Newly released White House tapes from the Vietnam War era portray President Kennedy wrestling over the fate of South Vietnam's strongman.  Audiotapes and transcripts of four days of White House meetings released this week by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston reflect uncertainty over what steps to take to try to bolster Saigon's government, riddled with corruption and out of touch with its citizens.

Diem, the South Vietnamese president, and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, were killed in the coup. The assassinations were not discussed in the White House meetings, Kennedy Library Archivist Maura Porter said Tuesday.