Instead of allowing the plebiscite, we installed Diem as head of the new "anti-Communist" country we created out of thin air and the rest, as they say, was history.
Diem was also more interested in preserving his own power than fighting Communists. That meant preserving the army as much as possible and staffing it with cronies that would keep him in power. Any commander who lost too many men was sacked, so his officers played it safe and did as little fighting as possible.
no , I am sorry but you are conflating and innocently mis- characterizing .
example- the strategic hamlet program for instance was on its way to to a huge measure of success. But in fits and starts...why?
Because In order for it to be a success Deim had to be IN power.
So when he was threatened he had to pull troops in from the country side or keep elite units close to Saigon, ANY and every commander there after did same, the how many, 9 governments that came after Deim and before the fall in 75 all did the same, when we recognized Deim a lot of that went away, which was a good thing. BUT we did not and could not sit on it all.
You should ask the residents forcibly removed from their villages and ancestral land whether or not the strategic hamlet program was a huge success. Or, ask the residents of Duc Duc.