BD-
JFK recognized his complicity in the Diem assassinations.
Lodge, in a recorded conversation, warned JFK the Big Minh-led coup was likely to be lethal.
CIA'er Lucien Conein, acting on direct orders from Ambassador Lodge, who was hand-selected by JFK, gave Big Minh large amounts of cash to perp the lethal coup.
The CIA station in Saigon backed the Diems, as did the previous Ambassador Nolting. It was DC dilettantes who wanted to appease NYT op-ed pages who wanted the Diems dead.
Conein asked for air transport to get the Diems out of SV. He was refused. Told no planes were available--despite the US having the large air base at Danang.
In a twist of fate, Madame Nhu was in the US at the very time the Kennedy Administration was having the Diems assassinated. She angrily hinted at reprisals. She was very tight with Lansdale. She was a remarkable woman, by all accounts.
The Diem assassinations destabilized SV.
I happen to be a JFK fan. But history is history.
JFK actually approved
two coup attempts. The first, in August, was shutdown by the plotters who feared that it would fail. This one involved the infamous Cable 243 screwup where JFK and the Cabinet were out of Washington and a aide to Bundy (Michael Forrestal) cabled Lodge (with JFK's approval) that the Administration would not oppose the attempt. When everyone returned to Washington they all pointed fingers at each other over what happened, who was responsible for the decision. This was when JFK said, "My God, my government's coming apart!"
JFK was convinced, with reasonably good evidence (this wasn't just Lodge), that South Vietnam simply couldn't survive as long as Diem and his brother remained in power. And he thought it was vital to US security that South Vietnam not fall. It's why he opposed a unconditional withdrawal. He still believed that with a new government and with US assistance that Saigon could survive. A problem was that Diem was increasingly relying on Nhu and he, Nhu, was simply impossible to reason with.
The obvious question is: If JFK had decided to simply leave, unconditionally withdraw, then why go through all of these coup machinations? Not once but twice? It makes no sense. He could have used the chaos and blamed Diem and simply left. Instead he tried to replace Diem (twice) with a more stable government. Which got him deeper into the mess. Nobody simply leaving would approve these coups.
Look, these conspiracy people have created a fantasy world, an alternate universe where the innocent JFK just wanted peace but was forced to take these actions - in Cuba, in Vietnam, and support containment - by evil militarists around him. When he eventually refused they conspired to kill him. It's nonsense from beginning to end. But it's the only way their conspiracy works. If all of these groups got together to kill JFK and then cover it up for decades (even today!) then the only reason must have been because he was such a threat to them. And what was that threat? He was going to leave Vietnam and "end" the Cold War.
RFK said it wasn't true, he wasn't going to simply leave. McNamara said he wasn't. Rusk said he wasn't. Bundy said he wasn't. The documents say he wasn't. Hell, even JFK said he wasn't. And still they believe the opposite.
