From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Thu Jun 10 2004 - 19:08:39 BST
Platt, and all,
Thanks for Chomsky's talk given 34 years ago to help inspire people
under brutal attack by the USA. People who, years before, realized
that they're attempts at self-determination would be easily thwarted
by the US if they didn't accept support from Communist China. This
is the same dynamic that has occurred numerous times since, for
example, when some Central American countries were forced to "deal"
with the Soviet Union, for the same reasons.
In NC's speech, I see no mention of Marx, or Communism, or
Bolschevism, or anything other than the admirable strength and
courage of the Vietnamese people in their struggle for self-
determination.
For those who might be interested, here's William Blum's quick take
on the causes of the Vietnam War, much more detail is available in
his books Killing Hope and Rogue State:
Vietnam, 1950-73:
The slippery slope began with siding with the French, the former
colonizers and collaborators with the Japanese, against Ho Chi Minh
and his followers who had worked closely with the Allied war effort
and admired all things American. Ho Chi Minh was, after all, some
kind of Communist. He had written numerous letters to President
Truman and the State Department asking for America's help in winning
Vietnamese independence from the French and finding a peaceful
solution for his country. All his entreaties were ignored. Ho Chi
Minh modeled the new Vietnamese declaration of independence on the
American, beginning it with "All men are created equal. They are
endowed by their Creator with ..." But this would count for nothing
in Washington. Ho Chi Minh was some kind of Communist.
Twenty-three years and more than a million dead, later, the United
States withdrew its military forces from Vietnam. Most people say
that the U.S. lost the war. But by destroying Vietnam to its core,
and poisoning the earth and the gene pool for generations, Washington
had achieved its main purpose: preventing what might have been the
rise of a good development option for Asia. Ho Chi Minh was, after
all, some kind of communist.
And from msh, a reminder:
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask
why the poor have no food, they call you a communist."
- Archbishop Helder Camara, Brazilian liberation theologist
Best to all,
Mark
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