1 00:04:53,918 --> 00:04:55,586 {\an8}From a political standpoint, 2 00:04:55,670 --> 00:04:58,965 {\an8}we could've flushed it down the drain three years ago. 3 00:04:59,048 --> 00:05:01,509 Blame Johnson and Kennedy. 4 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:47,850 {\an8}This is essentially a political war, 5 00:12:47,933 --> 00:12:50,394 {\an8}because it's a war for men's minds. 6 00:12:50,478 --> 00:12:53,147 {\an8}And, uh, if we lose the minds 7 00:12:53,230 --> 00:12:54,565 {\an8}of these people, 8 00:12:54,648 --> 00:12:58,694 we lose the minds of the officer corps and of the civil servants, 9 00:12:58,778 --> 00:13:00,529 we will have lost the war. 10 00:13:40,569 --> 00:13:43,405 {\an8}There are increasing reports, uh, 11 00:13:43,489 --> 00:13:46,450 {\an8}in Saigon and in Huế, as well, 12 00:13:46,534 --> 00:13:50,913 {\an8}that students are talking of moving over to the Việt Cộng side. 13 00:20:32,856 --> 00:20:34,483 {\an8}While I can report, Mr. President, 14 00:20:34,566 --> 00:20:38,237 {\an8}definite progress and increasing strength in the government forces, 15 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:39,404 {\an8}the progress is slow. 16 00:20:39,488 --> 00:20:41,281 {\an8}And it's very, very slow, 17 00:20:41,365 --> 00:20:43,242 slower than we would like to see. 18 00:33:46,774 --> 00:33:48,735 {\an8}I think that the most urgent 19 00:33:49,652 --> 00:33:54,574 is to decide not to be intoxicated anymore 20 00:33:55,199 --> 00:33:58,745 by the propaganda, uh, plot 21 00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:02,582 directed by the Communists. 22 00:34:54,717 --> 00:34:57,428 {\an8}Ngô Đình Nhu, who is a policeman, 23 00:34:57,512 --> 00:35:00,515 only thing in his mind is torture and kill. 24 00:35:03,684 --> 00:35:06,479 {\an8}When the South Vietnamese came in our village, 25 00:35:06,562 --> 00:35:11,275 {\an8}they put a big Ngô Đình Diệm photo and a cross 26 00:35:12,068 --> 00:35:18,116 {\an8}right inside our temple, or our altar. 27 00:35:18,699 --> 00:35:20,701 They made us bow to Ngô Đình Diệm, 28 00:35:20,785 --> 00:35:23,746 and they talking about him as just like a god. 29 00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:28,084 Like he is somebody that's so important to us. 30 00:35:28,668 --> 00:35:31,796 We don't care. We just want to be peaceful. 31 00:35:32,505 --> 00:35:37,218 We want to worship our ancestors, hang up the Buddhist flag. 32 00:35:38,553 --> 00:35:41,681 But the next thing we know that, everybody's killed. 33 00:35:47,645 --> 00:35:49,522 They killed the leaders in the village. 34 00:35:49,605 --> 00:35:52,400 They killed the monks. They buried them alive. 35 00:35:52,984 --> 00:35:54,861 So they killed 36 00:35:56,404 --> 00:35:58,573 whoever they think that's Việt Cộng. 37 00:36:02,910 --> 00:36:06,497 And so, more them doing that, 38 00:36:07,081 --> 00:36:11,919 the more our family and 90% of the villagers, 39 00:36:12,003 --> 00:36:15,214 yeah, we join the Việt Cộng, we stand up and we fight. 40 00:36:18,050 --> 00:36:21,762 And so daytime, we praise the Ngô Đình Diệm. 41 00:36:22,430 --> 00:36:25,141 The nighttime, we praise Hồ Chí Minh. 42 00:39:04,592 --> 00:39:06,886 One Buddhist monk died 43 00:39:06,969 --> 00:39:11,724 to figure out how could he help to save the people. 44 00:39:12,767 --> 00:39:15,561 {\an8}Only way he can do is to give himself up. 45 00:39:41,545 --> 00:39:47,259 What have the Buddhist leaders done comparatively? 46 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,345 The only thing they have done, 47 00:39:49,428 --> 00:39:54,183 they have, uh, barbecued one of their monks, 48 00:39:54,809 --> 00:39:57,311 uh, whom they have intoxicated, 49 00:39:57,395 --> 00:39:59,814 whom they have abused the confidence. 50 00:40:00,815 --> 00:40:05,027 And even that barbecuing was done, uh, 51 00:40:05,111 --> 00:40:07,238 not even with self-sufficient means. 52 00:40:07,321 --> 00:40:10,616 Because they-- they used, uh, imported, uh, gasoline. 53 00:41:19,685 --> 00:41:21,395 {\an8}The heart of the matter is 54 00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:23,355 {\an8}that they've established a police state, 55 00:41:23,439 --> 00:41:26,066 {\an8}and that they're interfering with the liberties of the people, 56 00:41:26,150 --> 00:41:27,943 {\an8}and that you have resentments 57 00:41:28,027 --> 00:41:29,236 born of that. 58 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:30,529 - Right, yeah. - Right? 59 00:41:59,308 --> 00:42:03,646 President Diệm, from my standpoint, 60 00:42:03,729 --> 00:42:06,190 was the person who rebuilt the country. 61 00:42:07,483 --> 00:42:13,822 {\an8}But at his side, Ngô Đinh Nhu brought about events 62 00:42:13,906 --> 00:42:16,575 which made Diệm look bad. 63 00:42:18,744 --> 00:42:23,457 Dissent began to brew from within the military ranks. 64 00:42:27,962 --> 00:42:29,463 You have to assume 65 00:42:29,547 --> 00:42:32,341 that Diệm has felt that there's going to be a coup against him 66 00:42:32,424 --> 00:42:34,385 for probably the last couple of months. 67 00:43:34,820 --> 00:43:38,407 {\an8}They sent a convoy to Cha Tam Church to pick up Mr. President 68 00:43:38,490 --> 00:43:41,076 {\an8}and Mr. Advisor to bring them back. 69 00:43:44,580 --> 00:43:49,209 {\an8}Captain Nhung was Lieutenant General Dương Văn Minh's closest bodyguard. 70 00:43:50,669 --> 00:43:55,591 Later, it was learned that while sitting in the armored vehicle, 71 00:43:55,674 --> 00:43:57,009 he used a dagger blade 72 00:43:57,092 --> 00:44:02,014 to stab Ngô Đình Nhu once, causing him to collapse on his seat. 73 00:44:03,015 --> 00:44:07,311 He was about to stab once more, but he saw Ngô Đình Diệm on the side 74 00:44:07,394 --> 00:44:10,731 slightly leaning toward him, so he stabbed him once instead. 75 00:44:11,482 --> 00:44:13,734 He stabbed them one more time each, 76 00:44:14,860 --> 00:44:16,779 then shot them with his pistol. 77 00:44:20,532 --> 00:44:25,120 That is what's called a "mercy shot." 78 00:44:45,974 --> 00:44:48,852 Treason does not pay. 79 00:44:49,978 --> 00:44:52,147 And nobody can rule Vietnam, 80 00:44:52,231 --> 00:44:55,776 can rule Vietnam with just money and puppets. 81 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:01,824 And all those whom some of the Americans intend to settle and to tutor, 82 00:45:02,741 --> 00:45:06,537 for how long will they hold power 83 00:45:07,287 --> 00:45:09,164 if they ever hold power? 84 00:46:45,511 --> 00:46:48,222 I, uh, feel that we must bear 85 00:46:49,431 --> 00:46:51,350 a good deal of responsibility for it, 86 00:46:52,434 --> 00:46:56,313 {\an8}beginning with our cable of early August 87 00:47:04,863 --> 00:47:09,159 {\an8}I was, uh, shocked by the death of Diệm and Nhu. 88 00:47:09,243 --> 00:47:12,246 I met Diệm with Justice Douglas many years ago. 89 00:47:12,329 --> 00:47:16,166 He was a… an extraordinary character. 90 00:47:16,250 --> 00:47:21,171 While he… became increasingly difficult in the last months, 91 00:47:21,255 --> 00:47:24,800 nevertheless, over a ten-year period, he held his country together, 92 00:47:24,883 --> 00:47:27,469 maintained its independence under very adverse conditions. 93 00:47:28,929 --> 00:47:30,013 He… 94 00:47:30,097 --> 00:47:34,309 The way he was killed made it particularly… abhorrent. 95 00:48:28,906 --> 00:48:32,826 When President Ngô Đình Diệm got assassinated, my father came home. 96 00:48:32,910 --> 00:48:36,747 {\an8}He said that, "It not gonna be a good time anymore." 97 00:48:36,830 --> 00:48:38,248 {\an8}"It can be a lot of chaos." 98 00:48:38,332 --> 00:48:41,126 "Nobody can deal with Hồ Chí Minh, 99 00:48:41,209 --> 00:48:44,630 can deal with the Communists, like President Ngô Đình Diệm." 100 00:53:56,233 --> 00:53:59,945 I would like to have, for this period when everybody is asking me, 101 00:54:00,028 --> 00:54:01,613 something in my own words. 102 00:54:01,696 --> 00:54:04,950 I can say, "Well, here are-- here are the alternatives, 103 00:54:05,033 --> 00:54:08,203 and here's our theory, and here's what we're basing it on." 104 00:54:26,012 --> 00:54:27,347 I do think, Mr. President, 105 00:54:27,430 --> 00:54:30,308 that it would be wise for you to say as little as possible. 106 00:54:30,392 --> 00:54:33,270 The frank answer is, we don't know what's going on out there. 107 00:54:33,353 --> 00:54:35,522 The signs I see coming through the cables 108 00:54:35,605 --> 00:54:38,275 are-- are disturbing signs. 109 00:57:23,815 --> 00:57:27,110 {\an8}They fired at us. We responded immediately. 110 00:57:27,193 --> 00:57:30,363 {\an8}And we took out one of their boats, put the other two running. 111 00:57:30,447 --> 00:57:32,949 We kept… We're putting our boats right there. We're not running-- 112 00:57:33,032 --> 00:57:34,742 Our instructions are to destroy-- 113 00:57:34,826 --> 00:57:35,827 That's right. 114 00:57:35,910 --> 00:57:39,456 Now I want to leave an impression on the people we talk to over here 115 00:57:39,539 --> 00:57:41,291 that we're gonna be firm as hell. 116 00:57:41,374 --> 00:57:42,792 We oughtn't do anything 117 00:57:42,876 --> 00:57:45,420 that the national interest doesn't require, 118 00:57:45,503 --> 00:57:48,256 but we sure ought to always leave the impression 119 00:57:48,339 --> 00:57:50,425 that if you shoot at us, you're going to get hit. 120 00:58:50,735 --> 00:58:52,695 Mr. President, we, uh, just got a, uh, report 121 00:58:52,779 --> 00:58:54,781 from the commander of that task force out there 122 00:58:54,864 --> 00:58:57,617 that they have sighted two unidentified vessels 123 00:58:57,700 --> 00:59:02,622 and three unidentified prop aircraft in the vicinity of the destroyers. 124 00:59:04,666 --> 00:59:06,751 Uh, what else do we have out there? 125 00:59:06,834 --> 00:59:09,462 We have ample forces to respond 126 00:59:09,546 --> 00:59:11,548 not only to these attacks on the destroyers 127 00:59:11,631 --> 00:59:13,174 but also to retaliate, 128 00:59:13,258 --> 00:59:16,886 should you wish to do so, against targets on the land. 129 01:00:00,138 --> 01:00:03,683 {\an8}I think I might get, uh, Dean Rusk and Mac Bundy, have 'em come over here, 130 01:00:03,766 --> 01:00:06,102 {\an8}and we'll go over these retaliatory actions. 131 01:04:47,925 --> 01:04:52,805 It's going to be difficult for us to, very long, prosecute effectively 132 01:04:52,889 --> 01:04:54,682 a war that far away from home. 133 01:08:05,873 --> 01:08:07,458 To the West, it's just a movie. 134 01:08:08,834 --> 01:08:10,461 {\an8}A John Wayne movie. 135 01:08:14,131 --> 01:08:16,425 But to the village, it's real. 136 01:08:19,720 --> 01:08:23,015 It's just so sad and suffering, 137 01:08:23,099 --> 01:08:26,268 the people who have nothing to do with the politics. 138 01:08:28,229 --> 01:08:29,897 Everybody killing everybody.