“I understood that he did approach the US first about arms and support for fighting the French colonial forces after WW2”
He shouldn’t have been surprised that we wouldn’t go along with that, after pretending the French were allied with us in WWII. After WWI he really expected a nonviolent dissolution of Europe’s empires to give independence to Vietnam.
....he really expected a nonviolent dissolution of Europe’s empires to give independence to Vietnam.
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Sounds like a reasonable expectation based on Englands actions .. I suppose approaching us was a “courtesy” move ... with us involved in Korea or just winding down and wanting to relax after WW2 and the French being unwilling to commit serious forces to oppose him the logical thing would have been to make a deal for VERY favorable trade terms and let him rule. Like all communist leaders he was all about the glory and money for himself... he could have had it.