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172-527: Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo , a communist sleeper agent of North Vietnam who had infiltrated the South Vietnamese army, was made overseer of the Strategic Hamlet Program and had hamlets built in areas with a strong NLF presence and forced the program forward at an unsustainable speed, causing the production of poorly equipped and poorly defended villages and the growth of rural resentment towards

344-413: A census carried out by the South Vietnamese government. Next, villagers would be required to build fortifications and the members of the self-defense force identified and trained. The villagers would be registered and be given identity cards, and their movements would be monitored. Outside the fortifications would be a free-fire zone . The South Vietnamese government on its part would provide assistance to

516-454: A colonial power in Vietnam’. The U.S. officials tried to counter Viet Cong propaganda with their own, which included hiring Asian operatives in provinces, particularly Filipino. In theory, this would convince the South Vietnamese of the purpose of American assistance through their shared ethnicity, or ‘indigenous nationalism.’ This became known as the ‘demonstration effect’ as Filipinos were deemed

688-423: A colossal foreign-aid program; a developing market capable of receiving foreign capital investments—those are the many favorable conditions which could make Vietnam a productive and prosperous nation. However, at the present time many people are out of work, have no roof over their heads, and no money. Rice is abundant but does not sell; shop windows are well-stocked but the goods do not move. Sources of revenue are in

860-570: A comprehensive counterinsurgency program that integrated military action with a strategy of social engineering. By the end of 1961, the administration would become committed to defeating the Vietcong through modernisation". The Program was designed to strike at the heart of the Revolution’s political and social roots. US policymakers believed that, if Diem’s regime became the focus of popular aspirations, “nation-building and political development might stem

1032-632: A conventional war which embraced counterinsurgency, so they preferred the fighting tactics used in Korea and World War One. In late 1961, President Kennedy sent Roger Hilsman , then director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research , to assess the situation in Vietnam. There Hilsman met Sir Robert Thompson , head of the British Advisory Mission to South Vietnam (BRIAM). Thompson

1204-440: A criterion for promotion fidelity toward the party in blind submission to its leaders. This creates extremely dangerous situations, such as the recent incident of Tay-Ninh. The purpose of the army, pillar of the defense of the country, is to stop foreign invasions and to eliminate rebel movements. It is at the service of the country only and should not lend itself to the exploitation of any faction or party. Its total reorganization

1376-480: A definitive victory in the historical competition with the North, so as to carry out the will of the people and to lead the country on the way to hope, liberty, and happiness. Today, six years later, having benefited from so many undeniable advantages, what has the government been able to do? Where has it led South Vietnam? What parts of the popular aspirations have been implemented? Let us try to draw an objective balance of

1548-502: A device to defeat the armed insurgency. Ngo Dinh Diem also saw them as a way of mobilizing the population politically and generating support for his regime; they were the centre-piece of the government's plans to modernize the RVN and simultaneously free it from dependence on the United States. Ngo Dinh Diem made efforts to limit foreign involvement in the hamlet programme, particularly as

1720-474: A few weeks later, probably from a beating". After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, a conspiracy theory emerged, maintaining that Thảo went underground and worked in counterintelligence for the communist Central Office of South Vietnam , helping to hunt down VC cadres who had defected to Saigon . Although Thảo's last plot failed, his activities in 1965 and the resultant infighting led to a series of internal purges within

1892-402: A half dozen officers and around forty civilians, most or all of whom were Catholic, were arrested on charges of attempting to assassinate Quát and kidnap Thi and Kỳ. Several of the arrested were known supporters of Thảo and believed to be abetting him in evading the authorities. Despite this, Thảo himself managed to escape, even as a US$ 30,000 bounty was put on him by the junta. On 16 July 1965, he

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2064-511: A half million people had been settled in 7,205 hamlets according to figures given by the Vietnam Press. In less than a year, both the number of completed hamlets and its population had doubled. Given this rapid rate of construction, the GVN was unable to fully support or protect the hamlets or its residents, despite funding by the United States government. Viet Cong insurgents easily sabotaged and overran

2236-488: A house belonging to a friend of Trương Như Tảng. The ruling junta appealed to Thảo in newspaper advertisements and broadcasts to follow orders to report, but he ignored them. In mid-January 1965, the regime called for him to report to his superiors in the ARVN, warning that he would be "considered guilty of abandoning his post with all the consequences of such a situation" if he failed to do so. Due to his Catholic background, Thảo

2408-420: A means of saving face, Phát and Thảo were given an appointment with the figurehead chief of state Sửu, who was under close control by the junta, to "order" him to sign a decree stripping Khánh of his military leadership, and organizing a meeting of the junta and Prime Minister Quát's civilian cabinet. During the early morning, while the radio station was still in the hands of Thảo's men, a message attributed to Sửu

2580-613: A nationalist, not an ideologue", and credited him with turning the military tide towards the communists by helping to bring down Diệm and fomenting chronic instability and infighting for 18 months. Hồ Chí Minh had reacted to Diệm's death by saying "I can scarcely believe that the Americans would be so stupid". A communist report written in March 1965, soon after Thảo's revolt had caused Khánh to depart, stated that "The balance of force ... has changed very rapidly in our favor. ... The bulk of

2752-701: A new cultural perspective for the Vietnamese population. This links to American interventionism , which suggested that intervening in foreign relations would preserve American values and maintain Western security. Hence non-state actors played a role in the programs' implementation. Aid workers from the United States Operations Mission oversaw hamlet school construction and teacher-training programs. IVS education volunteers provided grassroots-level assistance to Vietnamese instructors and served as teachers in

2924-529: A power struggle with his deputy Khiêm as well as Minh, who had been retained as the titular head of state. Thảo was a close friend of Khiêm, so when Khánh prevailed in the power struggle, Khánh despatched Khiêm to Washington as the ambassador with Thảo was his press attaché. In August 1964, Khánh's leadership became increasingly troubled after he tried to augment his powers by declaring a state of emergency. This only provoked large-scale protests and riots calling for an end to military rule, with Buddhist activists at

3096-411: A prime example of a country which had been ‘modelled on the enlightenment and benevolence of American tutelage.’ Another propaganda technique was using the forced relocations to inform South Vietnamese peasants that if they supported the North, then they would allow them to return home once the communist revolution had been won. The Viet Cong also escalated their recruitment program by using women. This

3268-463: A self-defense group of 75 to 100 armed men. The self-defense group would, in addition to defending the hamlet, be responsible for "enforcing curfews, checking identity cards, and ferreting out hard-core Communists." The objective was to separate, physically and politically, the Viet Cong guerrillas and supporters from the rural population. The first step in the establishment of a strategic hamlet would be

3440-555: A sleeper agent was kept secret after the end of Vietnam War. One of the reasons was to protect Thảo's family, which at that time had members living in the United States. His secret identity was eventually revealed and the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam posthumously awarded him the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 1995. The main protagonist in the film Cards on the Table was based on Phạm Ngọc Thảo. Born Phạm Ngọc Thuần , Thảo

3612-441: A strategic hamlet. Of the first 210 families relocated, 140 were reported to have been moved at gunpoint. South Vietnamese soldiers burned their former villages. By May, South Vietnam's government-owned newspaper reported that only 7 percent of 38,000 rural dwellers in the target area had been relocated either voluntarily or by force. Although many people in both the U.S. government and government of South Vietnam (GVN) agreed that

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3784-582: A strong backlash from peasants and forced the central government to rethink its strategy. A report put out by the Caravelle group , consisting of eighteen signers, leaders of the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo sects, the Dai Viet, and dissenting Catholic groups described the situation as follows: Tens of thousands of people are being mobilized… to take up a life in collectivity, to construct beautiful but useless agrovilles which tire

3956-400: A transition to democracy by facilitating the formation of a few political parties. This was ineffective, as many political parties with only a handful of members sprang up and squabbled. Within 45 days of the coup, 62 parties had formed but nothing meaningful resulted. In the end, these efforts proved to be irrelevant as Minh's junta and the accompanying Council of Notables were overthrown before

4128-510: A vital part of Nhu's efforts to purge the army of disloyal officers. As Thảo kept a close watch on those who commanded troops, lest they use their personnel in a coup, the leading officers were keen to maintain a good relationship with him, which increased his effectiveness as a spy. Thảo rose even further when the troops he commanded helped put down the November 1960 coup attempt against Diệm. Thảo assisted Khánh and Trần Thiện Khiêm to put down

4300-478: A vote of no confidence in Khánh later that day, and forced him into exile. Later in the morning, while on the run, Thảo made a broadcast using a military radio system to call for Khanh's departure and defend his actions, which he described as being in the best interest of the nation. Phat and Thảo were stripped of their ranks, but nothing was initially done as far as prosecuting or sentencing them for their involvement in

4472-407: A way to satisfy their other political goals. Whilst the United States eventually supported the hamlet scheme, most US officials were 'somewhat bewildered by the sudden appearance of a major activity that had not been processed through their complex co-ordinating staffs'. According to Thompson's memories, the Strategic Hamlet Program would be split into three stages: Clearing, holding and winning. In

4644-461: A ‘permanent capacity’. They also believed that educating the population into the modern world would counter communism, which many young men and women found appealing due to its ability to find ‘stable elements in their already unstable societies’. This was confirmed by W.W. Rostow on his trip to Saigon in October 1961, where he found that many young men were joining the Viet Cong in the hope of fitting into

4816-473: Is about to become completely paralyzed. It is in urgent need of reorganization. Competent people should be put back in the proper jobs; discipline must be re-established from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy; authority must go hand in hand with responsibility; efficiency, initiative, honesty, and the economy should be the criteria for promotion; professional qualifications should be respected. Favoritism based on family or party connections should be banished;

4988-401: Is necessary. Clannishness and party obedience should be eliminated; its moral base strengthened; a noble tradition of national pride created; and fighting spirit, professional conscience, and bravery should become criteria for promotion. The troops should be encouraged to respect their officers, and the officers should be encouraged to love their men. Distrust, jealousy, rancor among colleagues of

5160-446: Is the very foundation of society, and public opinion ensures the survival of the regime. The government must destroy all the obstacles standing in the way of economic development; must abolish all forms of monopoly and speculation; must create a favorable environment for investments coming from foreign friends as well as from our own citizens; must encourage commercial enterprises, develop industry, and create jobs to reduce unemployment. At

5332-657: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and also became a major provincial leader in South Vietnam . In 1962, he was made overseer of Ngô Đình Nhu 's Strategic Hamlet Program in South Vietnam and deliberately forced it forward at an unsustainable speed, causing the production of poorly equipped and poorly defended villages and the growth of rural resentment toward the regime of President Ngô Đình Diệm , Nhu's elder brother. In light of

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5504-665: The Manifesto of the Eighteen , was written in April 1960, as a public critique of the South Vietnamese government under President Ngô Đình Diệm . The " manifesto " of grievances included the Diệm regime's restrictions on freedom and pushed for reforms in the country. Its eighteen signatories were all old-time anti-communist politicians, leaders of the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo sects, the Đại Việt and

5676-479: The South Vietnamese army (ARVN). After his meetings with Thompson, on 2 February 1962 Hilsman described his concepts of a Strategic Hamlet Program in a policy document entitled "A Strategic Concept for South Vietnam", which President Kennedy read and endorsed. Hilsman proposed heavily fortified strategic hamlets. "Each strategic village will be protected by a ditch and a fence of barbed wire. It will include one or more observation towers...the area immediately around

5848-585: The United States for six months to learn conventional warfare tactics. He also spent a month in England before returning to South Vietnam. By this time, Minh's junta had been replaced in a 1964 January coup by Khánh. It is suspected that one of the generals' motives for deploying Thảo overseas was his continual involvement in plotting. Khánh appointed Thảo as his press officer as well as an unofficial political adviser. Later that same year, Khánh became involved in

6020-514: The Viet Cong . The Government of Vietnam (GVN) developed two types of centers of agglomeration. The second type of relocation center, qui ap, relocated into new villages those families that supported the South Vietnamese government but lived outside the realm of government protection and were susceptible to Viet Cong attacks. By 1960, there were twenty-three of these centers, each consisting of many thousands of people. This mass resettlement created

6192-571: The Việt Quốc parties, and dissenting Catholic groups. Eleven signatories had been cabinet ministers; four had been in other high government positions. They organized themselves as the "Bloc for Liberty and Progress," with a platform of constitutional revision toward greater power for the National Assembly against the Presidency. After the November 1960 coup attempt , the government arrested most of

6364-520: The partition of Vietnam , Thảo stayed in the south and made a show of renouncing communism. He became part of the military establishment in the anti-communist southern regime and quickly rose through the ranks. Nominally Catholic, Thảo befriended Diệm's elder brother, Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục —the devoutly Roman Catholic Ngô family strongly favored co-religionists and had great trust in Thảo, unaware that he

6536-465: The recent elections for the Second Legislature ). All these have provoked the discouragement and resentment of the people. Political parties and religious sects have been eliminated. "Groups" or "movements" have replaced them. But this substitution has only brought about new oppressions against the population without protecting it for that matter against Communist enterprises. Here is one example:

6708-629: The 410th Battalion and went on to fight near Cà Mau , the southernmost part of Vietnam. By 1949, Thảo was in charge of the Việt Minh espionage apparatus around Saigon and organised the guerrilla companies in the countryside. Thảo was also involved in procuring arms. Filipino traders brought arms into southern Vietnam in return for rice, shrimp, pork, gold and banknotes. Following the French defeat in 1954 at Điện Biên Phủ , Thảo helped evacuate communist fighters from South Vietnam and Cambodia in accordance with

6880-491: The ARVN. Amid the instability, the VC made strong gains across the country throughout the year. In response to the deteriorating military situation, the Americans began to deploy combat troops to South Vietnam in large numbers. Thảo was posthumously promoted by the ARVN to the rank of one–star general and awarded the title of martyr ( Vietnamese : Liệt sĩ ). After the Fall of Saigon and

7052-445: The Americans were trying to encourage Khánh's colleagues to overthrow him so that more hawkish policies could be enacted. The other generals wanted to overthrow Khánh and were aware that Thảo—who was widely distrusted—was planning to make a move. They anticipated trouble in trying to keep their subordinates, who were becoming impatient with Khánh's ongoing tenure, from joining Thảo. Between January and February, Thảo continued to finalize

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7224-501: The British, the French were reluctant to grant Vietnam its independence, or allow the Vietnamese a voice in government affairs; therefore, the agroville program had little effect. The First Indochina War terminated and the 1954 Geneva Conference partitioned Vietnam into communist (north) and non-communist (south) parts and the terms North Vietnam and South Vietnam became the common usage. Beginning in 1954, Việt Minh sympathizers in

7396-585: The Buddhist majority erupted in response to the government shootings of nine Buddhists in Huế who were protesting against a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag during Vesak , the birthday of Gautama Buddha . With Diệm remaining intransigent in the face of Buddhist demands for religious equality, sections of society began calling for his removal from power. Thảo was part of the many plots that engulfed Saigon, destabilising

7568-600: The CIA in an attempt to get American backing. Meanwhile, Khiêm had been putting pressure on Khánh for over two months by charging him and the Buddhists of seeking a "neutralist solution" and "negotiating with the communists". At the same time, Khánh's relationship with the Americans—particularly Ambassador and retired General Maxwell Taylor —had broken down over a series of policy disputes and personal arguments, and

7740-463: The Executive act as it wished. But now time is of the essence; we feel that it is our duty—and in the case of a nation in turmoil even the most humble people have their share of responsibility—to speak the truth, to awaken public opinion, to alert the people, and to unify the opposition so as to point the way. We beseech the government to urgently modify its policies so as to remedy the situation, to defend

7912-423: The French later named agrovilles . By constructing quasi-urban amenities, the French designed the agrovilles to attract peasants away from their villages. This policy was known as "pacification by prosperity." In addition to offering social and economic benefits, the French also encouraged villagers to develop their own militias, which the French trained and armed. "Pacification by Prosperity" had some success, but it

8084-604: The Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat, Thảo met Trương Như Tảng , who later became a high-ranking member of the Viet Cong (VC), a communist guerrilla organisation in South Vietnam . Tảng described Thảo as "my dearest friend" and recalled that they had "spent endless hours talking about everything under the sun. We were closer than brothers." Thảo spent his teenage years obsessed with his motorcycle. Despite being educated at an upper-class school that served children of French colonial administrators and privileged Vietnamese—French

8256-554: The Movement to oppose U.S. intervention strategies. Ph%E1%BA%A1m Ng%E1%BB%8Dc Th%E1%BA%A3o Phạm Ngọc Thảo ( IPA : Hanoi: [fâˀm ŋoˀk tʰa᷉ɔ] , Saigon: [fə̂ˀm ŋoˀk tʰə᷉ɔ] ), also known as Albert Thảo (14 February 1922 – 17 July 1965), was a communist sleeper agent of the Việt Minh (and, later, of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN)) who infiltrated

8428-567: The South were subject to escalating suppression by the Diem government, but by December 1960 the National Liberation Front of Southern Vietnam had been formed and soon rapidly achieved de facto control over large sections of the South Vietnamese countryside. At the time, it is believed that there were approximately 10,000 Communist insurgents throughout South Vietnam. In February 1959, recognizing

8600-476: The Strategic Hamlet Program and its projects of village relocation and social engineering as “reflections of benevolent American power”. In challenging communism against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Strategic Hamlet Program “revised older ideologies of imperialism and manifest destiny” stemming from notions of American Exceptionalism. In aiming to deter the Vietnamese peoples from Communist and Vietcong influence,

8772-680: The Strategic Hamlet Program was strong in theory, its actual implementation was deficient on several grounds. Roger Hilsman himself later claimed that the GVN's execution of program constituted a "total misunderstanding of what the [Strategic Hamlet] program should try to do." The speed of the implementation of the Program was one of the main causes for its eventual failure. The Pentagon Papers reported that in September 1962, 4.3 million people were housed in 3,225 completed hamlets with more than two thousand still under construction. By July 1963, over eight and

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8944-543: The U.S. also attempted to mobilise women, namely the Women’s Solidarity Movement , which Thompson believed could be trained alongside the Republican Youth Movement to protect the hamlets if they needed, this was unsuccessful. Not only were the members upper class and educated women, therefore not representative of the Vietnamese peasant population, but the founder; Madame Nhu , eventually instructed

9116-530: The US retained the “sense of national mission projected by an ideology of modernisation”. The US government aimed to defeat the threat of Communism in Vietnam to maintain its exceptionalist vision of “America's superior society and its transformative potential”. The adoption of modernisation theory “reflected a sense that the United States should be a universal model”. The Program also had roots in Vietnamese policymaking. Diem's government had its own views of how to deal with

9288-469: The US saw itself as a moderniser and an exemplary form of democracy. “The Strategic Hamlet Program projected a national identity for the US as a credible world power ready to meet revolutionary changes”. Perceptions of Vietnamese as "backwards" and subordinate to "Western Progress" resulted in the conclusion by US analysts that the Vietnamese were “incapable of self-government and vulnerable to foreign subversion". The US media and government spokesmen presented

9460-466: The United States put a great deal of pressure on the regime in 1961 to accept US policy prescriptions for defeating the insurgents. Such demands further solidified notions within the Diem regime that its ally was overbearing and meddlesome; indeed, US pressure encouraged the Ngos to see the hamlet programme as a way to free South Vietnam from dependence on the United States for economic and military aid, as well as

9632-698: The VC proved to be beneficial to the VC cause. In a three-month period in 1963, the VC were able to recruit 2,000 men in Bến Tre and formed two more battalions. Thảo was praised by the Ngô family and U.S. military advisors, unaware of his ruse. He received another promotion, and with it, more influence and contacts among the officer corps. The US ambassador, Elbridge Durbrow , described Bến Tre Province as an "agricultural showplace" and advised journalists to travel there to see Thảo's successful administration. The influential American journalist Joe Alsop changed his plans so that he could spend more time in Bến Tre, saying that

9804-501: The Vietnamese society where values are reassessed according to the personalist revolution where social, cultural, and economic reform will improve the living conditions of the large working class down to the remotest village. The U.S. military commander in Vietnam, General Lionel C. McGarr , was initially skeptical of the Strategic Hamlet Program, especially because it emphasized police and local security forces rather than military action against insurgents. The U.S. military also objected to

9976-453: The Việt Minh's Resistance Committee for the South during the war against the French. In October 1955, Prime Minister Diệm ousted Emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum to determine the form of government of the State of Vietnam. "Republic" received almost 99% of the vote and "monarchy" received a little over 1%. Diệm declared himself president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam . He scrapped

10148-424: The ambitious Strategic Hamlet Program , an attempt to build fortified villages that would be secure zones for rural Vietnamese. The objective was to lock the VC out so that they could not operate among the villagers. Thảo supervised these efforts, and when told that the peasants resented being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and put into forts that they were forced to build, he advised Nhu and Tuyến that it

10320-554: The anti-communist south when Vietnam was partitioned and made a show of renouncing communism. He became a schoolteacher and later worked in a bank, as well as the Department of Transport. He consistently refused to turn in the names of his former comrades, claiming that they were merely patriots fighting against the French and were not communists. At the same time, one of Thảo's brothers had been appointed as North Vietnam's ambassador to East Germany , having served as vice chairman of

10492-411: The area and establish a firm security network.’ This was achieved by ensuring that military troops and police did not merely leave the hamlet once it had been cleared, so insurgents would not return at a late date. The ‘winning’ stage involved the construction of schools, irrigation systems, new canals and road repairs to give the impression that the U.S. government was working for the people’s benefit in

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10664-515: The belief that all societies, including Vietnam, passed along a linear trajectory from 'traditional' and economically unsophisticated, to 'modern' and able to harness nature through industrialisation, technology, and literacy rates. The practice of village relocation within the Strategic Hamlet Program, holds foundations in Rostow’s modernisation theory which recommended “destroying the external supports to guerrilla insurgents”. Relocation aimed to reduce

10836-465: The bonds which hold it down. It shall sweep away the ignominy and all the injustices which surround and oppress it. As we do not wish, in all sincerity, that our Fatherland should have to live through these perilous days, we—without taking into consideration the consequences which our attitude may bring upon us—are ringing today the alarm bell in view of the imminent danger which threatens the government. Until now, we have kept silent and preferred to let

11008-573: The cities. The failure of the Strategic Hamlet and other counterinsurgency and pacification programs were causes that led the United States to decide to intervene in South Vietnam with air strikes and ground troops. In 1952, during the First Indochina War (19 December 1946 — 1 August 1954) French commander François de Linares , in Tonkin began the construction of "protected villages," which

11180-504: The city of Saigon on the North. The province was heavily influenced by the Viet Cong, especially in the Iron Triangle , a Viet Cong stronghold. The selection of Binh Duong was contrary to Thompson's advice to choose a more secure area for the initial phase of the Strategic Hamlet Program. The United States Agency for International Development provided $ 21 per family to compensate farmers for their loss of property when forced to move into

11352-596: The clock and undoing some of the results of the November 1963 ouster of Diem." Among the civilians linked to Thảo's plot were Catholic academics and a militant priest. As Diệm had strongly discriminated along religious lines, the rebels' comments caused a negative response among the Buddhist majority. The Buddhist activist monk Thich Tam Chau called on Buddhists to support the incumbent junta. The pro-Diệm speeches also alarmed pro-Buddhist and anti-Diệm generals, such as Nguyễn Chánh Thi and Nguyễn Hữu Có , who had been part of

11524-414: The communists in the local area had simply stopped fighting, so that the communists could quietly recuperate, while Thảo would appear to be very skillful and be given a more important job where he could do more damage. Through intrigue, Thảo also helped destabilise and ultimately unseat two South Vietnamese regimes—Diem's and the military junta of Khánh. As the Diệm regime began to unravel in 1963, Thảo

11696-412: The conditions which lead to guerrilla warfare and ultimately local support for communist nationalism: poverty, disease and hunger. The Strategic Hamlet Program was one such example of Kennedy's 'flexible response' initiative. The strategy was guided by an integrated model of social, economic and political change, in which the intensification of the war would lead to a transformation in Vietnamese society. It

11868-568: The connections between the Vietcong and the Southern Vietnamese population, aiming to deter communist influence. “Modernizers aimed to replicate—by force if necessary—the stable, democratic, capitalist welfare state that they believed was being created in the United States”. The Strategic Hamlet Program also reflected wider ideas of American Exceptionalism . In their approach towards Vietnam,

12040-736: The cost, the French relied partially on American financial support, which was "one of the earliest objects of American aid to France after the outbreak of the Korean War." According to a private Vietnamese source, the U.S. spent about "200,000 dollars on the 'show' agroville at Dong Quan." After visiting the villages of Khoi Loc in Quảng Yên Province and Đông Quan in Ha Dong Province, noted Vietnam War correspondent Bernard Fall stated that, "the French strategic hamlets resembled British [Malayan] prototypes line for line." However, in contrast to

12212-631: The country from France during the Second World War . At the time, there was a power vacuum, as both Japan and France had been decimated by the war and also both countries governments, the Empire of Japan and Vichy France were part of the Axis powers and declared fascists. There was an outbreak of nationalist fervour in Vietnam; Tảng and Thảo joined the Vanguard Youth, an impromptu independence militia. Tảng

12384-504: The country's military headquarters, just as rebel tanks were rolling in, attempting to block the runway. Thảo's men tried to capture the Saigon base of the Republic of Vietnam Navy , and its commander, Admiral Chung Tấn Cang , but were foiled, but they did capture a number of junta members at Tan Son Nhut. Thảo made a radio announcement stating that the sole objective of his military operation

12556-566: The countryside. Thảo went on the run and hid in Vĩnh Long, worried that Diệm's men were after him. In December 1960, North Vietnam's Politburo authorised the creation of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, popularly known as the Viet Cong. The VC were dominated by communists, but portrayed itself as a nationalist militant organisation, stating its aim to be the "reunification of

12728-420: The coup against Diem rather than correcting mistakes". A Catholic rebel officer made a speech extolling Diệm, and mourning his loss. This gave the impression that the coup plotters wanted to roll back the country to a Diệm-era position and punish those who had been involved in Diệm's overthrow and execution. Thảo's group also promised to aggressively fight the VC and cooperate with the United States. Throughout

12900-434: The coup plotters would destabilize and polarize the country if they took power. The Americans worried that Phat and Thảo could galvanize support for Khánh through their extreme views, which had the potential to provoke large-scale sectarian divisions, playing into the hands of the communists and hindering wider American objectives. They were also worried by Thảo's intention to remove Quát and the civilian government, whom he saw

13072-493: The coup. While in hiding in Catholic villages, Thảo expressed his willingness to surrender and cooperate with Quát's government, if he and approximately 50 officers involved in the coup were granted amnesty. He also offered to go into exile in the United States, where his family had moved when he was sent there for training in 1964. In May 1965, a military tribunal sentenced both Thảo and Phát to death in absentia. The death sentence

13244-453: The danger that the guerrillas posed if they had the support of the peasants, President Diem and his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu , made a first attempt at resettlement. A plan was put forth to develop centers of agglomeration . Through force and/or incentives, peasants in rural communities were separated and relocated. The primary goal of the centers was to concentrate the villagers, so they were not able to provide aid, comfort, and information to

13416-431: The day, a series of anti-Khánh speeches were broadcast on radio, and the rebels claimed to have the support of four divisions, something that was regarded as dubious. U.S. government analysts concluded that the rebellion was "primarily a move by die-hard neo-Diemists and Catholic military militants, disturbed at the rise of Buddhist influence, opposed to Gen. Khánh and—in a vague, ill-thought-out way—desirous of turning back

13588-405: The details of his own counter-coup, using the contacts he had cultivated over the past decades. Phát and other pro-Diệm officers opposed the Buddhist influence being exerted on Khánh. Thảo consulted Kỳ—who wanted to seize power for himself—before the plot, and exhorted him to join the coup, but Kỳ claimed that he was remaining neutral. Thảo thus believed Kỳ would not intervene against him, but Kỳ

13760-496: The devastations of war. The French Expeditionary Corps was progressively withdrawn, and total independence of South Vietnam had become a reality. Furthermore, the country had benefited from moral encouragement and a substantial increase of foreign aid from the free world . With so many favorable political factors, in addition to the blessed geographic conditions of a fertile and rich soil yielding agricultural, forestry, and fishing surpluses, South Vietnam should have been able to begin

13932-405: The dictatorial Communist regimes, which obviously cannot serve as terms of comparison with North Vietnam . Continuous arrests fill the jails and prisons to the rafters, as at this precise moment; public opinion and the press are reduced to silence. The same applies to the popular will as translated in certain open elections, in which it is insulted and trampled (as was the case, for example, during

14104-502: The eighteen, and their Bloc disintegrated. The name of the manifest is derived from the fact that the document's contents were presented at a press conference held at the Caravelle Hotel in downtown Saigon , Vietnam . The President of the Republic of Vietnam Saigon Mr. President: We the undersigned, representing a group of eminent citizens and personalities, intellectuals of all tendencies, and men of good will, recognize in

14276-558: The end of the Vietnam War, the communist government awarded him the same title and paid war pensions to his family, claiming him as one of their own. In 1981, the communists had his body exhumed and reburied in the "Patriots' cemetery" in Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon). Tảng believed Thảo "was a man who throughout his life fought single-mindedly for Vietnam's independence". Tảng, who later abandoned communism, said that Thảo "was

14448-405: The end of the month. During this period, Thảo served as the head of military security and played a role in replacing Colonel Đỗ Khắc Mai with Nguyễn Cao Kỳ as the head of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force . In the aftermath of the coup, VC attacks increased markedly amid infighting among the Saigon leadership, which Thảo had helped to stir up. The generals sent Thảo to Fort Leavenworth in

14620-477: The enemy's armed forces ... have disintegrated, and what is left continues to disintegrate". Phạm Ngọc Thảo was the prototype of Nguyễn Thành Luân, who was the main protagonist of the novel called Cards on the Table , which was written by Trần Bạch Đằng (under the pen name Nguyễn Trương Thiên Lý), and the 8-episode telefilm adaptation of the same name directed by Lê Hoàng Hoa . Caravelle Manifesto The Caravelle Manifesto , also referred to as

14792-407: The face of the gravity of the present political situation that we can no longer remain indifferent to the realities of life in our country. Therefore, we officially address to you today an appeal with the aim of exposing to you the whole truth in the hope that the government will accord it all the attention necessary so as to urgently modify its policies, so as to remedy the present situation and lead

14964-611: The failed land reform efforts in North Vietnam, the Hanoi government welcomed Thao's efforts to undermine Diem. During the First Indochina War , Thảo was a communist officer in the Việt Minh and helped oversee various operations in the Mekong Delta in the far south, at one point commanding his future enemy Nguyễn Khánh , who briefly served the communist cause. After the French withdrawal and

15136-438: The failed 1960 and successful 1963 coups against Diệm respectively. They thought that Thảo and Phat might seek revenge, driving many anti-Diệm officers who may have otherwise been neutral or sympathetic to the coup, to swing more towards Khánh. Although Taylor and US military commander General William Westmoreland wanted Khánh out, the pro-Diệm political ideology expressed by Thảo's supporters alienated them, as they feared that

15308-401: The family who were not anti-communist. The remainder of the relatives were followers of Diệm's brother, Archbishop Thục , who had been Bishop of Vĩnh Long during the war against France. Thảo was known to have a face that revealed nothing of his inner feelings. Thục's intervention helped Thảo rise in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Thục put Thảo in touch with Trần Kim Tuyến , who

15480-454: The fatherland" with the overthrow of the "disguised colonial regime of the U.S. imperialists and the dictatorial Ngo Dinh Diem administration". The creation of the Vietcong marked an escalation in the scale and organisation of the insurgency that developed into the Vietnam War . Thảo's Catholic background helped him to avoid detection as a communist. He and his brother were the only members of

15652-412: The feudal organizations of factions and parties which oppress the population were destroyed, the people do not know a better life or more freedom under the republican regime which you have created. A constitution has been established in form only; a National Assembly exists whose deliberations always fall into line with the government; antidemocratic elections—all those are methods and "comedies" copied from

15824-544: The fiefs of religious sects, which hitherto were deadly for the Communists, now not only provide no security whatever but have become favored highways for Việt Minh guerrillas, as is, by the way, the case of the rest of the country. This is proof that the religious sects, though futile, nevertheless constitute effective anti-Communist elements. Their elimination has opened the way to the Việt Cộng and unintentionally has prepared

15996-449: The forefront. Fearful of losing power, Khánh began making concessions to the protesters and promised democracy in the near future, which encouraged more groups to demand changes, and Khánh demoted certain Catholic pro-Diệm supporters. On 13 September, a Catholic-dominated group led by Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức , both of whom had been demoted, moved troops into Saigon, but then withdrew after it became obvious they did not have

16168-478: The full-scale attack at 03:30 on 2 November. The rebels eventually gained control of the building, and at daybreak Thảo's forces stormed the palace, but found it empty; Diệm and Nhu had escaped. A captured officer of the Presidential Guard revealed the brothers' hiding place and under the orders of Khiêm, Thảo went after them. Khiêm ordered Thảo to ensure the brothers were not physically harmed. Thảo arrived at

16340-409: The government from implementing its programs. In 1965, he went into hiding after a failed attempt to seize power from Khánh and was sentenced to death in absentia . Although this coup also failed, the subsequent chaos forced Khánh's junta to collapse. Thảo died the same year he was forced into hiding; it is believed that he was murdered after a bounty was placed on his head. Thảo's real identity as

16512-454: The government. The Strategic Hamlet Program was unsuccessful, failing to stop the insurgency or gain support for the government from rural Vietnamese, it alienated many and helped contribute to the growth in influence of the NLF. After President Ngo Dinh Diem was overthrown in a coup in November 1963, the program was cancelled. Peasants moved back into their old homes or sought refuge from the war in

16684-487: The grounds that it was premature. Thảo's motivation for involvement in the plotting is generally attributed to VC instructions for him to cause infighting within the ARVN whenever possible. He resumed plotting, intending to stage the coup on 24 October. He had recruited various infantry, marine and paratroop units for his scheme, totalling 3,000 men. Thảo's group did not carry out the coup after senior generals persuaded him to integrate his forces into their larger group, which

16856-490: The hamlets and that this ultimately contributed to a widespread belief among the Vietnamese people that neither the South Vietnamese government nor its American supporters had their best interests in mind. Elkind wrote that their vision of helping Vietnam’s people was incompatible with the counterinsurgency goals of the strategic hamlet program. Operation Sunrise began on 19 March 1962 in Bình Dương Province , bordering

17028-467: The hamlets, the peasants were subjected to social control including constant surveillance from troops and watchtowers, identification cards needing to be carried by peasants at all times, and permission being needed to travel beyond the confines of the hamlet. From the 1950s onwards, Non-government organisations (NGOs), or Civic action groups like the Peace Corps , were called into Vietnam, including in

17200-399: The hamlets, to help build infrastructure like dams and public roads. Kennedy believed that the provision of livestock, cooking oil and fertiliser alongside the establishment of local elections and community projects would give peasants a ‘stake in the war’. A key strategy for hamlet residents was the U.S. 'self-help' projects. These projects would increase the connections between officials and

17372-433: The hands of an irresponsible member of the "family," from whom emanates all orders; this slows down the administrative machinery, paralyzes all initiative, discourages good will. At the same time, not a month goes by without the press being full of stories about graft impossible to hide; this becomes an endless parade of illegal transactions involving millions of piastres . The administrative machinery, already slowed down,

17544-482: The hands of speculators—who use the [government] party and group to mask monopolies operating for certain private interests. At the same time, thousands of persons are mobilized for exhausting work, compelled to leave their own jobs, homes and families, to participate in the construction of magnificent but useless " agrovilles " which weary them and provoke their disaffection, thus aggravating popular resentment and creating an ideal terrain for enemy propaganda. The economy

17716-486: The head of state Minh and the civilian Prime Minister Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ to create the nucleus of a group called the Council of Notables, and promote it to the public. which, as an interim body of prominent civilians, would advise the military junta before it handed over power to an elected legislature under civilian rule. The Council of 60 people, 58 men and two women, held its first meeting on 1 January 1964 in Saigon. The council

17888-485: The house in Cholon where the brothers were purportedly hiding and phoned the rebels back at the palace. Diệm and Nhu were apparently listening in on an extension in another room and escaped. The brothers subsequently surrendered to an ARVN convoy led by General Mai Hữu Xuân at a nearby Catholic church and were executed en route to military headquarters despite being promised safe exile. The US media's links to Thảo have been

18060-562: The lack of attacks in Bến Tre, while other provinces were being ravaged, as proof that Thảo was one of the few capable government officials in the Mekong Delta. Journalist Robert Shaplen wrote: "In all respects, Thao is one of the most remarkable Vietnamese around, being a conspiratorial revolutionary figure straight out of a Malraux novel and, at the same time, a highly sophisticated and astute man, whose talents, if only they were properly channeled, could profitably be used right now." As Thảo

18232-476: The local Việt Minh. Just as Thảo was about to be executed by drowning, one of the communists realised he was a brother of one of their comrades. Thảo was released and rejoined his family, who lived in the region. As a leader of the resistance, Thảo was allocated the responsibility of indoctrinating the 1947 batch of recruits with Việt Minh ideology. One of Thảo's students was his future enemy, South Vietnamese General and President Nguyễn Khánh . This group became

18404-455: The mercy of the monopolies; no longer to have to endure the depredations of corrupt and despotic civil servants. In one word, the people hoped to live in security at last, under a regime which would give them a little bit of justice and liberty. The whole people thought that you would be the man of the situation and that you would implement its hopes. That is the way it was when you returned. The Geneva Accords of 1954 put an end to combat and to

18576-418: The military, but that the Đại Việt and Thảo's Catholic civilian allies had insisted on installing Khiêm, a Catholic. A month before the coup, American intelligence analysts had believed that Thảo was planning to replace Khánh as commander-in-chief with Don. Shortly before noon on 19 February, he used around 50 tanks, their crew and a mixture of infantry battalions to seize control of the military headquarters,

18748-404: The modern world. But this survey was only conducted on a small sample size. The stages of the program were designed to ultimately prevent communist re-infiltration. However, this ‘clear and hold’ strategy came under some criticism from the U.S. Military Advisory Group who preferred the ‘search and destroy’ operations. This was due to the fact they had already trained the South Vietnamese to fight

18920-595: The national elections, citing the fact that South Vietnam was not a signatory to the Accords of the Geneva Conference. The U.S.-backed Diệm was passionately anti-communist. In 1957, he initiated an "Anti-Communist Denunciation Campaign" to root out Việt Minh members and their sympathisers. Thousands of people were killed or jailed, and in time Diệm's campaigns created more sympathy for the Việt Minh. Before 1960, various small-scale pro-Communist uprisings were taking place in

19092-506: The numbers to remove Khánh. Khiêm and Thảo were implicated in helping to plot Phát and Đức's attempted putsch ; both were sent abroad by Khánh. In late December 1964, Thảo was summoned back to Saigon by Khánh, who correctly suspected him and Khiêm of plotting together with Washington. Thảo suspected Khánh was attempting to have him killed, so he went underground upon returning to Saigon, and began plotting in earnest, having been threatened with being charged for desertion. He sheltered in

19264-459: The peasantry to create loyalty to Diem’s regime. According to Hilsman, giving the hamlet people a ‘choice’ on which projects would most benefit their hamlet community would earn ‘an enormous political gain’ to counter the NLF’s portrayal of the U.S. as an imperial power. But, as former USOM official stated, whilst the projects undertaken were supposed to be decided by the hamlet people in local meetings, it

19436-543: The people out of danger. Let us look toward the past, at the time when you were abroad. For eight or nine years, the Vietnamese people suffered many trials due to the war: They passed from French domination to Japanese occupation , from revolution to resistance , from the nationalist imposture behind which hid communism to a pseudo-independence covering up for colonialism; from terror to terror, from sacrifice to sacrifice—in short, from promise to promise, until finally hope ended in bitter disillusion. Thus, when you were on

19608-439: The people their sole reason for existence. When this occurs, the people of South Vietnam, in comparing their position with that of the North, will appreciate the value of true liberty and of authentic democracy. It is only at that time that the people will make all the necessary efforts and sacrifices to defend that liberty and democracy. The size of the territory has shrunk, but the number of civil servants has increased, and still

19780-556: The people, lose their affection, increase their resentment and most of all give an additional terrain for propaganda to the enemy. Truman 's Point Four Program in 1949 aimed to integrate ' third world ' countries—i.e., those not aligned with NATO nor the Soviets—into the capitalist liberal economy to win 'hearts and minds.' The U.S. believed that by developing the 'third world' through education, sanitation, and reforming their economic and political systems, it could bring countries ‘out of

19952-549: The phase where rural revolutionary forces could come to power’ and create a path towards democracy. This was a similar to the stance that the U.S. took towards colonising the Philippines . After the failure of the Truman and Eisenhower administration, Kennedy enacted a ‘ flexible response ’ program, which would increase the spectrum of military responses available to the U.S. to fight counterinsurgency. This response aimed to pre-empt

20124-498: The point of returning to the country, the people as a whole entertained the hope that it would find again under your guidance the peace that is necessary to give meaning to existence, to reconstruct the destroyed homes, put to the plow again the abandoned lands. The people hoped no longer to be compelled to pay homage to one regime in the morning and to another at night, not to be the prey of the cruelties and oppression of one faction; no longer to be treated as coolies ; no longer to be at

20296-463: The poorly defended communities, gaining access to the South Vietnamese peasants. Only twenty percent of the hamlets in the Mekong Delta area were controlled by the GVN by the end of 1963. In an interview, a resident of a hamlet in Vinh-Long described the situation: "It is dangerous in my village because the civil guard from the district headquarters cross the river to the village only in the daytime…leaving

20468-462: The post office and the radio station of Saigon. He surrounded the home of Khánh and Gia Long Palace, the residence of head of state Phan Khắc Sửu . The tanks were led by Colonel Dương Hiếu Nghĩa , a Catholic member of the Đại Việt. The country was still trying to find stability, with Phan Huy Quát being appointed prime minister just three days earlier. Khánh managed to escape and flee to Vũng Tàu . His plane lifted off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base ,

20640-496: The promotion of modernization was regarded as means by which to “shut the narrow window of opportunity on which aggressors depended”. In utilising the practice of modernisation, the US expressed a confidence on a global scale that it should be a “universal model for the world”. This approach "contributed directly to justifying the militaristic approach to third world politics, above all in Vietnam”. The concept of modernisation relied on

20812-462: The proposed focus of the program on the most populated areas of South Vietnam; the U.S. wished to focus on areas where communist influence was greatest. After compromises were made to secure U.S. agreement, the Strategic Hamlet Program began implementation in March 1962. As George Kahin suggests, life in the strategic hamlets was about more than fighting communism, it underpinned ‘a deeper globalisation problem within Cold War politics’; imperialism. In

20984-480: The proud elite of the youth such as the Vietnamese Army —where the sense of honor should be cultivated, whose blood and arms should be devoted to the defense of the country, where there should be no place for clannishness and factions—the spirit of the " national revolutionary movement " or of the " personalist body " divides the men of one and the same unit, sows distrust between friends of the same rank, and uses as

21156-559: The province "particularly inspires hope". In one operation by Thảo's ARVN forces, American field journalists covering the battle saw their hours-long attempt to box in a VC battalion yield only one farmer who lived in a hut with antigovernment slogans. Despite this, the American journalists and Vietnamese officers remained unaware that Thảo was a double agent . In fact, the Pulitzer Prize -winning journalist David Halberstam misinterpreted

21328-488: The rebels were genuinely defeated by the overwhelming show of strength or whether a deal was struck with Kỳ to end the revolt in exchange for Khánh's removal is disputed, although a large majority support the latter. According to the latter version, Phát and Thảo agreed to free the members of the Armed Forces Council that they had arrested and withdraw in exchange for Khánh's complete removal from power. Possibly as

21500-399: The regime. Aiming for a 15 July coup, Tuyến consulted with Thảo regarding his plans, but Tuyến was too closely associated with Nhu to recruit the necessary military aid and he was subsequently exiled by Nhu. Tuyen's group ended up being led by Thảo but his initial coup plans were shelved when American CIA officer Lucien Conein instructed Thảo's superior, General Khiêm, to stop the coup on

21672-501: The related issues of counter-insurgency and nation building, modern ideas which presented an alternative to the political agenda of both his regime's US ally and his Communist opponent. The Strategic Hamlet Program was, arguably, the clearest embodiment of these ideas. Although strategic hamlets aimed to separate the Communist-led guerrillas from the peasantry by regrouping and fortifying thousands of rural settlements, they were not merely

21844-401: The revolt. All three were promoted, with the latter pair gaining the leadership of the ARVN and of the combined forces, respectively. This cemented the trio's close ties. Thảo was promoted to the post of chief of Bến Tre Province . He covertly worked with the cadres of Nguyễn Thị Định , a VC leader who later became the highest ranking female communist in post-war reunified Vietnam. The area

22016-408: The same rank should be eliminated. Then in case of danger, the nation will have at its disposal a valiant army animated by a single spirit and a single aspiration: to defend the most precious possession—our country, Vietnam. A rich and fertile country enjoying food surpluses; a budget which does not have to face military expenditures, important war reparations; substantial profits from Treasury bonds;

22188-483: The same time, it should put an end to all forms of human exploitation in the work camps of the agrovilles. Then only the economy will flourish again; the citizen will find again a peaceful life and will enjoy his condition; society will be reconstructed in an atmosphere of freedom and democracy. Mr. President, this is perhaps the first time that you have heard such severe and disagreeable criticism—so contrary to your own desires. Nevertheless, sir, these words are strictly

22360-404: The selling of influence, corruption and abuse of power must be punished. Thus, everything still can be saved, human dignity can be reestablished; faith in an honest and just government can be restored. The French Expeditionary Corps has left the country, and a republican army has been constituted, thanks to American aid, which has equipped it with modern materiel. Nevertheless, even in a group of

22532-425: The situation, without flattery or false accusations, strictly following a constructive line which you yourself have so often indicated, in the hope that the government shall modify its policies so as to extricate itself from a situation that is extremely dangerous to the very existence of the nation. In spite of the fact that the bastard regime created and protected by colonialism has been overthrown and that many of

22704-440: The source of historical debate. The journalists' reporting of Diệm's authoritarian rule, military failures, and attacks on Buddhists shifted American public opinion and put pressure on Washington to withdraw support for the Ngô family and seek a change of leadership. William Prochnau felt that the fall of Diệm was the biggest influence of the media on American foreign policy in over six decades. Thảo and Phạm Xuân Ẩn had been

22876-406: The source of much of the media's information. Conservative revisionist historians have accused the media of bringing down Diệm by publishing reports that, according to them, were based on false data disseminated by communist propagandists to unfairly malign Diệm's rule, which they claim was effective and fair towards the Buddhist majority. After the fall of the Diệm regime, Thảo was designated by

23048-513: The strategic hamlet and build an "essential socio-political base" that would break old habits and orient the residents toward identification with the country of South Vietnam. President Diem in an April 1962 speech outlined his hopes for the Program: ... strategic hamlets represented the basic elements in the war undertaken by our people against our three enemies: communism, discord, and underdevelopment. In this concept they also represent foundation of

23220-403: The strategic hamlets. As Elkind writes, the volunteers primary mission in the hamlets was to inspire a “desire for education” among the local population. They strove to accomplish this goal through “the mental conditioning of villagers to accept change and development.” Elkind also wrote that the volunteers’ had a disregard for the negative consequences of the program in the people forced to move to

23392-597: The terms of the Geneva Conference . Under these Accords, Vietnam was to be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel pending national elections to reunify the country in 1956, and military personnel were to be evacuated to their respective sides of the border. In the meantime, Hồ Chí Minh's Việt Minh controlled the north under the DRV while the south was under the French-sponsored State of Vietnam . Thảo remained in

23564-412: The tide.” W.W. Rostow believed that responses to Communist warfare would have to harness the modernisation process that the insurgents sought to exploit. Thus, efforts at containment “needed to accelerate social progress” - it was anticipated that, if momentum could take hold in undeveloped areas, and social problems could be solved, the chances of insurgents seizing power would dramatically decline. Hence

23736-427: The truth, a truth that is bitter and hard, that you have never been able to know because, whether this is intended or not, a void has been created around you, and by the very fact of your high position, no one permits you to perceive the critical point at which truth shall burst forth in irresistible waves of hatred on the part of a people subjected for a long time to terrible suffering and a people who shall rise to break

23908-576: The village unprotected at night. The village people have no protection from the Viet Cong so they will not inform on them to the authorities." Alongside the execution and intimidation of hamlet officials, the Viet Cong opposition to the Strategic Hamlet program included a fierce propaganda campaign, which portrayed U.S. strategy in Vietnam as imperialism . When Robert Thompson sent Filipino field operatives into local hamlet settlements, they reported that South Vietnamese peasants accepted Viet Cong propaganda as they believed that ‘America had replaced France as

24080-421: The village will be cleared for fields of fire and the area approaching the clearing, including the ditch, will be strewn with booby-traps...and other personal obstacles. The Strategic Hamlet Program "aimed to condense South Vietnam’s roughly 16 000 hamlets (each estimated to have a population of slightly less than 1000) into about 12000 strategic hamlets”. Hilsman proposed that each strategic hamlet be protected by

24252-408: The villages to access supplies and personnel. Later in 1962, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara visited South Vietnam and was taken on an inspection tour of the country, accompanied by Diệm and Thảo. Perhaps because Thảo divulged the tour details to VC guerrillas, each of McNamara's stopovers was punctuated by bloody attacks on nearby ARVN installations. For example, when McNamara

24424-471: The way for the enemy, whereas a more realistic and more flexible policy could have amalgamated them all with a view to reinforcing the anti-Communist front. Today the people want freedom. You should, Mr. President, liberalize the regime, promote democracy , guarantee minimum civil rights , recognize the opposition so as to permit the citizens to express themselves without fear, thus removing grievances and resentments, opposition to which now constitutes for

24596-400: The work doesn't get done. This is because the government, like the Communists, lets the political parties control the population, separate the elite from the lower echelons, and sow distrust between those individuals who are "affiliated with the movement" and those who are "outside the group." Effective power, no longer in the hands of those who are usually responsible, is concentrated in fact in

24768-425: The ‘clearing’ stage, areas for settlements were located which were usually next to an already secured area. These areas were then ‘saturated’ with police and military forces to either repel the insurgents or force them to depart to neighbouring territories, which could then also be ‘cleared’ for more settlements. In the ‘holding’ stage, the government officials suggested that this would ‘restore government authority in

24940-407: Was "too susceptible to Buddhist peacemongering". The U.S. saw civilian participation in governance as a necessity. They worried that a Khánh victory would enhance his prestige, so they wanted to see some third force emerge and defeat both the Thảo and Khánh factions. Westmoreland and Taylor decided to work for the failure of both Thảo and Khánh, and helped organize US advisers for the purpose. Phat

25112-448: Was a former leader of the Việt Minh, outsiders thought that his apparent success was due his first-hand knowledge of communist tactics. During his period as the province chief, Thảo set up the Council of Elders, a consultative body of 20–200 men and women, who were allowed to criticise local officials. He advocated the creation of the Council of Patrons, a philanthropic body to raise money for community projects. In 1962, Nhu began work on

25284-489: Was a traditional communist stronghold, and anti-government attacks had increased in recent times, but it suddenly became peaceful when Thảo arrived. There were rumours that Thảo and the communists had decided to cease fighting for their mutual benefit; the guerrillas could quietly strengthen themselves, while Thảo would appear to be successful and he would be promoted to a more powerful position where he could cause more damage to Diệm. The lack of fighting between Thảo's forces and

25456-588: Was a veteran of the Malayan counter-insurgency effort and a counter-insurgency advisor to the Diem government. Thompson shared his revised system of resettlement and population security, a system he had proposed to Diem that would eventually become the Strategic Hamlet Program. Thompson's proposal, adopted by Diem, advocated a priority on winning control of the South Vietnamese rural population rather than killing insurgents. The police and local security forces would play an important role coupled with anti-insurgent sweeps by

25628-443: Was able to recruit Diệm loyalists such as Phát. With Khánh's grip on power shaky, an anonymous source said that Thảo was worried about how he would be treated if someone else took over: "Thao acted first, out of fear that if he did not, the other generals would overthrow Khanh and get rid of him as well. He knew that if the others overthrew Khanh his fate would be worse than Khanh's." During this time, Thảo kept in touch with elements of

25800-447: Was apprehended by the local communists in Mỹ Tho , who saw his French-style dress and mistook him for a colonial agent. They tied him up and chained him to a block of stone before throwing him into a river to drown. However, Thảo broke free of the weight and swam to safety. Thảo proceeded further south and deeper into the Mekong Delta to the town of Vĩnh Long , where he was again arrested by

25972-468: Was assigned to be the leader of the local unit, but he left the movement soon after, leaving Thảo in command. During this period, Saigon was regularly engulfed in riots. In 1946, France attempted to reassert control over its colony and conventional military fighting broke out. Thảo served with the Việt Minh in the Mekong Delta in the far south of Vietnam during the war against French rule from 1946 to 1954. He almost met his end before he had started; he

26144-513: Was attributed to the influence of Thi, who had assigned hit squads to look for him. After the conclusion of the trial, it was announced that the Armed Forces Council would disband and give the civilians more control in running the government. Thi was believed to have agreed to the transfer of power to a civilian government in return for Thảo's death. As a result, Thảo had little choice but to attempt to seize power in order to save himself and he and Thi began to manoeuvre against one another. On 20 May,

26316-415: Was composed almost entirely of well-known professionals and academics and, as such, was hardly representative of South Vietnamese society; there were no delegates from the agricultural or labour sectors of the economy. It gained a reputation for being a forum of debate, rather than a means of enacting policy change and government programs for the populace. Thơ and Minh assigned Thảo with the task of encouraging

26488-507: Was hoped that an awareness of the material benefits of capitalism would catalyse the development of a new set of modern values and loyalties. The Strategic Hamlet Program was also closely tied to modernisation theory promoted by W.W. Rostow , underpinning US Foreign Policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. "Kennedy, his advisers, and the American foreign aid mission began to shift away from conventional military tactics and toward

26660-417: Was imperative to build as many hamlets as fast as possible. This pleased the VC, who felt that Thảo's efforts were turning the rural populace against Saigon. Thảo specifically had villages built in areas that he knew had a strong VC presence. This increased the number of VC sympathisers who were placed inside the hamlets and given identification cards. As a result, the VC were able to more effectively penetrate

26832-482: Was in Bình Dương Province , five government soldiers were killed. As he flew from Đà Lạt north to Đà Nẵng near the Demilitarized Zone , he was greeted by a VC bombing of a southbound troop train, which killed 27 and wounded 30 Civil Guard members. In 1963, the Diệm regime began to lose its tight control over the country as civil unrest spread as a result of the Buddhist crisis . Large scale demonstrations by

27004-688: Was in charge of intelligence operations under Diệm's younger brother Nhu , who was the head of the secret police and controlled the ARVN Special Forces . Thảo began as a propagandist for various units of the army and for the secret Catholic Cần lao Party , whose system of informants and secret cells helped create the atmosphere of a police state and maintained the Ngô family's grip on power. Tảng believed that Thục "undoubtedly considered that Thảo's Catholic and family loyalties were stronger and more durable than his youthful enthusiasm for revolution". He felt that Thảo had tricked Thục into believing that he

27176-496: Was more likely to succeed. Thảo reasoned that aligning himself with a group of officers that were likely to successful would yield more influence in the resulting junta. The coup was successfully executed on 1 November 1963 under the leadership of Generals Dương Văn Minh and Trần Văn Đôn . Thảo commanded around two dozen tanks, which formed a column in the streets surrounding the Gia Long Palace at midnight, and helped launch

27348-422: Was never decisive, because the settlers felt insecure, a feeling which the numerous French guard posts along the perimeter could do little to dispel so long as the Việt Minh operated at night, anonymously, and intimidated or gained the support of village authorities. Between 1952 and 1954, French officials transplanted approximately 3 million Vietnamese into agrovilles , but the project was costly. To help offset

27520-466: Was no longer a communist, and that his inside knowledge would be useful to the Ngô family. Thảo started by training the Civil Guard . As a result of his family's Catholic connections, Thảo rose steadily in the ARVN, since Diệm's regime had always promoted officers primarily on religious preference and loyalty. Nhu sent him to Malaysia to study counterinsurgency techniques, and upon his return, Thảo became

27692-415: Was not clear at this stage whether the anti-Thảo forces being organised and led by Thi were hostile to Khánh as well. At 20:00, Phát and Thảo met with Kỳ, and insisted that Khánh be removed from power. The coup collapsed when, between midnight and dawn, anti-Thảo forces swept into the city from the south along with some components of the 7th Airborne Brigade loyal to Kỳ from Biên Hòa in the north. Whether

27864-487: Was not only through presenting women as victims by drawing on Vietnamese atrocities such as the rape of women, but Northern officials believed that women were the ideal political and psychological weapon for infiltration within the Strategic Hamlets. Their usefulness as operatives was underpinned by the fact that Northern officials thought that the U.S. government would not suspect women of being Communist allies. Although

28036-480: Was often the case that high-profile officials working within the hamlets decided on such projects. There was 62 projects made in 1964, with expansions expected in 1965, but as Latham suggests, ‘U.S. policies ignored the contradiction between the promotion of freedom and the construction of forced labour camps.’ Building schools and educating the peasants were also encouraged in the hamlets as the U.S. felt that education would instil new political values which would create

28208-590: Was one of eleven children of a Vietnamese Roman Catholic family. At the time, Vietnam was a French colony. The family held French citizenship but opposed French colonialism. His father, an engineer, once headed an underground communist organisation in Paris, which assisted the Việt Minh 's anti-French pro-independence activities outside Vietnam. After attending French schools in Saigon , Thuần changed his name to Thảo and renounced his French citizenship. In his high school years at

28380-422: Was one of the officers planning a coup. His plot was ultimately integrated into the successful plot and his activities promoted infighting which weakened the government and distracted the military from fighting the Viet Cong insurgency. Throughout 1964 and 1965, as South Vietnam was struggling to establish a stable state after the ouster of Diệm, Thảo was involved in several intrigues and coup plots which diverted

28552-420: Was read out; it claimed that the chief of state had sacked Khánh. However, the authenticity of the announcement was put into doubt when loyalists took control of the station and Sửu spoke in person, claiming otherwise. There were no injuries or deaths in the coup. Before fleeing, Thảo broadcast a premature message claiming the coup had been effective in removing Khánh, and the Armed Forces Council later adopted

28724-501: Was reported dead in unclear circumstances; an official report claimed that he died of injuries while on a helicopter en route to Saigon, after being captured north of the city. However, it is generally assumed that he was murdered or tortured to death on the orders of some military officials. One report holds that a Catholic priest betrayed Thảo, while another claims General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu caught him. In his memoirs, Kỳ claimed Thảo had been captured by police in Saigon and "died in jail

28896-441: Was still loyal to the communists. He went on to serve as the chief of Bến Tre Province , and gained fame after the area—traditionally a communist stronghold—suddenly became peaceful and prosperous. Vietnamese and US officials, as well as journalists hostile to or supportive of Saigon, misinterpreted this as a testament to Thảo's great ability, and he was promoted to a more powerful position where he could further his sabotage. Thảo and

29068-401: Was strongly opposed to Thảo and Phát. American intelligence analysts had believed that General Don was involved in the coup with Phát and Thảo, but this was proven false when the action started. Eight months after the coup was over, Don told the American historian George McTurnan Kahin that he had been plotting with Thảo, who had planned for him to become Defense Minister and Chief of Staff of

29240-554: Was supposed to seize the Bien Hoa Air Base to prevent air force chief Kỳ from mobilising air power against them, but he failed to reach the airfield before Kỳ, who circled Tan Son Nhut and threatened to bomb the rebels. Most of the forces of the III and IV Corps surrounding the capital disliked both Khánh and the rebels, and took no action. However, as night came, senior military opinion began to turn against Thảo and Phát, although it

29412-536: Was the medium of instruction and Gallic culture and history a major part of the curriculum —Thảo was attracted to nationalist politics. He participated in Hồ Chí Minh 's revolutionary campaigns for Vietnamese independence and joined the Việt Minh. In September 1945, Hồ declared independence under the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) following the withdrawal of Imperial Japan , which had seized control of

29584-533: Was to get rid of Khánh, whom he described as a "dictator". He said that he intended to recall Khiêm to Saigon to lead the Armed Forces Council in place of Khánh, but would retain the civilian cabinet that answered to the generals. In doing so, he caught Khiêm off guard, asleep in his Maryland home. When informed of what was happening, Khiêm sent a cable in which he pledged "total support" to the plot. The coup group made pro-Diệm announcements, claiming then-U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. "was wrong in encouraging

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