ep rwerenemene gies tt onde eats t mine nme ‘Vietnamese generals’ coup of 1 November 1963 is, drawn from ‘ “documentary sources, Not all of the documents summarized or - a _TOP SECRET classification. semE-EVES ay a 3 Yay 1961- This account of CIA and U.S. Goverment involverent in tke quoted bear directly on the coup itself. . We included some that may seen irrelevant, because they illuminate the atmosphere in which U.S. Government policy.decisions were reached. We interviewed only three people in the. course of this inquiry: William Colby, Chief of FE Division at the time (and now); John Richardson, Chief of Station during the coup plotting of ‘August 1963; and David Smith, Acting Chief of Station at the time of the coup/assassination of November 1963. Each astcured us that he knew of no CIA assassination schemes against Diem--cther than * the role played by CIA in maintaining contacts, by direction, with the Vietnamese generals. . « . : Many of the documents upon which this report is based are classified TOP SECRET. Since the report is being delivered personally end in only one copy, we have chosen not to subject ; it to the external accountability controls that are entailed in aay -On the following ‘page is a list of U. Ss. Government officials whose ranes are mentioned in the report, together with the positions they held at the time. SECRETE i ES cay
wegen caer eto A A 3 3 + , 1 t So ob BuCone * ~ John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson McGeorge Bundy | Dean Rusk - George W.-Eall W. Averell Harriman : Roger Hilrman "Joseph A. Mendenhall Frederick E. Rol ting Henry Catot Lodge William C. Truehart Robert McNamara Rosvell Gilpatric H po Gen . Maxwell Taylor fo Gen. Victor Krulak Adm. Harry D. Feit Gen. Paul D. Harkins Gen. Richard G. Weede Gen. Marshall Carter “Richard Helms Sms |. John Richardson *. David R. Smith William Cony .. sithel Secretary of State © ©. ; ’ Chief of Staff, MACY GA Acting COS after 5 October 1963 = . - Chief, FE Division _ SEREI-Ei “tits 03 Wy The President — Vice President ‘Special Assistant: to the President for. National Security Affairs Under Secretary of State aa Under Secretary of State fer Political a Affairs ; . st “| Assistant secretary of State for Far i : Eastern Affairs : Coe UN Adviser, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs Sy Ambassador (left Saigon 16 August.2963) | ‘Ambasssfor (arr. Saigon 23 August 1963) <<, Secretary of Defense v Deputy Secretary of Defense Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Counterinsurgency Specialist, JCS CINCPAC ,2>- “Director or Central’ Intelligence ’ Deputy Director for Plans te CIA Chief of Station until 5 October 1963 : . ~ a - = ibe. gti yo
fhe successful coup ‘against . the: Diem regime ans South Vietnam, o - which resulted in the deaths of Rgo- Dinh - Diem and hi's brother, Nhu, began on 1 Kovenber 1963 at 1315 hours, Saigon time (0015 hours, ‘Washington time). 90 “mis report on CIA and us: “oem involvement in the coup consists of a chronological listing of events, actions, and @eliberations having to do with Vietnam. The report is drawn entirely fron documentary sources, either by quoting selectively or by summarizing. Significant overt happenings having bearing on official actions are included in the chronology. Facts on File, a weeldy digest of wor?d news, was used as the source for there 7 | C: : ‘historical events. Also included are @ few excerpts from Marguerite | . Higgins’ book Our Vietnam Nightmare* to demonstrate the extent to- — which some once-classi fied information is now common knowledge. All dates are in 1963. oo cae oo, . ce 8 May Riots erupted in Hue. ; Oduye | ee a a oe SNIE 53-2-63: "The Sitvation in South Vietnam" , a | . “If-eas is likely--Diem fails. to carry out truly and promptly z, MMangueri te Higgins, Our Vietnam N ightma re (New York: ‘Harper & Row, 1965) ; els" “sane oy