139. Memorandum for the Record1
SUMMARY OF REMARKS OF GENERAL LAWTON COLLINS
General Collins reviewed the situation in south Viet Nam. He said that after months of attempting to work with Ngo Dinh Diem he had reached the conclusion that the Premier did not have the executive ability to handle “strong-willed men”, that he concerns himself with minor matter[s] and has not originated a single constructive [Page 293] idea since he came to power. Able men in the cabinet had been alienated by Diem’s habit of going over their heads, according to General Collins, and he paid little attention to their views, preferring instead to rely on two brothers and a number of “yes men”[.]
There was no question according to Collins of Diem’s honesty, anti-communism and anti-colonialism, but he is so completely uncompromising, acetic [ascetic] and monastic that he cannot deal with realities like the Binh Xuyen and the Cao Dai. Diem has incurred the undying enmity of Bay Vien for the manner in which he closed the gambling houses in Saigon.
Between Ely and himself, General Collins believes there is a chance to rescue the situation. It requires an able Premier, not in any way identified with the French, and absolute pledges from the French that they will go along positively with independence. They have not always done that in the past. This added to Diem’s many other problems but according to General Collins has not been the decisive difficulty. Collins believes there are able modern-minded men like Quat who could sit around the table and talk with any of us, talk our language, or Tran Van Do who could handle the job of premier.
The General expressed the belief that Bao Dai should neither be brought back to Saigon at this time or eliminated from the picture entirely. He stretched his background and indicated that he was the thread of legitimacy. In the General’s view, a political solution in the area called for a constitutional monarch.
Collins thought there was not the slightest possibility of an invasion by the Viet Minh at this time. According to reports, they are having serious difficulties in the north due to a poor rice crop which has brought a threat of large-scale famine, and because the people have had an opportunity to see how they operate. They have levied a confiscatory tax which has fallen heavily on the Indian merchants in the north with the result that prices are rising rapidly. Sainteny has not been able to get a single contract from the Viet Minh.
The Chinese are aiding the Viet Minh. Technicians are now manning the Hanoi airport and they have restored one railroad to the Chinese border.
- Source: University of Montana Library, Mansfield Papers, Series XXII, Box 107, Vietnam. The source text bears no indication of authorship or occasion.↩