;. It was not until 1963, when Buddhist monks began lighting themselves on fire in protest of the Diem's government atrocities, that our support began to wane. The Diem government's callous response to these protests was well capsulated in his sister-in-law's infamous words:
             "...What have the Buddhist leaders done... the only thing they have done; they have barbequed one of their monks.
             If the Buddhists wish to have another barbeque I will be glad to supply the gasoline and a match.
             Let them burn and we shall clap our hands."
             ¬----- Madame Nhu
             Even in the face of this undeniable disregard for human life or any type of civil liberty, our government did not deny support.
             "We are prepared to continue to assist them (the South Vietnamese government), but I don't think the war can be won unless the people support the effort, and in my opinion, in the last two months the government has gotten out of touch with the people."
             ----- President Kennedy
             Their can be little doubt that it was the flaming protests broadcast on the nightly news across the United States and the public outrage they let loose around our country, not the conditions in Vietnam. I say this because the president mentioned the "last two months" when the protests began rather than the previous eight years of despotic rule. Even then we took no action, but allowed a coup of Vietnamese generals to take power, after they promised to continue the war against communism. Three weeks later Kennedy was assassinated.
             The problem of finding a supportable government got even worse. The generals who ousted the Diem regime stayed in power for only three months. The South Vietnamese government changed hands eight times in the next two years. William Bundy from the U.S. ...