Background To The Vietnam War - The Partition of Vietnam and The Diem Government

The Partition of Vietnam and The Diem Government

According to the ensuing Geneva Conference, Vietnam was partitioned, ostensibly temporarily, into a Northern and a Southern zone of Viet-Nam. The former was to be ruled by Ho Chi Minh, while the latter would be under the control of former Emperor Bao Dai. In 1955, the South Vietnamese monarchy was abolished and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem became President of a new South Vietnamese republic.

The Geneva Conference specified that elections to unify the country would be scheduled to take place in July 1956, but such elections were never held. In the context of the Cold War, the United States under President Eisenhower had begun to view Southeast Asia as a potential key battleground in the greater Cold War, and American policymakers thought democratic elections in Vietnam would result in an 80% vote for Ho Chi Minh and therefore blocked elections in the south of the country. With the failure to hold elections conflict resumed between the forces of Ho Chi Minh and the US backed government of Ngo Dinh Diem.

Ngo Dinh Diem was an anti-Communist exile previously residing in New Jersey. Over French objections, the United States installed Diem because he was regarded as a staunch nationalist who could more adequately oversee the construction of a pro-Western South Vietnam than Emperor Bao Dai who was seen as weak and a remnant of the French colonial authority. This decision was based largely upon Diem's anti-communist and pro-western stances, not his wisdom or experience as a ruler.

Diem's early regime was troubled by powerful religious sects. The Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious sects were among the most potent political factions in Vietnam in the wake of the partition. They effectively controlled huge rural areas and maintained their own private armies. In addition, the Binh Xuyen, something of a mafia organization, also wielded immense influence and military strength. Their challenge to Diem's fledgling government cast serious doubt on the likelihood of success of the American efforts in Vietnam, and many began to expect an ultimate US withdrawal. Although it initially appeared that Diem would be unable to resist the pressures of these organizations, his startlingly successful campaigns against them in 1955 prompted a deeper American commitment.

Dulles, on the premise that a communist leadership would win any free election with a universal suffrage would under no circumstances allow free elections, argueing that it was in US interests to allow Diem to hold a referendum ahead of the elections mandated by the Geneva Conference. Given the solvency of the Diem government shown by its victory over the sects, Diem won public support in the 1955 referendum.

In the late 1950s, the United States provided support to South Vietnam. But at the same time, North Vietnam began to activate former Viet Minh groups that had remained in the south in violation of the Geneva accords. At the highest levels in North Vietnam, it had been decided to overthrow the government in the south by force as there was no possibility of regaining power through the ballot box.

In the end, neither the US nor the two Vietnams signed the election clause in the accord. Initially, it appeared as if a partitioned Vietnam would become the norm, similar in nature to the partitioned Korea created years earlier.