Diverting The Buddha
by Bob Swartzel

Diverting the Buddha was interesting to me because it was set in Hue, where I did my first tour in the U.S.M.C. It takes place in 1965, which was a year before I arrived, and it tells of a different city. In 1965, students thought they could openly protest and criticize the military and the government with little risk to their lives

It tells, through university students, of the rise and fall of the Buddhist Democracy Movement. They are hopeful because some of the military including Lieutenant Thuc backed their call for real elections. Their hopes don't fit U.S. policy, which fears that a neutralist may get elected and negotiate an end to the war.

U.S. intelligence, with the help of U.S.-backed military in South Vietnam, violently crush the Buddhist Democracy Movement.

They also cover up some deaths of U.S. servicemen, who knew too much, and place the blame on the "Viet Cong."

The book mentions how Viet Cong was a U.S. term for what the Vietnamese still called the Viet Minh.

A chapter that describes a Texas-style barbecue, with U.S. military and intelligence, reminded me of an officer that I had, who wanted nothing to do with "the natives."

Elections are held later-with hand picked candidates who will continue the war.

When I arrived in Hue in 1966, the U.S. intelligence and military were pretty sure that they had pacified the city till Tet in 1968.

I would recommend it to those with an interest in Buddhism or how the U.S. influenced culture in Vietnam. It does deal with mostly elite people, but they were the ones who were involved in crushing the Buddhist-led movement for Democracy.