Read No More Vietnams for Free Online Page B
Authors: Richard Nixon
They supplied Ho with American weapons, which came in handy when he seized power inHanoi shortly after the war. They also bombarded Washington with memoranda urging that the United States back the Viet Minh.
On September 2, 1945, when Ho delivered the speech proclaiming the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, his newfound American friends loyally stood by his side and even saluted the Communist flag. In his remarks, Ho quoted from the Declaration of Independence: âWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.â But Hoâs actions spoke louder than his words. Three days later, his government outlawed Vietnamâs largest nationalist political parties. Nevertheless, one O.S.S. officer later remembered Ho as âan awfully sweet guy.â
Some believe Ho really wanted to be on our side. But the truth is that Ho wanted it to appear that we were on his side. Our association with him had a decisive impact on events. For the Vietnamese people, who trusted and believed in the United States, our officialsâ presence at Hoâs speech conferred a degree of legitimacy and prominence that no other figure possessed. He proceeded to play this to the hilt. Emperor Bao Dai, who headed the French puppet government in the South, abdicated within days, later saying that he did so because he had heard the United States had thrown its support behind Ho. No other group could soon overcome the political momentum Ho gained by flim-flamming those pathetically gullible O.S.S. officers.
The postwar occupation forces of Britain, the United States, and China soon left Vietnam, and France returned. While nationalist groups refused to cooperate with the French, the Communist Viet Minh chose to collaborate. Ho signed the so-called March 6 agreement that brought the French army back into northern Vietnam. His greetings were effusive: âI love France and French soldiers. You are welcome. You are all heroes.â Some say Ho compromised with the French to force the Nationalist Chinese to withdraw. But one week earlier, China had pledged to remove its army in a separate agreement withFrance. As to the real motivation of the Communists, Hoâs right-hand man, Le Duan, later said it was to âwipe out the reactionaries.â For the Viet Minh, this included all nationalists.
Ho and the French together massacred hundreds of leaders and thousands of rank-and-file members of nationalist groups. The French gave the Viet Minh military equipment, troops, and even artillery support to carry this out. In July 1946, Hoâs forces stormed the headquarters of all the remaining nationalist groups while French armored personnel carriers cordoned off surrounding areas. Most of the few remaining opposition leaders were arrested and later killed. When the French turned on the Viet Minh in November 1946, it was no accident that Ho became the leader of the only significant resistance. He had killed almost all the others.
The idea that Ho Chi Minh was primarily a Vietnamese nationalist has no basis in fact. Instead of cooperating with nationalists to win independence, he spent his entire career eliminating all independent nationalists, even if this meant openly collaborating with colonial France. Though he used the rhetoric of nationalism, Ho was first and foremost a Communist totalitarian. He used nationalism to serve communism rather than the other way around.
Hoâs reputation in the West as a popular humanitarian is equally unfounded. When he took over half of the country under the Geneva Declaration, the Vietnamese people were given sixty days to resettle on either side of the line dividing North and South Vietnam. One million northerners out of a total population of 13 million moved south, while only 90,000 southerners went north. The number of refugees
On September 2, 1945, when Ho delivered the speech proclaiming the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, his newfound American friends loyally stood by his side and even saluted the Communist flag. In his remarks, Ho quoted from the Declaration of Independence: âWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.â But Hoâs actions spoke louder than his words. Three days later, his government outlawed Vietnamâs largest nationalist political parties. Nevertheless, one O.S.S. officer later remembered Ho as âan awfully sweet guy.â
Some believe Ho really wanted to be on our side. But the truth is that Ho wanted it to appear that we were on his side. Our association with him had a decisive impact on events. For the Vietnamese people, who trusted and believed in the United States, our officialsâ presence at Hoâs speech conferred a degree of legitimacy and prominence that no other figure possessed. He proceeded to play this to the hilt. Emperor Bao Dai, who headed the French puppet government in the South, abdicated within days, later saying that he did so because he had heard the United States had thrown its support behind Ho. No other group could soon overcome the political momentum Ho gained by flim-flamming those pathetically gullible O.S.S. officers.
The postwar occupation forces of Britain, the United States, and China soon left Vietnam, and France returned. While nationalist groups refused to cooperate with the French, the Communist Viet Minh chose to collaborate. Ho signed the so-called March 6 agreement that brought the French army back into northern Vietnam. His greetings were effusive: âI love France and French soldiers. You are welcome. You are all heroes.â Some say Ho compromised with the French to force the Nationalist Chinese to withdraw. But one week earlier, China had pledged to remove its army in a separate agreement withFrance. As to the real motivation of the Communists, Hoâs right-hand man, Le Duan, later said it was to âwipe out the reactionaries.â For the Viet Minh, this included all nationalists.
Ho and the French together massacred hundreds of leaders and thousands of rank-and-file members of nationalist groups. The French gave the Viet Minh military equipment, troops, and even artillery support to carry this out. In July 1946, Hoâs forces stormed the headquarters of all the remaining nationalist groups while French armored personnel carriers cordoned off surrounding areas. Most of the few remaining opposition leaders were arrested and later killed. When the French turned on the Viet Minh in November 1946, it was no accident that Ho became the leader of the only significant resistance. He had killed almost all the others.
The idea that Ho Chi Minh was primarily a Vietnamese nationalist has no basis in fact. Instead of cooperating with nationalists to win independence, he spent his entire career eliminating all independent nationalists, even if this meant openly collaborating with colonial France. Though he used the rhetoric of nationalism, Ho was first and foremost a Communist totalitarian. He used nationalism to serve communism rather than the other way around.
Hoâs reputation in the West as a popular humanitarian is equally unfounded. When he took over half of the country under the Geneva Declaration, the Vietnamese people were given sixty days to resettle on either side of the line dividing North and South Vietnam. One million northerners out of a total population of 13 million moved south, while only 90,000 southerners went north. The number of refugees