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This article examines the Kennedy administration’s rejection of French President Charles de Gaulle’s critique of American intervention in Vietnam. In discussions with their American counterparts, de Gaulle and his officials consistently touched on four major themes from his first meeting with Kennedy in May 1961 until Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963: recognition of the principle of Vietnamese self-determination, the withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam, acceptance of controlled neutrality for Southeast Asia, and the necessity of dealing with mainland China directly. Kennedy rejected all elements of this platform. He was highly sceptical of neutrality, which he viewed as a …