American Valor Quarterly Issue 1 - Winter 2007 | Page 22

Blaming mistakes on the shortcomings of South Vietnam unnamed sources the false information that “the decision
gave Americans the opportunity to question their presence to attack Buddhist pagodas and declare martial law in South
and not stand fir mly behind the government. This Vietnam was planned and executed by Ngo Dinh Nhu, the
skepticism in itself is not bad, but when being critical of President’s brother, without knowledge of the army.” This
such a sensitive matter it is important that a journalist is trend of accusatory misinformation created feelings of
equally skeptical of his sources. Had Halberstam distrust that lead the American government to turn a blind
investigated this story further he would have discovered eye to the talk of a coup to overthrow President Diem.
that Vann was pushing his own agenda to “expose South
Vietnamese flaws as a means of pressuring the South To make clear judgments about President Diem’s reign and
Vietnamese into accepting the changes he favored.” He the need for change in command is difficult in hind sight,
also would have learned that the shift in blame was to cover as it is clear that the overthrow of the President only
the mistakes that Vann had personally made. Failing to tell enhanced instability causing setbacks in military effort and
reporters the positive efforts put forth by the South deeper American involvement. What can be seen is the
Vietnamese forces or that the American advisors did not anti-Diem bias communicated by the press. In August 1963,
expect a force as large or persistent as the enemy they had Halberstam wrote an article of the “somber unhappy time,
faced, Vann successfully contaminated the picture of the just after the government’s repression of Buddhist leaders
South Vietnamese soldiers. If
and the sacking of the
it was true that the South
country’s main pagodas.” The
Vietnam was not listening to
article, complete with a
our advising, as Vann
cartoon of Madame Nhu
presented
it
through
telling a reporter that “[She] is
Halberstam, then our purpose
not [her] brother’s keeper,”
of providing American
advisors becomes unclear.
Halberstam
successfully
While
Vann’s
portrays
feelings
of
accomplishments in other
hopelessness and, referring to
areas of the war are seen as
the Vietnamese, “slow decay
honorable, this move to use
of the fiber of these people.”
reporters to push his agenda Lt. Col. John Paul Vann (second from right) briefs his colleagues in He also used un-named
Vietnam. In 1962 and 1963, Vann served as an advisor to the
should not be allowed by a
Vietnamese sources to say that
ARVN, and was a leading advocate for the establishment of an
responsible press corps.
“if this Government continues,
effective Vietnamese military.
there will be two kinds of
Vann-Sheehan Papers
Through anonymity Vann had
people in South Vietnam,
the power to protect himself by making it appear as if all those so angered and embittered by the Government’s
fault was to be attributed to the South Vietnamese, only actions that they will turn to the communists, and those
making the American public’s understanding hazier. At this who will simply sit on their hands and help neither side
point no American troops were present, only advisors and which will help the communists just as much.” With stories
it seemed as if the people still had little connection to the portraying such a suppressive government, it is hard to
war. Vital to the public’s early understanding of the war blame anyone who was opposed to a change in leadership
the coverage of the battle presented inaccurate and in South Vietnam. America’s hands-off approach is
incomplete information that could have been avoided by evidence that officials such as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam,
talking to more sources.
Henry Cabot Lodge believed the country would not succeed
with President Diem as leader. The growing dissatisfaction
As poor reporting continued, parts of the U.S. government with the South Vietnam president lead to a coup that
as well as public turned against the Diem regime. In June ultimately resulted in the headline on the front page of the
1963 one of Halberstam’s leads read, “The conflict between New York Times: “DIEM AND NHU ARE REPORTED
the South Vietnamese Government and Buddhist priests is SLAIN, ARMY RULING SAIGON AFTER COUP;
sorely troubling American officials here.” He continued KENNEDY REVIEWS VIETNAM POLICY.”
the story without naming sources, saying “…Americans wish
to dissociate themselves from the Saigon G