Philip E. Catton - Diems Final Failure: Prelude to Americas War in Vietnam (Modern War Studies)

DIEMS FINAL FAILURE

MODERN WAR STUDIES

Theodore A. Wilson
General Editor

Raymond Callahan
J. Garry Clifford
Raymond A. Callahan
J. Garry Clifford
Jacob W. Kipp
Jay Luvaas
Allan R. Millett
Carol Reardon
Dennis Showalter
David R. Stone
Series Editors

DIEMS
FINAL
FAILURE

PRELUDE TO
AMERICAS WAR
IN VIETNAM

Philip E. Catton

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KANSAS

2002 by the University Press of Kansas
All rights reserved

Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045), which was organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Catton, Philip E.

Diems final failure : prelude to Americas War in Vietnam / Philip E.

Catton.

p. cm.(Modern war studies)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7006-1220-8 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-7006-2613-7 (ebook)

1. Vietnam (Republic)Politics and government. 2. Ngo, Dinh Diem, 19011963. 3. Vietnam (Republic)Foreign relationsUnited States. 4. United StatesForeign relationsVietnam (Republic) I.

Title. II. Series.

DS556.9 .C37 2003

959.70431dc212002008243

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in the print publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.

TO MY PARENTS

Geoffrey and Margaret Jean Catton

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book began as a graduate student paper on the Strategic Hamlet program in South Vietnam in the period 19611963. The research for the project raised a number of intriguing questions about the character of the Diem regime, encouraging me to undertake a more detailed treatment of the topic in my doctoral dissertation. This present study builds on the dissertation; it seeks to reexamine the course of U.S.Vietnamese relations from 1954 to 1963 and shed new light on the Diem government, whose historical reputation has remained largely unchanged for more than three decades.

To do so, I have drawn extensively on Vietnamese-language materials, as well as sources available in English. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are mine, although I have sought to check the interpretation of troublesome passages with native speakers. At this point, I should also say a brief word about terminology. In the text, I have employed the English-language equivalents of significant Vietnamese terms, not all of which are exact translations. For example, the Vietnamese term Khu Tru mat literally means populous zone, but the term agroville was also used at the time and is commonly employed in current studies. I have generally used given names to refer to individual Vietnamese persons (e.g., Diem rather than Ngo). For place names, I have kept the Vietnamese division of words (e.g., Ban Me Thuot rather than Banmethuot), except for familiar names like Saigon, Hanoi, and Vietnam.

In the course of completing this study, I have incurred many debts, which I am pleased to have this opportunity to acknowledge formally. I received financial support from a number of sources: Ohio Universitys Department of History, Contemporary History Institute, Graduate Council, and John Houk Memorial Committee; the U.S. Army Military History Institute; the Lyndon B. Johnson Library; and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

As I sought to flesh out my ideas and gather information, various people offered helpful advice and suggestions. I thank, in particular, Robert Brigham, Pierre Brocheux, Debbie Cramer, Dinh D. Vu, Do Mau, Chris Goscha, Daniel Hmery, Hoang Van Lac, Hue-Tam Ho Tai, David Marr, Douglas Pike, Ralph Smith, Stein Tnnesson, Tran Ngoc Chau, William Turley, and Vu Ngu Chieu. In addition, several of the above provided invaluable assistance in the planning of a research trip to Vietnam. For their support for this adventure, I also wish to thank Lady Borton, Thomas Engelbert, Ha Minh Hong, Judith Henchy, Ho Sy Khoach, Kurt Leffler, Nguyen Huu Nguyen, Nguyen Van Lich, Mark Sidel, and Thaveeporn Vasavakul.

Of the many archivists and librarians who assisted me in my research, I would like to single out Jeff Ferrier, Douglas Pike, Cliff Snyder, David Keogh, Robert Wardle, and the staffs at Archives II and the General Sciences Library in Ho Chi Minh City. I am indebted to Do Mai Linh, Hoang Chau, and Tran Van Quyen, who helped in drafting correspondence in Vietnamese, transcribing taped interviews, and checking certain translations. Mike Floyd showed great skill and patience in putting together the illustrations for the book. I am also grateful to the following for their intellectual, material, or moral support at various points over this long haul: Penny and Stuart Ager, Ole Beck-Peterson, Matt Bird, Gary Bodinar, Gina and Paul Butler, Todd Davis, Simon and Alice Davis, Harry Dickinson, David Evans, Sabrina Figueroa, Scott Gates, Chris Jensen, Michael Lowry, Doug Macdonald, Soo and Phil Nash, Chris Parry, Philippe Peycam, Andy Rotter, Sato Yoko, Jim Sheehan, Heather, Joyce and Bill Slough, and graduate students at Cornell Universitys Southeast Asia program.

I owe special thanks to the members of my dissertation committeeMarvin Fletcher, Takaaki Suzuki, Chester Pach, and William Frederickparticularly to the last two. William Frederick introduced me to Southeast Asia and encouraged me to be ambitious for this study. Chester Pach served as my dissertation adviser. As well as reading numerous drafts of my work, he provided steady support throughout my time in graduate school. Finally, I thank Mike Briggs at the University Press of Kansas for helping to bring this project to fruition.

Parts of the introduction and appeared as Counter-Insurgency and Nation-Building: The Strategic Hamlet Programme in South Vietnam, 19611963, International History Review (December 1999): 91840.

South VietnamProvincial and Corps boundaries circa 19621963 (adapted from maps contained in South Vietnam Provincial Maps 9/67, Doc. 1, Country FileVietnam, Box 180/181, National Security File, Lyndon B. Johnson Library).

Introduction

Five days before the coup of November 1, 1963, President Ngo Dinh Diem and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge attended the opening of an atomic research laboratory in the highland city of Da Lat. This was their first meeting for a month, a reflection of the recent and rapid downward spiral in U.S.Vietnamese relations. The atmosphere was cordial, even though both men were well aware that the United States was involved in a plot to overthrow Diems government. En route, the president gave the ambassador a running commentary on the passing terrain and the achievements of his regime. Even during the last leg of the journey, when the noise of the helicopters rotor blades prevented talking, Diem continued his dissertation by writing messages on a large pad of paper. Lodge described the president as very likeable, but there was no meeting of minds when it came to discussing the issues currently plaguing U.S.Vietnamese relations. Diem either sidestepped the ambassadors questions or replied, I will not give in. Isnt there some one thing you may think of that is within your capabilities to do and that would favorably impress U.S. opinion[?] Lodge asked finally. Diem gave the ambassador a blank look and changed the subject.