Mecklin was living with journalists David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
and Neil Sheehan
Neil Sheehan
Cornelius Mahoney "Neil" Sheehan is an American journalist. As a reporter for The New York Times in 1971, Sheehan obtained the classified Pentagon Papers from Daniel Ellsberg. His series in the Times revealed a secret U.S. Department of Defense history of the Vietnam War and resulted in government...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and UPI respectively. Halberstam and Sheehan both won Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s and were strident critics of Diem.
Aftermath
One strategy that received increasing consideration in NSC meetings—as well as at the US Embassy, Saigon and in CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
—was a suspension of non-military aid to Diem. After the erroneous Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
broadcast on August 26, which announced an aid suspension, Lodge was given the discretion on August 29 to suspend aid if it would facilitate a coup
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
. In the meantime, the US Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
began to pressure the administration to take action against Diem. Hilsman was lobbied by the Senate Subcommittee on the Far East. Senator Frank Church
Frank Church
Frank Forrester Church III was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981....
informed the administration of his intention to introduce a resolution condemning Diem's anti-Buddhist repression and calling for the termination of aid unless religious equality was instituted. This resulted in Church agreeing to temporarily delay the introduction of the bill to avoid embarrassing the administration.
While the delegation was in Vietnam, the strategy of using a selective aid suspension to pressure Diem into ending religious discrimination was actively discussed at the State Department. In a television interview on September 8, AID Director David Bell warned that Congress might cut aid to South Vietnam if Diem did not change his policies. On September 9, Kennedy backed away from Bell's comments, stating "I don't think we think that [a reduction in aid to Saigon] would be helpful at this time." On September 11, the day after Krulak and Mendenhall tabled their reports, Lodge reversed his position. In a long cable to Washington, he advocated the consideration of using non-military aid suspension to spark the toppling of Diem. Lodge concluded that the US could not get what it wanted from Diem, and had to force events to come to a head. After another White House meeting on the same day, Senator Church was informed that his bill was acceptable, so he introduced the legislation into the Senate.
The National Security Council re-convened on September 17 to consider two of Hilsman's proposals for dealing with Diem. The plan favored by Hilsman and his State Department colleagues was the "pressures and persuasion track". This involved an escalating series of measures at both public and private level, including selective aid suspension and pressuring Diem to remove Nhu from power. The alternative was the "reconciliation with a rehabilitated GVN track", which involved the public appearance of acquiescence to Diem's recent actions and an attempt to salvage as much as possible from the situation. Both proposals assumed that an ARVN coup was not forthcoming. The inconclusive report saw a follow-up mission sent to Vietnam, the McNamara Taylor mission
McNamara Taylor mission
The McNamara-Taylor mission was a 10-day fact-finding expedition to South Vietnam in September 1963 by the Kennedy administration to review progress in the battle by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and its American advisers against the communist insurgency of the National Liberation Front of...
, led by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
Maxwell D. Taylor
Maxwell D. Taylor
General Maxwell Davenport "Max" Taylor was an United States Army four star general and diplomat of the mid-20th century, who served as the fifth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after having been appointed by the President of the United States John F...
.