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Period: to
Vietnam War
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U.S. Ambassador
U.S. Ambassador Elbridge Durbrow and the heads of other U.S. government agencies in South Vietnam gave a negative assessment of the Diem government to Washington. They stated that discontent with the Diem government in rural areas was growing and a growing problem with internal security was anticipated. -
Bad Reports
Troubled by reports of oppression in South Vietnam, Socialist Norman Thomas resigned from the American Friends of Vietnam, a prominent lobbying group which supported the Diem government. -
South Army Truck
A South Vietnamese army truck was ambushed by insurgents and all occupants were killed. This was one of several attacks in February on government and military personnel in the Mekong Delta region of southernmost South Vietnam. -
Insurgents Attack
Three hundred Bình Xuyên insurgents attacked the Minh Thanh Rubber Plantation north of Saigon. -
Sent Messages
As part of their efforts to advance the Unification referendum North Vietnam sent messages to the Government of South Vietnam. These letters proposed loosening of economic restrictions between the two countries and preparations for a "free general elections by secret ballot,". The messages were either rebuffed or ignored by the South Vietnamese government. -
Party Starter.
Prime Minister of North Vietnam, stated at a communist party meeting that the North should pursue reunification of North and South Vietnam by using peaceful means. -
Big Armed Men
The CIA estimated that the Viet Cong numbered 1,700 armed men -
Us Against Them
To defend themselves against the offensives of the South Vietnamese army the Viet Cong, contrary to the wishes of North Vietnam, began to organize themselves into military units. -
Meeting Up
Communist party leaders met with representatives of the highland Montagnard people in Quang Ngai province of South Vietnam to plan an uprising against the Diem government -
No Control
The U.S. Embassy in Saigon reported to Washington that "in many remote areas the central government of South Vietnam has no effective control." -
Raiding the Plantation
An insurgent force of 400 men raided the Michelin Rubber Plantation north of Saigon -
Opposing the South Vietnamese
General Williams, the head of MAAG, opposed the use of the South Vietnamese army to respond to the growing number of Viet Cong attacks. -
A New Strategy
Chinese leader Mao Zedong introduced his "noose strategy" in a speech to Supreme State Council of China. -
The Published Novel
The Ugly American, an anti-communist novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, was published and serialized in The Saturday Evening Post. -
Repressing the Communists
The Diem government of South Vietnam, by the end of 1958, had killed 12,000 persons and arrested 40,000 in its campaign to repress the communists and other opposition in South Vietnam.
