“who wanted to prove that he loved the Buddhists more than the Catholics in Vietnam. Heavens forbid that JFK should act like a Catholic! It would cost him votes!”
Vietnam was above 70% Buddhist. It is generally thought to be between 70 and 90 depending on who you listen to. Diem had several anti Buddhist policies. Is your argument that the Catholic faith should have dominated the huge Buddhist majority?
I don’t agree with this mentality that Diem was some sort of alternative. The mentality that a friendly dictator is a good guarantee against the communist block has caused much worldwide misery since 1945.
And there is no proof that JFK order the CIA to assassinate Diem. He supported a coup against him and that’s it. Lay out your proof JFK order Diem to be assassinated. I call BS.
Check the Pentagon Papers. I read it a long time ago, and it’s just one small section, but it said very definitely that JFK ordered the assassination.
The ruling classes in Vietnam at that time tended to be Catholic, because it had been a French Colony. I didn’t say that I favored the Catholics over the Buddhists. I said that JFK was extremely reluctant to be thought of as a Catholic, because it cost him too many votes. He barely got elected, by cheating in Texas and Chicago, and he had to demonstrate to doubters of the time that he wasn’t going to turn America over to the Pope, as some of his opponents charged. And what set off the final crisis was when a Buddhist Monk poured gasoline over himself and burned himself to death as a protest against Diem.
JFK was far more worried about his own reputation than he was about our troops in Vietnam. That is the point I was making.