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 …showed first 75 words of 3559 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3559 total…able to ameliorate this problem. In fact, it appears as though the Kennedy Administration allowed this lack of a firm plan to seep from the military arena into the realm of its policy towards the Diem regime, and thus in its impending ambiguity and indecision the Kennedy Administration left the door open for the coup on November 2, 1963; a coup which ultimately led to Diem's overthrow and a deeper American commitment to the Vietnam War.