Why did the Vietnamese monk set himself on fire what was the need for that drastic action?

The monk was protesting against the governmental anti-Buddhist policies of Ngo Dinh Diem.

It was a protest against the leadership of South Vietnam by Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem was a Roman Catholic. Most of the population of South Vietnam were Buddhists. The Buddhists felt like the Catholic leadership was discriminating against them. There is some evidence the North Vietnamese encouraged the South Vietnamese Buddhists to protest in order to destabilize the government of South Vietnam against whom they were waging a clandestine war at the time.

i dont think anyone really knows why, i would think that would be really painful and dont understand why someone would do that

"End the War"...in South East Asia.

The U.S. wanted to use it to empty the ghetto's in the U.S*., it did not work. All it did was create more doped up white trash and ghetto killers trained by the military.

*And save the Asians from Communism, so the French Colonists could keep the land.

To bring attention of the corruption of the South Vietnam government leadership; especially to those who are Buddhists.

Self-immolation is a big thing in some forms of Buddhism.