The Ghost of Ngo Dinh Diem - Is Obama Making the Mistakes That JFK Made?

NY Sun ^ | April 9, 2010 | R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

[neverdem]

WASHINGTON —The increasing static between Kabul and the White House brings to mind other dicey episodes in American diplomacy. Even dealing with allies can be tricky. Recall de Gaulle. He was heartburn for five American presidents. Even Churchill could be difficult, and he was half-American. Yet for Roosevelt and Truman he could be a trial, particularly when the question of the British Empire was on the table and the future of its colonies.

President Barack Obama’s rows with President Hamid Karzai may not put you in mind of de Gaulle or the passing of the British Empire, but there is a troubling analogy, to wit: the Kennedys’ treatment of the president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem. It did not end prettily. In the early days of the Vietnam conflict President John F. Kennedy was increasingly critical of Diem for his apparent ineptitude, corruption, and brutality. Our Ambassador to Saigon, Henry Cabot Lodge, snubbed the South Vietnamese president. When word reached Washington that officers in the South Vietnamese army were going to overthrow Diem, the Kennedys pointedly looked the other way. The coup took place, and to the administration’s embarrassment President Diem was not left an exile but a well photographed corpse. His was to be the last stable South Vietnamese government. Sometimes foreigners know more about the governance of their countries than Americans do.

Is the Diem scenario to be the scenario for Afghanistan? The country is probably even more ungovernable than South Vietnam. It has never in modern times had a strong central government. There have always been rivalries and by our standards much corruption. From this backward country has emerged President Hamid Karzai, another difficult ally. It is not too soon to ask whether President Obama will handle him as his White House predecessors handled de Gaulle...

[Don Corleone]

JFK was a right wing super conservative kompared to the present usurper in the 1/2 white house. IMHO

[Brad from Tennessee]

Obama sent political consultant James Carville to Afghanistan last year to advise one of the candidates running against Karzai. When Karzai won Obama sent John Kerry over there to demand a re-do of the election. If Obama put as much effort into trying to topple the Iranian regime, U.S. interests might actually be served. There are consequences to electing a “rock star.”

[slumber1]

When word reached Washington that officers in the South Vietnamese army were going to overthrow Diem, the Kennedys pointedly looked the other way. The coup took place, and to the administration’s embarrassment President Diem was not left an exile but a well photographed corpse.

Somewhat of a sanitized version of the story. The other (more likely)version is that the coup was planned and sponsored by the CIA with the full approval of Kennedy brothers.

[RichInOC]

Well, the Secret Service limo fleet has gone all hardtop since then, so that’s one mistake he won’t make.

[samtheman]

That picture I once beheld of Diem sobered me up too. I wonder if Mr. Obama has seen it.

Why do otherwise intelligent writers (and this writer appears to be intelligent) fail to get the fundamental fact about Obama: He doesn't want what you want; he doesn't want what you would expect an American President (any American President) to want.

You see the picture of Diem's corpse and you think "the last stable government in South Vietnam before the communists took over... how sad".

Obama sees that same picture and thinks "one more obstacle in the way of Dear Leader Ho Chi Min removed... yippee!"

Get with the program, America. Obama is not of this country and his goals have nothing to do with the preservation of this country or any of its allies.

[saradippity]

I think you may be wrong about the Kennedy's approving of Diem's assasination. My husband was killed in Viet Nam in the mid 60’s (after the death of both Diem and Kennedy) and I have been watching ever since.

There was talk at the time that Kennedy was impotent to act since Diem was Catholic and so was he. Had Kennedy not assured the Baptist Convention that he would not be taking orders from the Pope he may have been able to effectively protect Diem immediately upon hearing of the plan. The political situation was such that they may have thought they had more time to act and in dallying left the opportunity to strike open. Since this was what the war mongers desired they struck at once.

That is why one should never compromise when seeking office,it may come back and bite you in the behind.

[SuperLuminal]

"Obama is not of this country and his goals have nothing to do with the preservation of this country or any of its allies. "

Deliciously and seditiously true!

[chooseascreennamepat]

Good, honorable men make mistakes. 0 f’s up beyond what anyone could imagine. He is a piece of trash and constantly shows that fact.