Lessons of the War

Born and raised under the care of a Confucian scholar, Ho Chi Minh harbored nationalistic feelings long before he turned to Communism. Expelled from school for demonstrating against the French colonial administration, Ho Chi Minh left Vietnam for France, working as kitchen helper on the Amiral Latouche-Tréville. His true motive for leaving Vietnam was unknown, though Vietnamese textbooks touted that their spiritual father set out to free Vietnam from French rule. During his years in France, Ho Chi Minh undertook various menial jobs while educating himself in Western political theories. After World War I, Ho Chi Minh petitioned President Woodrow Wilson for the colonies' rights of self-determination. Wilson's 14-point plan fell through in the US Senate and Ho Chi Minh's petition subsequently fell to deaf ears. This was when Ho Chi Minh gravitated to Communism. He went on to become a founding member of the French Communist Party and Intercolonial Union. He also founded the Revolutionary Youth League, a precursor of the Indochinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam in the 1940's to lead the national resistance against the Japanese, French and American. His power and health dwindled in the 1960's but he remains the nation's most sacred figure and spritual father until today.

Little is known about this shadowy and complex figure. While Ho Chi Minh has been labeled by many as a communist, an agitator and a puppet, historians generally agree that he was first and foremost a patriot  motivated by independence for his homeland. A pragmatist constrained by constant internal bickering, external meddling as well as the inherent difficulty of institutionalizing communism, Ho Chi Minh has largely failed to achieve his true vision of Vietnam. Lost in the bloodshed and brutality of the war was his ideology, the bastard child of Vietnamese's Neo-Confucianism and Western liberalism. Ho Chi Minh chose a wise course for a small and feeble nation like Vietnam, not only in war but also in peace. He was not a pioneer, but rather a skillful diplomat who understood a few important points about Vietnam's history, values and place in the world.

First, the millenia-old struggles for independence showed the importance of popular support. Demonstrated both in popular uprisings, those of Quang Trung, the Trung Sisters, and the Tay Son brothers, as well as Confucian values and folklores, people only rise up to support those rulers worthy of respect and sympathetic to their cause. Weapons and technology cannot outlast the will of millions of people. The Vietminh's rise from a pathetic guerrilla force to a modern conventional army could not be completed without the backing of millions of Vietnamese peasants. When they weren't sacrificing lives, they provided food, shelter and morale boost to those who were. Later in the war, these same peasants traversed thousands of miles along the Ho Chi Minh trail to resupply Southern comrades. These voluntary sacrifices are almost unprecedented in world history and they stem not from nationalism, for there were non-Communist nationalist forces in Vietnam, but rather from the public trust earned by the Vietminh after years of supporting peasants' causes. The moral of the lesson is, in war or peace, national success and popular support go hand in hand.

Secondly, the unfortunate status of Vietnam as a small and weak country, both militarily and economically, necessarily dictates that it be wise in foreign policies. There is not a better illustration of this than the Vietnam War. Having simultaneously fought and befriended four out of five members on the UN permanent security council, Vietnam has had its fair shares of conflicts and broken alliances. This is what Vietnam must always face. China, Russia and US will continue their tugs of war all over the world, of which Vietnam plays a key role given its geo-political position, capitalistic leaning, and penchant for Western lifestyle. Considering this, Vietnam will constantly be placed in a position of change and must be ready to modify its foreign policy stand, as it did with China, Russia and the US in the post-war period.

These two points, among others, are crucial to understand the political development of Vietnam. How will the government garner public support without allowing for a free general election? How will engaging the West affect Vietnam's relationship with China as well as its domestic political composition?