The Theory of Relative Thuggery

Yes, Clif, Diem was a stinker. But he did change South Vietnam from an occupied territory to a republic with at least some laws and order. In basically any respect, his rule was better than the French control and certainly better than the Communist tyranny that took over in '75.....................................................................And let us not forget, me-bucko, that after Diem was bounced and Thieu took over, democracy actually started to ascend (at least when compared to other 3rd-world countries. Freedoms of the press and speech, for instance, reached acceptable levels (especially considering the nastiness of the enemy they were up against). And, so, too, were human rights better under Thieu than in the north. This, I'm saying, in that under the Communists, people could be arrested at any time (for anything), prison guards were in fact allowed to brutalize inmates at will, death sentences were given for even petty crimes, and in some instances, connexes or large metal boxes were used in place of jail-cells.................................................................As for all of this supposed support for Ho Chi Minh, most of THAT was arrived at through propaganda and intimidation. The Communists would lie through their teeth about us, proclaim that we would capture them (all the peasants, basically) and turn them into slave labor. Only the Communists could save them..................................................................I don't know, Clif, I'm beginning to think that President Obama is correct here. Elections can only have true meaning when in fact they have true liberty/the full bite of Democratic institutions behind them. Otherwise, fellow, you end up with Ho Chi Minh, Hamas, Ahmadinejad, and various other bull-shit rabble..................................................................P.S. I still totally agree with you, though. No way we should have gotten involved there. While it may have been just to try and stop Communist advancement, it sure wasn't a wise decision to try and stop it there. And most certainly not then.