So why assassinate the President of a country, you are planning on withdrawing your troops from? I do not believe that John Kennedy authorized the assassination of Diem, his younger brother, or the secret police chief, all at the same time. and in the way it was conducted. Because Diem was considered an embarrassment, and Kennedy's administration was staffed by people who hated Ngo Dinh Diem who saw him as nothing more than a corrupt Asiatic despot. Kennedy was fully aware that Lodge was meeting with Minh and other members of the military in talks of a coup and receiving support from people like Harriman. The only thing Kennedy didn't sign on was the idea that they would be executed, which quite frankly was a delusional thing to expect on his part. He honestly believed that a regime change would lead to democratization of the government in Saigon and popular legitimacy and for America to be able to cut its commitment in the region.
It appears to be monumentally stupid because it was monumentally stupid.
"It appears to be monumentally stupid because it was monumentally stupid."
And ended up sending people like my only brother to fight in the jungles of Vietnam, for a government, and military that gave two shits about them. He came home, but was never the same, and died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 51. Vietnam was just another proxy war with Russia and China. The only ones who were victorious in Vietnam, were the ones who had investments in the military industrial complex, while destroying the lives of millions of other people.