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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-04754.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-04754
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Title
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Time And The Man In Viet Nam
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Description
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Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about the instability of South Vietnam and the prediction of multiple coups to come for the country, page 1
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Date
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1964, Apr. 9
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Subject
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Nguyễn, Khánh, 1927-2013; Vietnam (Republic)--History--Coups d'état; Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government; Vietnam, 1961-1975
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Container
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B4, F6
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Format
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newspaper clippings
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
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extracted text
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Time And
The Man
In Viet Nam
1
NY Herald TritiuM
By Beverly Deepe
A Special Correspondent
l 9 APR 1954
t~I
SAIGON.
Vietnamese political observers say a , coup
against Premier Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khanh is only
a question of time.
, These observers, who accurately predicted the
two previous coups, feel a third coup is inevitable
-either through assassination or military might.
In fact, these observers predict a fourth coup:
"The next cour, will solve nothing. Anyone can
seize power, but no one has enough support to
stay in."
Gen. Khanh himself . is concerned enough to
sleep in .a different house each night, to admit to
foreign correspondents that his wife is worried, and
to house her and their four children 350 miles
from Saigon.
On the other hand, the American community
almost unanimously expresses the belief that the
spunky general will outride this initial period of
tottering. "He is very energetic, very cunning, in
fact-he's very everything," they say,
"He's dirty-tricked enough people enough not
to let others do it to him," one American explained.
Yet this American viewpoint is partly based on
wna'tt .t~ Americans want to believe. Since the
visit 1of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara
a month ago, the U. S. has clearly pinned all hopes
of prosecuting the war on the 36-year-old Gen.
Khanh. American officials admit that if he is
toppled, the anti-Communist war effort will hopelessly deteriorate.
The American intelligence apparatus in South
Viet Nam is helping Gen. Khanh build an anticoup machine.
Saigon politics is so incredible that one Western diplomat lamented, "We may be able to save
the Vietnamese from the Viet Cong, but can we
save them from themselves?" The political scene
is one of habitual intrigue, plots and subplots,
betrayal and counter-betrayal. Unity shown in
press conferences is a mirage. Politics ls not infrequently manipulated by the predictions of
horoscopes and fortune tellers.
Besides Khanh, Inc., there are three significant
power groups operating in Saigon:
fIThe Dai Viet (Greater Viet Nam) party is the
anti-Communist, largely Roman Catholic group
deemed most likely to toss a coup. Among its ranks
are key troop-controlling generals, including the
chief of the Joint General Staff, who not only:
commands a,11 troops in the country but also has
Personal responsibility for the crack 7th Dlvis1on
directly south of Saigon. The divisdon commander,
also a Dai Viet, controls enough troops, lf properly
mobilized and moved, to topple units loyal to Gen.
Khanh in Saigon.
Yet the party itself reflects the main divisive
force in the country: regionalism. The French
' spUntered Viet Nam into three regions-the northern; the central, which was the residence for the
old imperial court, and the southell'n, including the
Mekong Delta. primary target of the Viet Cong
guerrillas. The southern populace, because of a
hotter climate, richer lands and easier life, is
regarded by people of the other regions as the
' poor white trash of Viet Nam.
The northern branch of the party, made up of
refugees who are highly educated and energ,etic,
is significantly represented in the government by
Foreign Minister Phan Huy Quat who ·a ttended
last week's SEATO conference. He is a 43-year-old
former Harvard professor who would .be an important candidate should Gen. Khanh relinquish his
position as Premier.
The central wing has the most rice-roots support,
but the least power in Saigon.
The southern wing is divided within itself. One
faction is headed by Nguyen Ton Hoan, Gen.
Khanh's vice-premier in charge of n.iy:ification and
the most significant civilian leading the war effort.
Dr. Hoan, a Catholic who returned from nine years
of exile in Paris, has been one of Gen. Khanh's
supporters, but is also rumored as a possible next
premier. The second section of the ~uthern wing
ls anti-Khanh.
CIThe second power faction is a · grout) of
generals from the central region, headed by Gen.
Do Mau, a lean, stoop-shouldered man in late
40s who has been a principal engineer in the two
previous coups. He wears Carmine De Sapio-type
sunglasses and is proud of his peasant birth. He is
one of the most successful intriguers in Viet Nam.
A kingmaker rather tha:Q. a king and unofficial
overseer of the Vietnamese intelligence network,
he will decide in one way or another whether Gen.
Khanh stays in power. Some of the generals are
considered to· be Working for the U. S. Central.
Intelligence Agency, but their loyalties may shift.
tIThe third group 1s made up of young officers
around Gen. Duong Van Minh, the gold-toothed
nominal Chief of State who comman~s more genui e
popularity and prestige from the population
lower-ranking officers than anyone else. Vietp
observers predict that if the Dai Viet succee
the next coup, and then :flounders, the fourth
would boost Gen Minh to power again.
But in the final analysis, superstition ma
out. Gen. Khanh's opponents in the war of S
call him "Thang Rau De"-the one with the b
They imply that he's attempting to hide a rece,
chin-which means a short life. Others call
"Thang Mat Loi"-the one with the bulging eyes,
symbol of trustworthiness.
·
However, a bearded elder in An Binh {Village
of Peace), who daily witnesses the ant.d-Communist
war, said Gen. Khanh has "Buddha ears-big ears
like Buddha, so he can do something outstandingand his eyes are round, which is ~ good oip: n.".
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