Detailed examination and analysis of the Pentagon Papers elucidates the flaws inherent in the Kennedy Administration's policy towards the Diem regime in the summer and fall of 1963, which led to Diem's overthrow and a deeper American commitment to the Vietnam War. As the argument presented in this paper will heretofore demonstrate, the basis for a critique of the Kennedy Administration's policy towards the Diem regime lies in the capriciousness of its decision to lend covert support to a military coup without sufficient evidence that such a move was ultimately in the best interest of Amer…
