“The former president began the book by listing 21 false statements about the war that had by then become unchallenged conventional wisdom. These included such accepted “facts” as: the Vietnam War was a civil war; Ho Chi Minh was more of a nationalist than a communist; Viet Cong forces were independent of North Vietnam; the U.S. lost the war militarily; the ant-war demonstrations in the United States shortened the war; and the domino theory was false. He characterized as “myths” the widely accepted judgments that the war was immoral, unwinnable, and that the U.S. was on the “wrong side of history” in the conflict. Nixon then set forth a well-argued narrative of why and how the United States entered the war, how the U.S. achieved military victory then lost the peace, the consequences of the U.S. defeat in Vietnam, and the true lessons of the war.”
(Francis P. Sempa- The Diplomat)
(Francis P. Sempa- The Diplomat)
Four things deserve attention in the book “No More Vietnam” of ex-President Richard Nixon, if you, especially the younger readers, wish to have an accurate, or much more proper view and understanding of the Vietnam War
Let me add some of my explanation to them, too
1. Ho chi Minh is not a nationalist. He is a full communist, and Vietnamese intellectuals who have dug deep into Ho’s life know this very well.
2. The Vietnam war is not a civil war. A giant part of Vietnamese don’t see this as a civil war at all. There was no reason for us to fight and kill one another. The Northern and Southern Vietnamese always look at each other as brothers, and there was no scar, no wound, no sorrow or conflict to make the two people of 2 parts have any regrettable or hurtful feelings toward each other. It is a war to defend Freedom and Democracy for the South. Pure and Simple like that. It was a war to prevent Communism from spreading to South Vietnam, to preserve our lifestyle, our way of life, which, later on, the victors in the war from the North love, take great liking so much, although they can only feel the core and have them— to a considerable extent— in their dreams.
3. Vietcong , this term for Vietnamese is to denote members of both Vietnamese communists from the North or the South (NLFSV) To Americans, frequently, it refers to the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam, which is the agent, the tool of and controlled by Northern Communists in Hanoi, but the many, many in the American public did not know they were just tools. They were not an independent force growing out of South Vietnam. Hanoi deceived international media and political groups by claiming NLFSV (Vietcong) was an insurgency indigenous to the South, to spread the propaganda that the South Vietnamese also hated their own government and wanted to join communist cause. It is also used to deny any involvement of the North, to deny any violations of the Geneva Accords in 1954
4. The war was not immoral, was winable, and the US were on the right side of history. The war was, at times, winnable. And to say it was immoral and the U.S. was on the wrong side of history is the most stupid things to say. Is it immoral and going to the wrong side of history to help a “friend”-country to preserve its Freedom and Democracy, to help it not to have to endure life under a cruel, brutal, oppressive, supressive, ruled-by-one party-and-security police, totalitarian regime, where you lose all your basic human rights, and go through hundreds of hardships, sufferings in the Soviet-style way of living, up to year 2000 ?
And let me just remind you : Just a few days after the Paris Accord was signed in January 27th , 1972. North Vietnam Army “trashed” it right away, sending troops to attack and infiltrate South Vietnam. Of course, South Vietnam had to fight back to keep their land.
----
REF:
Ho Chi Minh
Lenin And The Colonial Peoples
________________________________________
First Published: Pravda, January 27, 1924
Source: Selected Works of Ho Chi Minh Vol. 1
Publisher: Foreign Languages Publishing House
Transcription/Markup: Christian Liebl
Online Version: Ho Chi Minh Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2003
________________________________________
‘Lenin is dead!’ This news struck the people like a bolt from the blue. It spread to every corner of the fertile plains of Africa and the green fields of Asia. It is true that the black or yellow people do not yet know clearly who Lenin is or where Russia is. The imperialists have deliberately kept them in ignorance. Ignorance is one of the chief mainstays of capitalism. But all of them, from the Vietnamese peasants to the hunters in the Dahomey forests, have secretly learnt that in a faraway corner of the earth there is a nation that has succeeded in overthrowing its exploiters and is managing its own country with no need for masters and Governors General. They have also heard that that country is Russia, that there are courageous people there, and that the most courageous of them all was Lenin. This alone was enough to fill them with deep admiration and warm feelings for that country and its leader.
But this was not all. They also learned that that great leader, after having liberated his own people, wanted to liberate other peoples too. He called upon the white peoples to help the yellow and black peoples to free themselves from the foreign aggressors' yoke, from all foreign aggressors, Governors General Residents, etc. And to reach that goal, he mapped out a definite programme.
At first they did not believe that anywhere on earth could there exist such a man and such a programme. But later they heard, although vaguely, of the Communist Parties, of the organization called the Communist International which is fighting for the exploited peoples, for all the exploited peoples including themselves. And they learned that Lenin was the leader of that organization.
And this alone was enough to make these peoples — though their cultural standard is low, they are grateful folk and of goodwill — whole-heartedly respect Lenin. They look upon Lenin as their liberator. ‘Lenin is dead, so what will happen to us? Will there be other courageous and generous people like Lenin who will not spare their time and efforts in concerning themselves with our liberation?’ This is what the oppressed colonial peoples are wondering.
As for us, we are deeply moved by this irretrievable loss and share the common mourning of all the peoples with our brothers and sisters. But we believe that the Communist International and its branches, which include branches in colonial countries, will succeed in implementing the lessons and teachings the leader has left behind for us. To do what he advised us, is that not the best way to show our love for him?
In his life-time he was our father, teacher, comrade and adviser. Nowadays, he is the bright star showing us the way to the socialist revolution.
Eternal Lenin will live forever in our work.
Lenin And The Colonial Peoples
________________________________________
First Published: Pravda, January 27, 1924
Source: Selected Works of Ho Chi Minh Vol. 1
Publisher: Foreign Languages Publishing House
Transcription/Markup: Christian Liebl
Online Version: Ho Chi Minh Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2003
________________________________________
‘Lenin is dead!’ This news struck the people like a bolt from the blue. It spread to every corner of the fertile plains of Africa and the green fields of Asia. It is true that the black or yellow people do not yet know clearly who Lenin is or where Russia is. The imperialists have deliberately kept them in ignorance. Ignorance is one of the chief mainstays of capitalism. But all of them, from the Vietnamese peasants to the hunters in the Dahomey forests, have secretly learnt that in a faraway corner of the earth there is a nation that has succeeded in overthrowing its exploiters and is managing its own country with no need for masters and Governors General. They have also heard that that country is Russia, that there are courageous people there, and that the most courageous of them all was Lenin. This alone was enough to fill them with deep admiration and warm feelings for that country and its leader.
But this was not all. They also learned that that great leader, after having liberated his own people, wanted to liberate other peoples too. He called upon the white peoples to help the yellow and black peoples to free themselves from the foreign aggressors' yoke, from all foreign aggressors, Governors General Residents, etc. And to reach that goal, he mapped out a definite programme.
At first they did not believe that anywhere on earth could there exist such a man and such a programme. But later they heard, although vaguely, of the Communist Parties, of the organization called the Communist International which is fighting for the exploited peoples, for all the exploited peoples including themselves. And they learned that Lenin was the leader of that organization.
And this alone was enough to make these peoples — though their cultural standard is low, they are grateful folk and of goodwill — whole-heartedly respect Lenin. They look upon Lenin as their liberator. ‘Lenin is dead, so what will happen to us? Will there be other courageous and generous people like Lenin who will not spare their time and efforts in concerning themselves with our liberation?’ This is what the oppressed colonial peoples are wondering.
As for us, we are deeply moved by this irretrievable loss and share the common mourning of all the peoples with our brothers and sisters. But we believe that the Communist International and its branches, which include branches in colonial countries, will succeed in implementing the lessons and teachings the leader has left behind for us. To do what he advised us, is that not the best way to show our love for him?
In his life-time he was our father, teacher, comrade and adviser. Nowadays, he is the bright star showing us the way to the socialist revolution.
Eternal Lenin will live forever in our work.
The former president had much to say on Vietnam and the failed use of American power.
THEDIPLOMAT.COM|BY FRANCIS P. SEMPA, THE DIPLOMAT
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