From: knguyen@emr1.emr.ca (Kim Nguyen)
Newsgroups: alt.war.vietnam
Subject: Re: Tet again
Date: 11 Nov 92 15:01:27 GMT
Organization: Energy, Mines, and Resources, Ottawa

In article <BxILK8.GD0@cs.uiuc.edu> drk@cs.uiuc.edu (David Kohr) writes:
>In article <1992Nov10.014527.27011@anasazi.com> john@anasazi.com writes:
>>I think he is trying to show that the popular myth of the war as an
>>insurgency is incorrect, and he is correct. It was an insurgency before
>>1954, but by the time the US got involved it was subversion and invasion.
>
>The US was "involved" before 1954, as it was bankrolling a large portion of
>the French counter-insurgency effort.  The US was also "involved" between
>1954 and 1965 (when it first sent tens of thousands of combat troops to
>Vietnam, and when North Vietnamese regular army units first started to
>appear in the South), as it gave extensive military and economic aid to the
>Diem regime and its successors.
>
>You must mean "involved" in the very narrow sense of "having troops engaged
>in combat".
>
>>it certainly casts a shadow on the assertions of the anti-war movement
>>about the VC.
>
>What were these assertions?  Who made them, and at what times?
>
>>It also shows what a terrible job the media did in informing the public of
>>the true facts of the Tet Offensive.
>>-- 
>>John Moore john@anasazi.com
>
>About what "true facts" regarding Tet was the public misinformed?
>-- 
-----------------

ABOUT "COUNTER_INSURGENCY"


-I think the original poster did know that the US activities before 1954 
was not in the context of "counter-insurgency"; he just mentioned about 
those of "counter-subversion" and "counter-invasion". Here is why :

-The US involvement before 1954 were in a confused policy because Ho did not 
displayed his true face as a communist.

HO LIED TO ARCHIMEDES PATTI :

-Patti, from OSS (Office of Strategic Services), came to China in 1945 to 
establish a intelligence network behind the lines in Indochina to assist  
British, French, Chinese (Mao and Chiang kai-shek) and Americans to 
fight Japanese.

-Ho approached Patti in 1945 to give Patti impression that he was not 
a "hardened communist but a foremost nationalist". Ho needed US help, and in 
turn, gathered information about Japanese in which French showed less 
competence.
For this interest, Patti provided arms and trained Ho's men. As result, 
Ho army became better and, under Patti's help, got a strong OSS team to
protect Ho and created a secret base at Tan-Trao (Viet-Bac = Far North of 
Vietnam) where Ho set up his provisional government. Another reason Patti
helped Ho is that American fliers could be rescued during fighting with 
Japanese.

-That help ended in mid-1946, when Ho declared independence. At this 
moment, Patti and OSS still believe that Ho is a nationalist, not a 
communist. Here's their report :

"Although he formerly favored communist ideal, he now realized that such
ideals were impracticable for his country, and that his policy now was 
one of republican nationalism" [The Ten Thousand Day War, page 15].

-This belief has been repeated and repeated until now. "He is nationalist 
and he is na.... So, who says that history can't be repeated ?

-After 1946, US turned its interest to Europe to face Tito of Yugoslavia 
and let Ho and French to deal wit each other.

-Until 1953, US only helped French with Aircrafts and arms in 
Dien-Bien-Phu operation without a commitment for "counter-insurgency". This 
help was just as gesture of an ally who needed French and British to confront 
with Soviets in Europe.

CONCLUSION :

-Ho deceited Patti when his movement was still weak; Patti had Ho's 
file but still went ahead maybe due to US's interest of fighting Japanese.

-From 1954 on, after Ho turned out to be part of International Communism 
and had intention to invade SVN, this time, US must jump in as she did in
Europe. All US done from 1954, successful or not, explained this motive.


ASSERTION ON ANTI_WAR MOVEMENT : read previous threats

TRUE FACE OF TET : again read previous threats. Hint : US public knew very
late all account about Tet. When news had come it died out as a perforated
balloon.