Because of a complex set of individual motives, both domestic and international, each of the participants had a serious interest in arriving at some workable settlement. " (Hopkins, pg. 27) There was a temporary division on the 17th parallel in Vietnam. This in a sense would be a compromise, the North Vietnamese would be controlled by the Vietminh and the South Vietnamese would be controlled under the ruling of emperor Bao Dai. Also, there was supposed to be an election held in two years to decide what the permanent government would be. .
Although a decision had been made, the United States did not agree and felt that a Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was needed to protect Indochina from the communist aggression. .
"A final battle was over the provisions of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) agreement. Proponents of American involvement placed considerable weight on the obligation to intervene under the terms of that collective security pact; but critics countered, first, that such action required unanimity among the eight nations involved; second, that even if warranted, military action could not be taken in violation of the U. N. Charter, which required previous Security Council authorization,; and third, that in any case, the United States was not legally bound to respond with force. " critics alleged, the American government was acting illegally not only with respect to the Geneva Accords and the U. N. Charter, but also under the terms of the SEATO Treaty itself, the instrument under which it was pretending to be behaving lawfully. " (Hopkins, pg. 49).
Although there were good intentions from the Americans, it was not the right or legal decision to get involved especially before elections in two years. The United States supported the new leader Ngo Dinh Diem when he took power over South Vietnam. The National Liberation Front, also known as Vietcong, was a guerilla group who supported the communist North Vietnamese and opposed to the Diem rule.