Memorandum for the Record from Dillon Anderson: South Vietnam - General Joe Collins' Comments

UNCLASSIFIED TOP SECRET COPY / of 3 copies ITEM #5 GODE MATERIAL - DIDER April 22, 1955 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD Subject: South Vietnam - General Joe Collins' Comments At a luncheon meeting today at the White House, General Collins made a report to the President on the current state of affairs in South Vietnam, in the presence of the following, who attended in addition to the President: Under Secretary of State Herbert Hoover, Jr. ; Under Secretary of Defense Robert Anderson; and Dillon Anderson. General Collins said that the state of affairs in Saigon had reached the point where, in his opinion, the continuation of the present government under Diem was no longer supportable; that Diem had lost his Cabinet Ministers one by one and would lose two others as soon as the cur- rent phases of their activities were brought to a conclusion; that he had filled these vacancies by appointing himself to the places formerly occupied by the Cabinet Ministers, so that he was now his own Minister of Defense, and I believe Minister likewise of what corresponds to our Interior Depart- ment. At any rate - to give an example of his lack of administrative capability - he is presently signing personally all visas, for entry into and exit from the country; that he is completely intractable, unwilling to accept suggestions, and using such poor judgment, as General Collins sees it, in his efforts to maintain his government, that his government will inevitably fall. General Collins mentioned the fact that Diem's two brothers were installed in the palace and were hovering over the leader, pulling and tugging all the time. General Collins went on to describe a number of instances wherein Diem had been persuaded at only the last minute not to do some utterly foolish thing, particularly in reference to Collins' and Ely's recommen- dations to him as to how to handle or deal with the Binh Xuyen Sect, and this Sect's control of the National Security Police and certain instal- lations in Saigon. He cited as an example the Diem plan at one time to attack the heavily armed police headquarters in the heart of Saigon at 1:30 in the afternoon with machine guns and guards, - when the streets were full of pedestrians and vehicles, and also when a school nearby was letting out for the day. Many other instances were cited by General Collins, but the net of it is that he feels now that this fellow is impossible, and the French share this view, as well. He sees no future for the government so long as it remains on the course that it is, under the leadership of Diem. The President asked General Collins if he ascribed the deterior- ation in the stability of the Diem regime to the French undermining, and he said, to my surprise, no, he did not altogether. Collins went ahead to DECLASSIFIED ;OPY FOR MR. ANDERSON E.O. 12356, SEC. 3.4(b) UNCHASSIFIED MR 93-533#) BY Lis DATE 6/14/95