re: #499 William Barnett-Lewis

Thing is, Uncle Ho looked to America as his model. Had Truman kept FDR’s word and kept the French from going back in after the war, the Vietnamese would have never gone anywhere near the communists - especially the Chinese. There is no love between China and Vietnam - only a history of conquest and oppression.

I think people don’t realize that Uncle Ho actually tried to plead his case for Vietnam’s freedom at the Versailles conference. A pity Wilson got no traction on his “end colonialism” idea, but I guess too many nations needed to keep their source of bodies for their armies.

This is one of many reasons I find that WW1 and its aftermath are the defining event of the last century, bar none. So many problems humanity has faced since then are inextricably tied to those events. Its significance, IMO, is neglected at our peril.