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New revelations: how Kennedy lost the Vietnam War
30 Oct 2015
by Martin Barillas
Gen. Maxwell Taylor, Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy
Numerous books, articles, and exposés have sought to understand how and why the United States ultimately failed in the Vietnam War, despite losing thousands of troops and innocent lives, and expending billions. A new book seeks to understand why by offering new details into the assassination of Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, the first president of the Republic of Vietnam. Diem, a wily politician, was widely regarded at the time as having what Confucians call "Mandate of Heaven:" a moral and political authority recognized by all Vietnamese. He was the first president of the Republic of Vietnam, following the end of French colonial rule. However, he was deposed in a military coup ordered by the Kennedy administration and ultimately murdered on November 2, 1963.
(WARNING: graphic photo contained in article)
U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge and President Ngo Dinh Diem
“The Lost Mandate of Heaven: The American Betrayal of Ngo Dinh Diem, President of Vietnam on December 1, 2015.” is penned by Geoffrey DT Shaw, an expert on counter-insurgency and military history. The book disputes long-held assertions that Diem was a tyrant or that he had lost popular support. Shaw seeks to show, with an exposé of materials found in military, diplomatic, and intelligence sources – as well as eyewitness accounts – that Diem was a leader of rare integrity and a patriot who sought to free Vietnam from colonialism and preserve it from communism.
Shaw claims that President John F. Kennedy's decision to overthrow Diem – leading to his murder - was fueled by anti-religious bigotry, caused a public relations disaster for his administration. The author says that Diem’s death led to America’s loss in Vietnam, which would have been otherwise if Diem had continued to receive support.
"Did I find a veritable Conradian 'Heart of Darkness?'" questions Shaw, in reference to the class novel by Joseph Conrad that inspired the Vietnam War epic film “Apocalypse Now.”
The murdered president Ngo Dinh Diem
"Yes, I did,”, said Shaw, “but it was not in the quarter to which all popular American sources were pointing their accusatory fingers; in other words, not in Saigon but, paradoxically, within the Department of State back in Washington, D.C., and within President Kennedy's closest White House advisory circle. The actions of these men led to Diem's murder. And with his death, nine and a half years of careful work and partnership between the United States and South Vietnam was undone."
Admiral John M. Poindexter, who served in the Reagan administration, called the book "a remarkable book that finally sets the record straight with copious documentation on the assassination of Diem, which was ultimately responsible for our loss of the war. A must read."
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