[Poe White Trash]

>>> European governors were far better than the native rulers. <<<

Don’t mention the Belgian Congo! I’ve read that Dutch colonialism in the Netherlands East Indies wasn’t exactly a bowl of cherries, either.

I think that the appropriate response to AndyJackson’s point about colonialism is that 1.) Ho Chi Minh’s effort to unify South with North Vietnam had a lot more to do with doctrinaire Communism than anti-colonialism; 2.) by the time the US began to deploy ground forces — early 1965, I think — I don’t think anyone was seriously considering either making Vietnam a US colony or re-instating French colonialism there.

[Zhang Fei]

I think that the appropriate response to AndyJackson’s point about colonialism is that 1.) Ho Chi Minh’s effort to unify South with North Vietnam had a lot more to do with doctrinaire Communism than anti-colonialism

I think it had a lot more to do with Emperor Ho's quest for uncontested power than either doctrinaire Communism or anti-colonialism. Communism was merely cover for one man's quest for absolute power, and the recreation of Vietnam's Indochinese empire (including Cambodia and Laos). It took a Chinese punitive invasion in 1979 to put an end to Vietnamese ambitions.