Madame Nhu - Quotes

Quotes

• "Whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies." (following the assassination of her husband and her brother-in-law)

« Whoever has the Americans as ally does not need an enemy. I did not believe them. But if the news is true, if really my family has been treacherously killed with either official or unofficial blessings of the American government, I can predict to you all that the story in Vietnam is only at its beginning. »

• "If one has no courage to denounce, if one bows to madness and stupidity, how can one ever hope to cope with the other wrongs of humanity exploited in the same fashion by Communists?" (referring to the practice of self-immolation of Buddhist monks)

• "I may shock some by saying "I would beat such provocateurs ten times more if they wore monks' robes," and "I would clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show, for one can not be responsible for the madness of others."" (referring to the practice of self-immolation of Buddhist monks)

« Explaining her macabre comment about "these Buddhist barbecues" after the suicides by fire began, she said that her daughter had overheard a U.S. soldier use the phrase at a Saigon hot-dog stand. "It sounded like a perfectly harmless Americanism," said Mme. Nhu.» Time Magazine Oct.18,1963 "In the Lions' Cage" P.2 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873743,00.html

She said that the media, including The New York Times, were under a "mad spell" cast by the Buddhists and needed electroshock therapy to rehabilitate them.