History 498

Devine

Fall 2010

 

Study Questions: Cold War Mandarin

 

Introduction

 

  1. In the brief overview of Diem as a leader that the author gives in his Introduction, he remarks, “Washington could scarcely have chosen a Cold War surrogate more intellectually unsuited to the task confronting him.” (3)  What was Diem’s task and why was he unsuited for it?

 

 

  1. What were some of the major consequences of Washington’s effort to construct a viable South Vietnamese state around Diem?

 

Chapter 1

 

  1. What three sets of circumstances came together to facilitate Diem’s coming to power?

 

 

  1. How did McCarthyism, NSC-68, and the outbreak of the Korean War help to insure that Diem would get attention and a positive review when he visited the United States in 1950?

 

  1. If the Americans had known more about Diem’s views about political reform and how it should be brought about, why might they have realized he would not make an especially good “democrat”?

 

  1. What are the origins of Diem’s anticommunism?  Why did he reject Ho’s offer to include him in his coalition?

 

  1. Why did Diem seem a good politician to support among those Americans who sought a “third force”?  How did Diem use his association with the “third force” to broaden his support beyond conservative Catholics?

 

  1. Ultimately, why did US policymakers decide Diem was “the kind of Asian we can live with”?

 

Chapter 2

 

  1. Why did the Chinese and Soviets “double cross” the Viet Minh at Geneva?  How did the outcome of the Geneva Accords benefit Diem?

 

  1. Why did Diem’s arrival in Saigon suggest that he would not be an effective premier?

 

  1.  What was “Operation Passage to Freedom”?  How did coverage of this event cement America’s alliance with Diem?

 

  1. Who was Tom Dooley and why did he become such a celebrity?  What shortcomings does Jacobs find in his writing?  How does Dooley’s work exemplify the kind of parochial – and even racist – thinking that Bradley discusses in Imagining Vietnam?

 

  1.  Why does Jacobs argue that the American public did not get a “complete picture” of Operation Passage to Freedom?  What aspects were left out?  What unintended consequences resulted?

 

Chapter 3

 

  1. Why was Diem in a weak position in 1954?  Why did it seem unlikely he would be able unify the south into one nation under his control?

 

 

  1. Upon arriving in Saigon, what impression did Lawton Collins get of Diem and his regime?  What steps did he believe Diem had to take to stabilize South Vietnam?  What did Washington think of Collins’ suggestions?

 

 

  1. How did American domestic politics factor into Dulles’ willingness to heed Collins’ advice about Diem?  What role did Senator Mike Mansfield play in this process? (Did Collins and Mansfield remind you of any of the characters in The Ugly American?)

 

 

  1. How did Diem respond to challenges to his authority from various religious sects and criminal groups?  How did events in Washington influence the timing of his actions?

 

 

  1. How did the “Battle of Saigon” affect Diem’s fortunes both in the US and in South Vietnam?

 

 

  1. Why does Jacobs argue that Eisenhower’s willingness to continue his support for Diem and to accept the withdrawal of the French Expeditionary Corps (FEC) marked a “true crossing of the Rubicon”? (80)

 

Chapter 4

 

  1. Who was Ba Cut?  Why did Diem hate him?  What did his treatment of Ba Cut (and, more broadly, his behavior in the wake of the Battle of Saigon) reveal about Diem and his prospects for future success as leader of South Vietnam?

 

  1. What evidence does Jacobs introduce to show that Diem’s regime was a sham democracy?

 

 

  1. What was “Personalism”?  To what extent was this philosophy also a “third way”?  In practice, how did the Ngo brothers implement “Personalism” in South Vietnam?

 

 

  1. Though his brutal tactics proved effective in subduing the Communists initially, how did Diem’s anti-communist policies undermine his regime in the long run?  In what ways did his attempts to increase the regime’s security end up making him more enemies that friends?

 

  1. Why were the peasants dissatisfied with Diem’s land reform policies?  Why did the implementation of the reforms cause even more resentment?

 

 

  1. How did the US manage to get more of its military personnel into South Vietnam without – technically – violating the Geneva Accords?

 

 

  1. What was the goal of the Commercial Import Program (CIP)?  Why did this idea, promising in theory, not work in practice?

 

 

  1. If Diem was so ineffective at governing South Vietnam, how was he able to keep the Americans from noticing?  What role did the American Friends of Vietnam (AFV) play in propping up the charade? 

 

 

  1. Why does the author say the story of South Vietnam during the Eisenhower years was really two stories?  Why were there two stories?

 

Chapter 5

 

  1. What did the “Caravelle Group” have to say about the Diem regime?  Upon hearing their conclusions, why did the Eisenhower administration nonetheless decide to continue its policy of “sink or swim” with Diem?

 

 

  1. Why did the 1960 coup attempt reveal the depth of Diem’s unpopularity?

 

 

  1. Why does the author maintain that Diem was just as responsible as the Communists in Hanoi for the formation of the NLF?  (“If the spark came from Hanoi, Diem furnished the tinder.”) (121)

 

 

  1. Why did Diem’s agroville and strategic hamlet programs fail in practice?  Why did his repressive response to stepped up NLF activity further undermine his regime?

 

 

  1. How did the Kennedy administration’s assessment of the situation in South Vietnam differ from that of several U.S. reporters?  Why did official Washington remain so optimistic while these reporters expressed pessimism?

 

Chapter 6

 

  1. What assessment of Diem did Senator Mike Mansfield give to President Kennedy?  What suggestion did he make to the President and how did JFK respond?

 

 

  1. What did the battle of Ap Bac reveal about the relative strength and commitment of the South Vietnamese army and the NLF?

 

 

  1. How would you rate Diem’s handling of the Buddhist Crisis?  Why did he seem so clueless when it came to seeing how his people, not to mention Washington, might perceive his actions?

 

Chapter 7

 

  1. How did Henry Cabot Lodge’s approach to Diem differ from Ambassador Nolting’s?

 

 

  1. Why did Washington finally decide that Diem had to go?  What factors convinced the Kennedy administration that a coup should occur and that such a coup was in U.S. interests?

 

 

  1. What steps did Diem take at the last moment to avoid being overthrown? Do you think his overtures to the North were sincere or a tactic to blackmail the Americans?  What was the purpose of “Operation Bravo”?

 

 

  1. What were the arguments against supporting an anti-Diem coup?

 

 

  1. According to Jacobs, did the coup against Diem in any way change the overall trajectory of the Vietnam War in the Americans’ favor?

 

Conclusion

 

  1. Why was support for Diem so devastating to American interests and credibility?  How did support of Diem pull the US ever more inextricably into the Vietnam war?

 

  1. How does the author react to the argument that the US (and South Vietnam) would have been better off had Diem remained in power since his corrupt successors proved even more unreliable and less patriotic?