1945-1963, Vietnam

By Mark Zapezauer

Long before the U.S. military got involved there directly, Vietnam was the CIA's war.  At first, they waged it for the French, who struggled from 1945 to 1954, to recapture their one-time colony.  Even with CIA mercenaries fighting with the French and air support from the CIA's Air America, the effort was in vain.

      The 1954 Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam in preparation for elections in 1956 .  But, the U.S.Q wasn't interested in elections.  CIA 'psywar' expert Edward Lansdale spread rumors in the north that the U.S. planned to nuke the area.  This, and similar tactics, created an exodus of over a million refugees, who were moved south in CIA ships and planes. 

      The CIA wrote a constitution for "South Vietnam" and installed Ngo Dinh Diem to crush anyone who had opposed the French. 

      The U.S. supported Diem on the belief he would never negotiate with Ho Chi Minh.  After nine more years of warfare, Diem found negotiations desirable.  So, in 1963, he was deposed in a CIA-sponsored coup and  then assassinated.

Source: From "Vietnam 1945-1963," The CIA's Greatest Hits, 1994. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/Vietnam4563_CIAHits.html