Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume III, Vietnam, January–August 1963

249. Memorandum From Michael V. Forrestal of the National Security Council Staff to the President¹

Washington, August 9, 1963.

SOUTH VIETNAM

The principal recent development in the situation in South Vietnam has been the growing number of contradictory statements made by official and semi-official Vietnamese on the Buddhist question.

Brother Nhu was reported late last week to have told a Reuters correspondent that he favored the forceful crushing of Buddhist political activity.² Two days later, when queried by Ambassador Nolting, he denied having made such a statement and insisted that he was “2-fistedly behind the Government’s policy of conciliation.”³

Three days ago Madame Nhu, in a speech to a graduating class of the Women’s Solidarity League, attacked the Buddhists violently and followed this up in an interview with a New York Times correspondent (Halberstam) which I am sure you have seen.⁴

The Department has instructed Nolting to go back to Diem and suggest to him that Madame Nhu is undermining his position as President and should be sent out of the country. Nolting has also been instructed to ask Diem publicly to reaffirm the Government’s policy of conciliation (Saigon 178 attached).⁵

In the meantime Madame Nhu has issued another blast, which is carried on the front page of the government newspaper “Times of Vietnam”. (Saigon 190 attached)⁶

Hilsman is opposed to going any further at the moment and specifically does not think that the time has come for the United States publicly and officially to indicate disapproval of the GVN’s actions and policies. My own feeling is that we must take into consideration a growing domestic and international body of opinion which is becoming more and more critical of our intimate association with Diem.

Cambodia, Ceylon and Nepal have raised the Buddhist issue with the Secretary General of the UN and it is our best judgment that it is likely that the matter will come up in the General Assembly.

I am suggesting to Roger and Averell that we consider the kind of U.S. statement which will tread the difficult line between accidentally precipitating an upheaval in Saigon and affirming publicly the U.S. position on questions of religious tolerance, specifically in Vietnam.

Military and economic activities against the VC in the provinces still show no signs of having been adversely affected by the Buddhist controversy; but it is now the estimate of the intelligence community that the possibilities of a successful coup in the next 3 months are about even. In this connection, I have asked on your behalf that the Defense Department review their contingency planning for the protection and evacuation of Americans who are in Saigon; and the CIA to work with State in producing a re-evaluation of all information we have on coup plotting, so as to give the Department and the field a basis for decision in the event an accident occurs.

No decisions are required from you at this time, but you may wish to give some guidance during the next week when it becomes more clear what the real intentions of the GVN or the Buddhists are.

1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, 8/1/63-8/20/63. Secret. A note on the source text reads: “Taken from Pres. week-end reading dtd 8/9/63.”
2. See footnote 3, Document 245.
3. See Document 247.
4. See footnote 3, Document 248.
5. Document 248. Telegram 178 to Saigon was not attached to the source text, but a copy is in the Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series.
6. According to telegram 190 from Saigon, not attached, the Times of Viet-Nam on August 8 carried a declaration by Madame Nhu reiterating her contention made in a CBS News interview of August 1 that the Buddhist leaders were trying to topple the Government of the Republic of Vietnam. She defended her statement made on the news broadcast that all the Buddhists had done was to “barbecue a bonze” with “imported gasoline.” Madame Nhu claimed the Buddhist leaders were neither true religious leaders nor representative of the Vietnamese people. (Department of State, Central Files, SOC 14-1 S VIET) A copy of telegram 190 is in the Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, 8/1/63-8/20/63.