Just to answer Nick's question a little further:

>  Was Ho Chi Minh a nationalist first or a Communist first?

Amy Silva wrote the following in a student paper. I think the first two
paragraphs summarize Ho's views (in 1945) very well and the third America's
involvement accurately. We simply blundered into the Vietnam war through a
series of misunderstandings, mistakes, and misperceptions.

"The United States was flattered and embarrassed by Ho Chi Minh declaring
Vietnamese independence in the language of the United States Declaration of
Independence from 1776. The United States worried about the connections
between the Kremlin and Ho. They worried about communist expansion, and
didn't want to infuriate the French. After World War II, Vietnam was a
trivial concern of United States policymakers. The United States constantly
questioned how communist Ho was but ascertained that he was a nationalist
first. In a letter from Major General Philip E. Gallagher in Hanoi to Major
General McClure Kunming, on Sept. 20, 1945, he discusses the political and
military attitudes in Vietnam at the time:

"This Ho Chi Minh...is an old revolutionist and a political prisoner many
times, a product of Moscow, a communist. He called upon me and welcomed us
most profusely...His political party is an amalgamation of all lesser
parties. There may be some smaller bandit groups, but they are negligible,
his is the dominant force. They now claim independence, and he has told me
that, regardless of the decision of the big powers regarding whether France
would or would not be permitted to come back in, his party expected to fight,
that they are armed, well supplied, and will resist all French efforts to
take over French Indochina. In this regard, it is well to remember that he is
a revolutionist whose motto is "Independence or Death," and since all the
chips are place down, we should not put too much stock in his statement that
he is going to fight the French. He looks upon America as the savior of all
nations, and is basing all of his actions on the statement in the Atlantic
Charter that the independence of the smaller nations would be assured by the
major powers. Of course we know that charter was never signed. He expects us
to support him in his efforts, and it will be a great shock, of course, if
the French are allowed to come back, either as a protectorate or otherwise...
Confidentially, I wish the Annamites [Vietnamese] could be given their
independence, but, of course, we have no voice in the matter" (Porter
35-36)...

"...The American war with Vietnam would continue after Ho Chi Minh's death,
and American policy would remain the same. The reasons for the United States
involvement in Vietnam seem inefficient at best in today's world. Before
World War II, Vietnam remained a sidebar, and inconsequential in world
affairs. But after World War II, the supposed threat of Communism incited the
capitalist country of America to perform outlandish, and unnecessary deeds to
protect the 'so called' free world. The United States could not alienate the
French and viable economic markets. Once Vietnam was recognized as acting on
its own to incite independence, not through Russia or China, the United
States was already too engrossed in the war to simply pull out. They were
deeply tangled in a web for preservation of favorable international opinion.
They had to maintain respect and honor in the eyes of the world. In their
relations with Ho Chi Minh, they too often misperceived the man to
effectively communicate with him, if they decided to reply at all. Many did
not even respond to his repeated letters. Ho Chi Minh was a paradox:
Nationalist, humanist, Marxist-Leninist, Machiavellian, Confucianist. These
are just some of the aspects of his remarkable character. One undeniable fact
about this mystery man called Ho Chi Minh, was his ability to affect people
with his humility and personal warmth. Today the debate goes on: "Was he [Ho
Chi Minh] primarily a nationalist who used communism to accomplish Vietnamese
national objectives, or a Communist who maneuvered nationalism into the
service of ideology? Whatever the truth, Ho's refusal to declare himself was
characteristically Vietnamese. Secretiveness is an ingrained trait. The only
way around it is to establish trust" (Chanoff and Toai 207). Trust not only
of the man, but of the country and culture of the Vietnamese people. It is
the only way to establish peace between nations, and quiet embittered hearts."

Amy's entire paper is at;

     http://student.monterey.edu/sz/silvaamye/world/paper.html

Wirt Atmar

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