10-18-2020, 10:30 AM
(10-17-2020, 01:08 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:(10-17-2020, 06:31 AM)David Horn Wrote: Even this sketchy overview is seriously flawed. Ignoring the Viet Minh as OSS clients during WW-II is particularly irritating, since we guaranteed them our support for decolonization after the war.
Did you actually look into this, or just write your personal views in long form?
"We" guaranteed Ho support? Speak for yourself. Maybe a random OSS agent intimated that the US would support decolonization, but random agents are not empowered to speak for the US government or nation.
Actually, it was Wild Bill Donovan who was authorized to speak for the US on this -- not exactly a minor player. It was a simple deal: we would agree NOT to back the French returning as colonialist masters, and the Viet Mihn would take it from there. If you add the stupidity of the Mossadegh overthrow to the mix (and subsequent Allende overthrow under Nixon and the WMD nonsense from Bush-II), the track record of US foreign affairs outside of NATO and the occupation and eventual redemption of Germany and Japan is pretty bleak in the post-WWII period.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
