U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles denounces a Ho request to set up the elections. Instead, the U.S. helps arrange a State of Viet Nam national referendum between Ngo Dinh Diệm, and Emperor Bao Dai. Diệm ‘wins’ 98.2 percent of the vote.
January 1955 The U.S. State Dept cables to the U.S. Embassy for a “full political defense pacification program.” But still, no one is fighting back.
February 1, 1955 A telegram to Secretary of State Dulles says: “. . . Vietnamese Army which in conflicts with civilian population Free Vietnam has admittedly killed large numbers.”
February 12, 1955 Training Relations and Instruction Mission (TRIM) – a special section within MAAG — assumes responsibility for training Vietnamese forces
Early 1955 Viet Nam (DRVN) officials tell the French they had “signed the Geneva agreements, and it is up to you to see that they are respected.” The U.S. pressures France to violate its duties to administer, prevent foreign alliances, and prohibit entry of soldiers and weapons. By that pressure, the U.S. plays a leading role in breaking the Geneva Accords.
February 22, 1955 Representatives of the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Dan Xa, Lien Minh and Binh Xuyen confessional forces (religious sects) meet at Tây Ninh and agree to form a “United Front” against Prime Minister Diệm. Over the next few months, the Diệm regime begins to consolidate its position and is able to defeat this “United Front.” But those sects are much smaller than the DRVN, which has just defeated France.Joseph Buttinger reports that force was first used by the U.S.-Diem side. The State Dept admits later that after the 1954 Geneva Conference, the communist side concentrated on political activity.
March 2, 1955 In Cambodia Prince Norodom Sihanouk abdicates his throne as King in favor of his parents. This opens the way for his entry into politics as the national leader of a socialist political party, the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People’s Socialist Community). For Sihanouk and many political activists in Cambodia this represents a centrist path between the political right of the Democratic Party and Communist controlled Pracheachon to the left. A few months later, he takes the post of Prime Minister, after having obtained an overwhelming victory in the parliamentary elections on September 1955.
April 16 and 27, 1955 U.S. Secretary of State Dulles cables to the U.S. Embassy, starting to remove Diem from power. Though soon rescinded, that decision shows that Diem was subject to U.S. control. During that period, Dulles denounces a Ho request to set up the elections. On August 6, 1955, Diem announces, as a U.S. proxy, that the elections are canceled.
April 28, 1955 Edward Lansdale, head of the Sài Gòn Military Mission, sends a telegram to Washington arguing that the Diệm government represents a better chance for success than any other it will be possible to form in South Vietnam.
Mid-May 1955 U.S. advisors are already training a proxy army to oppose Ho Chi Minh’s forces. A February 1, 1955 telegram to Secretary Dulles says: “. . . Vietnamese Army which in conflicts with civilian population Free Vietnam has admittedly killed large numbers.” As a smokescreen, the Sai Gon puppet regime submits a formal request for this assistance, i.e., after the fact.
May 20, 1955 The last French soldiers depart from the Sai Gon area to the coast. This violates France’s duty to administer and to prevent foreign (U.S.) military alliances. The U.S., by pressuring France to withdraw, plays a leading role in the breaking of the 1954 Geneva Accords.
July 6, 1955 Ngô Đình Diệm repudiates the Geneva Agreements and refuses to plan for nationwide elections.
October 26, 1955 U.S. leaders advise Diem, as he creates a new entity they call “South Vietnam” (Republic of Vietnam). But France still has soldiers in Viet Nam and has a duty to administer, so the U.S. presence and alliance with Diem is illegal. Diem’s presence by U.S. military power is illegal
