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Wikipedia said:
After supporting the coup of President Diem, Lodge then realized that the situation in the region deteriorated, and he suggested to the State Department that South Vietnam be made to relinquish its independence, and it be made a protectorate of the United States (like the former status of the Philippines) so as to bring governmental stability. The alternatives, he warned, were either increased military involvement by the U.S., or else total abandonment of South Vietnam by America.

I'm not an expert on the Vietnam War, but this seems like an idea which would backfire rather easily. Is there any way for America to try to create a Vietnamese protectorate, and if so, how would it affect the prosecution of the war effort?
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