Speech #880116679

At the time there were very few who thought that South Vietnam had much chance of survival. It was beset by many problems. There were the armies of the rival religious sects. the economy was in complete ruin. and a flood of almost 800.000 destitute refugees had descended from the north. But South Vietnam was able to survive. and. in many ways. its recovery was miraculous. South Vietnam. led by its President. Ngo Dinh Diem. effectively integrated the vast influx of refugees into its society. the armies of the rival religious groups were overpowered. major agrarian and educational reform plans were carried out. food production was increased impressively. and in general South Vietnam was making progress at a rate that would have been respectable even for a country enjoying peace. It was probably this very progress that brought on a sudden intensification of the guerrilla war directed from North Vietnam. In 1960 this campaign to reduce South Vietnam to ruin was openly announced from Hanoi.