Incoming Telegram from Saigon to the Secretary of State
9/11/1963
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In this telegram, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge gives his estimate on the current situation in Vietnam. He talks about how the situation is worsening rapidly, as well as the attitudes of the Vietnamese people.
Lodge states that "the time has arrived for the US to use what effective sanctions it has to bring about the fall of the existing government and the installation of another" in South Vietnam.
A few weeks before, Ambassador Lodge had received a cable authorizing him to offer a group of generals plotting to overthrow President Ngo Dinh Diem the green light for their planned coup d’état; and in early November, Diem was overthrown and assassinated.
Lodge states that "the time has arrived for the US to use what effective sanctions it has to bring about the fall of the existing government and the installation of another" in South Vietnam.
A few weeks before, Ambassador Lodge had received a cable authorizing him to offer a group of generals plotting to overthrow President Ngo Dinh Diem the green light for their planned coup d’état; and in early November, Diem was overthrown and assassinated.
This primary source comes from the Collection JFK-4: Papers of John F. Kennedy: Presidential Papers: National Security Files.
National Archives Identifier: 193381
Full Citation: Incoming Telegram from Saigon to the Secretary of State; 9/11/1963; National Security Files: Meetings and Memoranda: Meetings on Vietnam; Meeting Records and Memoranda, 1961 - 1963; Collection JFK-4: Papers of John F. Kennedy: Presidential Papers: National Security Files; John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, MA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/saigon-telegram, May 4, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.