ABSTRACT
The new administration of John F. Kennedy came into office just as the rising level of violence in South Vietnam was beginning to attract the attention of worried policymakers in Washington. By mid-1960, with the rapid escalation of violence in the countryside, such illusions could no longer be held, and Vietnam was among the major problems that President Eisenhower bequeathed to his successor. The conference resolution noted that increased United States involvement raised the danger that the conflict in the South could evolve into a "total war," as had been the case during the War of Resistance against the French. In the history of the Diem regime, that event was the harassment of the Buddhist demonstrators by Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces in Hué in May 1963. Adding to the security problems caused by Viet Cong activities was the growing political crisis in Saigon.
