Democracy? Americans did not want democracy. They wanted an anticommunist regime who would do whatever American imperialism wanted. South Vietnam was never a democracy, it was a oligarchy and a military dictatorship.
Today the ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam is far more like South Vietnam. Capitalism has returned, all that talk about ''socialism'' and ''revolution'' are gone.
Between the working class and the Communist Party of Vietnam lies a river of betrayal and blood.
@UDSS Interestingly, one subtext of the Vietnam War that is totally ignored is the parallel between it and the conflict from the 17th century between the Nguyen in the South and the Trinh in the North. My uninformed hunch is that these old divisions had far more to do with the modern conflict than either side wanted to admit at the time.
@elephantrange vietnam has been divided for more of its history than united. northern and southern factions have been breaking up and then reuniting throughout their history.
It's amazing the only thing Americans learned about their Vietnam debacle is how to make more war when they should have learned that people will not tolerate foreign military in their land
Saw this on TV when it first came out. Really good doc. Thanks for putting it up.
mooroha 2 months ago
Democracy? Americans did not want democracy. They wanted an anticommunist regime who would do whatever American imperialism wanted. South Vietnam was never a democracy, it was a oligarchy and a military dictatorship.
Today the ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam is far more like South Vietnam. Capitalism has returned, all that talk about ''socialism'' and ''revolution'' are gone.
Between the working class and the Communist Party of Vietnam lies a river of betrayal and blood.
UDSS 5 months ago 2
@UDSS Interestingly, one subtext of the Vietnam War that is totally ignored is the parallel between it and the conflict from the 17th century between the Nguyen in the South and the Trinh in the North. My uninformed hunch is that these old divisions had far more to do with the modern conflict than either side wanted to admit at the time.
elephantrange 5 months ago 2
@elephantrange vietnam has been divided for more of its history than united. northern and southern factions have been breaking up and then reuniting throughout their history.
andrelebaron 1 week ago
It's amazing the only thing Americans learned about their Vietnam debacle is how to make more war when they should have learned that people will not tolerate foreign military in their land
AccordGTR 7 months ago