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   ladyvols1 Teacher
   High School - 9th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Ngo Dinh Diem was in the US. Diem disliked Vietnam's communists. In 1945 the leaders in Vietnam exiled him to China. Diem's beliefs attracted Eisenhower. He became our hope as an alternative to communism in Vietnam.  Eisenhower sent US advisers to Vietnam in 1955. He made an effort to build a nation from South Vietnam by creating a government there, and sent the CIA to conduct psychological warfare against the North.  The National Liberation Federation was created.  Government officials in Washington said that Hanoi directed the NLF's attacks against Saigon. In government "White Papers," Washington condemned the NLF, saying it was a puppet of Hanoi. “In 1961, Kennedy sent a team to report on conditions in South Viet Nam and analyze future American aid. The report, the "December 1961 White Paper," called for an increase in military, technical, and economic aid,  to help stabilize the Diem regime and crush the NLF.   Kennedy chose a middle route. Instead of a large-scale military buildup as the White Paper called for or a complete pull out, Kennedy sought accord with Diem. The United States would increase the level of its military involvement in South Vietnam through more machinery and advisers, but would not send troops. This arrangement was doomed from the start.”

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/presidential-biography/kennedy-admi...

   http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon2/pent1.htm

   http://www.paperlessarchives.com/vwfrus.html

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   Posted by ladyvols1 on Friday October 31, 2008 at 9:11 AM