Eventually, the administration determined that Diem was unwilling to further modify his policies and the decision was made to remove U.S. support from the regime. This choice was made jointly by the State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council, and the CIA. President Kennedy agreed with the consensus.
Wikipedia

Note: Is it at this point actors for the military industrial complex decided that this “consensus” did not meet with their objectives?




So we are here now...
















This is a Google map of the causalities to date from Iraq.