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Undisclosed Terms. In October 1950 Diem went into exile. He visited Japan, Europe and the U.S., where he called on Cardinal Spellman, lived for a while at the Maryknoll seminary in Lakewood, N.J., and turned down four offers of the prime ministry from Viet Nam. In May 1953 Diem entered a Benedictine monastery in Belgium, where he was considered an oblate, or lay member. He left four months ago. Last week, sensing that the French were in eclipse, Diem decided at last to accept the prime ministry.
What were Latecomer Diem's chances of saving his country? Said a French official in Paris: "He'll soon be crying to us to save him." Said a Vietnamese priest in the U.S.: "He's the most likely man to bring our nation together." There were many who remembered the warning of Red General Giap: "There are only two real leaders in Viet Nam. One is Ho Chi Minh. The second is Ngo Dinh Diem. There is no room in the country for both."