Strategic Hamlet Program
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The Strategic Hamlet Program was implemented in 1962 by the government of South Vietnam, with advice and financing from the United States, during the Vietnam War to combat the communist insurgency. Th
A strategic hamlet in South Vietnam, c. 1964
Before dawn on January 30, 1964, General Nguyễn Khánh ousted the military junta led by General Dương Văn Minh from the leadership of South Vietnam without firing a shot. It came less than three months
Thi (left) and Thiệu (right) during the 1960s. Both were prominent in supporting Khánh's coup.
At the time Charles de Gaulle wanted to recognize communist China and make South Vietnam neutral. The plotters accused the ruling junta of being part of de Gaulle's plot.
Khánh had told CIA officer Lucien Conein (pictured) that he planned to seize power, but senior US officials in Washington ignored Conein's report.