22: Vietnam wins Freedom from France

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Southeast Asia: “The European colonial powers were leaving my territory one-by-one. The Spanish Company left the Philippines for good at the end of the 19th century. The Dutch Company departed from the Indonesian archipelago during the middle of the 20th century. Each Company had ruled my people for over 300 years.  It seemed forever, but now they were gone.

Who was left? France still ruled Indochina and England continued to dominate Myanmar and Malaysia. Who would be next to leave? Just like the Spanish and the Dutch, the French didn’t leave willingly, but had to be forced out. Let’s see what happened.”

The First Indochina War (1946-54)

Recall that at the end of World War II in 1945, there were 2 Vietnams. Ho Chi Minh’s communist party ruled North Vietnam, while France had reconquered South Vietnam and reestablished colonial rule. Peaceful negotiations between the 2 groups in early 1946 led to a temporary truce. Under the terms of the agreement, the Viet Minh would cease hostilities and the French would gradually withdraw their troops from Vietnam over a 5-year period. Further, Vietnam would be given the status of a free state within the French Union. However, neither group negotiated in good faith.

The Viet Minh took advantage of this period of peace to consolidate its leadership over other nationalist groups with the aim of complete independence from France. Meanwhile, the French built up their colonial army to reestablish colonial rule. The aims of the two sides were clearly irreconcilable.

France initiated the hostilities in late November 1946, when their naval vessels bombarded Haiphong. The deaths of thousands of civilians didn’t intimidate the Vietnamese, but instead enraged them. Subsequently the Viet Minh attempted to drive the French troops from Hanoi.

Over confident of victory, the French attempted to appease the Vietnamese desire for independence from colonialism with some transparent ploys. For instance in 1949, France proclaimed the creation of the Associated State of Vietnam. This supposedly independent nation joined both Vietnams together under the leadership of the Vietnamese emperor, a French puppet. This political strategy was merely a return to prewar colonial conditions with a new name.

Most Vietnamese nationalists, communist and anticommunist alike, saw through this devious strategy. With the support of the Vietnamese people, especially the agrarian population of the countryside, the Viet Minh waged an increasingly successful guerrilla war against France. More significantly, the new communist government of China provided increasing amounts of military assistance to the Viet Minh after their successful revolution in 1949.

Fearful of the spread of communism in Asia, the United States countered by sending large amounts of military aid to the French. The bitter and destructive fighting lasted for nearly 8 years. Those fighting for freedom had more invested in victory than those who were fighting for the economic gain of their rulers. After some significant losses, it became apparent to the French that they were not going to reestablish colonial control of Vietnam. Accordingly, they agreed to withdraw and end the war at an international conference in Geneva in 1954. Thus ended French colonialism in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately America’s neo-colonialism immediately moved in to take up the slack.

Although the French left Indochina, the Geneva Accords continued to recognize two Vietnams. Instead of a peace treaty, the Accords provided for a cease-fire and a temporary division of the country into two military zones. The respective armies would withdraw to their respective territories – the Viet Minh forces to the north of the 17th parallel, and Western and South Vietnamese armies to the south.

The Geneva Accords of 1954 had a number of successive agreements. The last of the accords was called the Final Declaration. This accord provided for elections, supervised by an international commission, to be held throughout Vietnam in July 1956. The express purpose of these democratic elections was to unify the country. The popular Viet Minh leaders appeared certain to win these elections.

The Cartel could not allow a Communist government to take over their income property. It would devastate their profits. Accordingly, they instructed their representatives, the United States and South Vietnam to deny their approval of the Final Declaration. Because these countries would not sign the document, elections were never held.

This provides a blatant example of the Cartel’s political power. An international commission agreed to a democratic election to unify Vietnam, but the Cartel vetoed it. The American people were neither told the truth, nor did anyone ask their opinion on the matter. If they were told anything, it was that the United States was preventing Vietnam from falling under a communist dictatorship. The implication was that Vietnam would be ruled tacitly by Red China and Russia, America’s opponents in the Cold War.

The Cold War

Because of its subsequent influence on the politics of Southeast Asians for decades, let us take a short diversion to speak about the Cold War of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

The Chinese revolution shook the International Cartel to their core. Japan had seized control of significant areas of China even before the beginning of World War II. Two opposing Chinese groups led the resistance movement – each controlling their own part of the enormous country. The power of the Chinese Communist Party, eventually led by Mao Tse Tung, was based in the agrarian peasantry. They relied upon guerilla warfare for success. In contrast, the power of the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai Chek, derived from Chinese businessmen, and by extension the international business community. They had a large standing army, primarily funded by the International Cartel.

During the 1930s, Chiang Kai Chek’s army had engaged in multiple military campaigns, whose expressed purpose was to exterminate the Communists. As soon as Japan capitulated in 1945, hostilities resumed. Bolstered by immense amounts of military assistance from the international community, the pro-business Nationalist Party was successful initially. Like a wolf with jaws open in anticipation of taking a bite of its helpless prey, the International Cartel was salivating, as it was about to seize control of an enormous income property.

But then in a sudden turn about, the Nationalist Party was on the run to Taiwan and the Communist Party was in solid control of China. The Cartel’s military jaws snapped shut and nothing was there. At the last moment, the Communists rescued the prey from consumption.

The startling transformation was partially due to the obvious corruption of the Nationalist Party in combination with its equally obvious ties to the Western colonial powers that had been sucking China dry for centuries. In contrast, the Communists had deliberately trained their army to always respect the agricultural peasantry. They even levied punishments on those who didn’t obey this rule.

Due to these obvious differences between the two parties, the Chinese population, including soldiers, shifted allegiance en masse to the communists. Entire armies changed sides at the beginning of battle, turning on their Nationalist leaders. For this reason, the final year of armed conflict was relatively bloodless. Even though Chiang Kai Chek had enormous amounts of military hardware at his disposal, including weaponry, warplanes and munitions, he had no one to use them.

Further, the Communists employed these same armaments to consolidate their power and even expand their boundaries. To this end, they sent their armies into Korea in the early 1950s. Although this multiple year war ended with 2 Koreas, it was obvious that Communist China, a.k.a. Red China, had broad popular support and wasn’t going away. In other words, no matter which devious tactics the international business community employed, they wouldn’t be able to engineer an overthrow of China’s new Communist regime. Although their ascendance came rapidly, Red China was there to stay and more importantly it was an opposing power to be reckoned with.

Russia’s Soviet Union was equally stable and powerful. Plus their rise had occurred equally rapidly. Further, both nations, Russia and China, were actively attempting to spread their communist message throughout the globe. In addition to military and economic aid, the countries sent advisors, presumably to organize peasant populations everywhere to rise up and overthrow their economic overlords of whatever nationality.

Shaking with fear that Communism could spread equally rapidly to their other income properties, the International Cartel amped up their military resistance to the spread of Communism throughout the world. To this end, they sent military and economic aid to prop up military dictators everywhere. They were equally aware that they couldn’t dislodge either Russia or China in armed conflict. Thus began the Cold War.

The Cold War's ‘Feel Good’ Propaganda

To truly understand the international context, we must add a necessary qualification. It was clearly evident that the International Cartel supported corporate profits over human rights and that Communism, as indicated by the name, aimed at relative economic equality for all citizens. It became equally obvious to even the most casual observer of international politics that personal freedoms had to be sacrificed under the communist system to achieve economic equality.

In the early 1950s, it was already an established fact that Josef Stalin, the absolute dictator of Soviet Russia, had millions murdered or sent to prison camps in order to maintain his power. Further, Russia had a secret police force, the KGB, that actively suppressed dissent. Although society was somewhat equalized, personal liberties were severely curtailed relative to the democratic West.

Further, the ‘free market’ West was also thriving economically relative to the government-controlled Communist system. In Russia and China, there were both consumer shortages and substandard goods due to lack of competition. If one had to choose between a Western democracy and communism, the choice was obvious. To live in a democratic system meant personal and economic freedom, which could lead to prosperity. In contrast, to live in a Communist system meant curtailed economic and personal freedoms.

As such, Western education and media made it clear that everyone who lives in a democracy should be grateful. This cultural propaganda had a lot of truth associated with it. But then came the false association – the feel-good lie that allowed politicians to manipulate public opinion.

In broad strokes, this is the essence of the argument as presented by the Western Establishment. The Cold War is between Communism and Democracy. Western European and the U.S., i.e. the 'first world' countries, represent Democracy, while Russia and 'Red' China, i.e. the 'second world' countries, represent Communism. Their ideological and politico-economic battleground was the remaining nations, i.e. the 'third world' countries.

The U.S., as the 'noble' representative of the 1st world, is attempting to establish ‘free’ democracies throughout the planet, while Russia and China are attempting to establish ‘repressive Communist dictatorships’. The unstated implicit assumption was that the opposing groups were attempting to set up political systems just like the ones they lived in. If this were true, the world would certainly be a better place.

Unfortunately, the International Cartel employed the U.S. as its military arm overseas to protect its lucrative income properties. While the American public as a whole had an enormous amount of personal freedom and rights due to their democratic system, the Cartel was not exporting this system overseas. As mentioned, the Cartel preferred military dictatorships to better maximize profits. Thus, the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East were not given the choice between democracy and communism. Instead their choice was between a military dictatorship supported by the Cartel or the Communist powers.

The main difference between these 2 types of dictatorships was equality. The Cartel’s dictatorships supported corporate profits at the expense of worker rights. Hence the disparity between rich and poor was huge. Justice was primarily for the wealthy. The lower classes were akin to disposable beasts of burden. The rights granted to these unfortunate individuals were at the owner’s discretion. It was due to these unfair and desperate conditions that many turned to communism as their only salvation. Better to have curtailed rights than no rights.

If a free democracy had been a viable option, most cultures would have chosen it. But the International Cartel did not offer democracy as an option. As mentioned, self-determination and the free market system associated with democracy tend to level the economic playing field, thereby limiting stockholder profits. As such, the Cartel is definitely against democracy.

Summarizing, the Cartel-controlled Media presented the Cold War as a battle between Communism and Democracy. This distorted perspective enabled the American Public to ‘feel good’ that their country was attempting to export freedom throughout the planet. This flawed information engendered a sense of self-esteem that encouraged the Public to regularly vote in politicians that supported the objectives of the International Cartel.

It is uncertain whether these politicians actually believed their own propaganda or whether they knowingly passed on lies. Perhaps they were cognitively blinded by their privileged position to believe whatever they were told. Perhaps cognitive dissonance enabled them to block out all the human atrocities they encouraged in order to maintain the status quo with them at or near the top. Perhaps they were just emotional psychopaths with no real compassion for other human beings. No one can really know for sure. Yet it is obvious to any historian that America was not exporting democracy or human rights during the 20th century. Instead the U.S. military was supporting the agenda of the International Cartel. The noble ideals of the American Public to promote democracy and freedom throughout the world were subverted to bring military dictatorships and economic slavery instead.

Vietnam became the epicenter of the resultant Cold War in Southeast Asia, both the propaganda and the military aggression. Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Party had fought the French, the Japanese, and then the French again for some 40 years. Now they were to face the U.S. military. Due to their tenacious persistence, victory, although difficult, was a foregone conclusion.

The Cartel denies its existence

Cartel: “You regularly refer to the international business, banking and political community as single unified entity, which you call the Cartel. How do you even know that I exist? You have certainly provided no clear-cut proof of my existence – just innuendo, suggestions and circumstantial evidence, nothing more.

Reputable historical sources identify countries, kings, presidents, dictators, and saints. No one doubts that there is a United Nations, Europe or a United States of America. Some of these labels refer to real people and others to organizations of people. You claim that I represent the agenda of the international business community, which includes the military industrial complex, multi-national corporations and international bankers. You assert that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund constitute my financial branch and that the US government provides the military branch. According to your writings, these entities are designed to forward my profit-dominated agenda. However you have never been able to point to a specific organization that represents or encompasses me.

You’ve named what you consider to be my precursors – the Dutch and English East India Companies. These were definitely historical groups with specific leaders, a charter, even a distinct beginning and end. You’ve provided me with a name and even impute me with what you evidently deem nefarious motives. You assert that I am a force that has dominated world politics since the Cold War, with roots that extend into the distant past. However, you’ve provided no evidence that that I have a leader, a charter or any kind of central headquarters.”

Author: “You don’t need a leader, group or organization to exist. I believe it’s best to think of you as some kind of strange attractor – where humans hover around you like a moth to a flame. Humans intuit what you want and try to please you in any way they can. Like a country, your existence is only virtual, existing only in the neural networks of humans everywhere. Just as a country inspires human to defend their homeland or expand their borders, you inspire humans to accumulate wealth.”

Cartel: “So you admit that my existence is only virtual – no location, no leader, not even a charter. Sounds like a ghost. Some kind of phantasm that you scare children with – something without reality – the result of an overactive imagination that sees patterns where none exist. In fact, I deny my existence. I claim that I am just a figment of your imagination. Nothing else.”

Author: “I certainly understand your very valid concerns. How can a non-organization without a leader or location be a dominant force in global politics – a fearsome dark force that even threatens the long-term survival of humans on the planet?

To understand my position, let us start with some basic points. There are many unseen forces that exert a tremendous effect on the planet, for instance wind and the electromagnetic waves that generate TV and the Internet.”

Cartel: “But these unseen forces at least have a molecular reality.”

Author: “True, but the way that electromagnetic and even gravity were discovered was by measuring effects. In the attempt to understand the causality behind experimental measurements, equations were derived, containing variables that were named. These equations with their mathematical constructs determined the relational patterns that connected these unseen forces that acted at a distance. Some of these mathematical constructs, such as gravity, electromagnetism and energy, have even moved into the popular parlance.

These unseen forces and concepts provide powerful explanations for many empirical phenomena. Engineers and inventors have also employed these equations to develop the many practical applications that constitute modern technology. As such, no one even doubts the existence of these invisible forces any more. When these concepts were first introduced, there were many notable skeptics, including even the genius Albert Einstein. But as circumstantial evidence all pointed in the same direction, the entire international community began to accept previously unbelievable notions, such as plate tectonics, evolution, and/or subatomic particles.

No one has ever seen a tectonic plate, a subatomic particle or a species evolve. However earthquakes are a testament to the power of tectonic plates and the marvels of modern technology to the existence of subatomics. Further, evolution provides such explanatory power for such a wide range of empirical evidence that the entire scientific community has adopted evolution as a valid, though unseen, universal process.

Unseen forces are an essential feature of all sciences – physical, biological, and social. In fact, it is considered a major breakthrough when an unseen force is recognized, named and accepted by the scientific community. So these phantasms, these virtual features of reality, as you deem them, are an omnipresent aspect of reality, including human existence.

Physical scientists attempt to identify the hidden forces that are at work in our universe in order to manipulate the energy to human advantage. Social and political scientists attempt to identify the hidden forces that are at work in our psychological and political worlds to better understand how to manipulate events and mitigate neurotic behavior. Ambitious religious, business and political leaders attempt to tap into these hidden human inclinations, most without a molecular basis, in order to manipulate the public into buying their products, voting for their agenda or joining their organizations.

One of the first steps in any scientific endeavor is to break a phenomenon into its component parts. As long as distinct elements are muddled into one, progress is blocked. Differentiation and refinement are major features of both the alchemical and scientific process. In similar fashion, as long as individual countries with their constituency and dictators are blamed or credited with disaster or accomplishment, the picture is muddled.

For instance, it is evident to a careful observer of world events that the bulk of the populace in many democratic countries disagrees with the course of action taken by their leaders. Opinion polls and social protests indicate their differing directions. As such, nearly everyone would agree that a country’s leaders and the citizenry are separate yet interacting political forces.

Further, the leaders frequently take the nation in a direction that is counter-productive to the best interests of the citizens. This unhealthy national behavior is frequently attributed to stupidity, cultural delusion or even personal megalomania. However, sometimes it is easy to identify a plausible and reasonable hidden agenda other than ignorance that motivates political events. When this same unseen political force can be applied to an uncountable number of historical circumstances, it gains credibility as an active agent in social behavior. When these same motivations can be held accountable for political behavior that extends into the distant past, it becomes even more difficult to deny the existence of these hidden forces. After an undeniable pattern emerges that explains so many phenomena, we give it a name.

In science, Occam’s Razor is a criterion that is employed to choose between alternate explanations. The explanation that is simplest and encompasses the most empirical evidence within its scope is given precedence over a complex explanation that only accounts for a few facts. You, the Cartel, as the international business community explain so many political phenomena that your existence is as irrefutable as gravity, at least as far as I’m concerned.”

The Cartel: a ‘feel good’ construct

Author: “I will admit that you, the Cartel, act as a ‘feel-good’ construct for me. I don’t want to believe that humans are unbelievably cruel and greedy. I want to believe that most people have noble ideals. It makes me proud to think that most Americans want every human in the world to have the same basic human rights that they have – such as freedom of speech and religion. Conversely, it makes me ashamed to think that my government exports dictatorships rather than democracy.

If the evidence convinced me that the American public willingly participated in the exploitation of indigenous people everywhere, I would be embarrassed – maybe even want to hide in a cave somewhere. Similarly, it would be incredibly depressing to believe that most Americans consciously supported the barbaric atrocities of our military forces. Rather than believe the worst about my fellow citizens, I would rather imagine that they have been tricked. There is certainly an abundance of evidence that points in this direction.  

What agent does the tricking? That’s where you, the Cartel, come in. Rather than attribute the propaganda to purely national sources, I would rather attribute it to the impersonal motivations of the international business community. Again, there are certainly many indications of this unseen force.

Anyone who owns stocks inadvertently participates, at least to some extent, in the mentality of collective greed. However, no one individual actually makes the decisions for the international consortium. Instead it is some type of collective unconscious urge that drives the insatiable need for profit that leads to the exploitation and the atrocities. It makes me ‘feel good’ to believe that if these writings bring this unconscious urge to consciousness, that humans might be able to mitigate their tendency to follow the group over the moral cliff.

Perhaps I’ve seen a pattern where none exists. Perhaps humans are a despicable bunch with no hope for salvation. But I prefer to believe that disgusting behavior is frequently due to ignorance of the unseen unconscious forces that motivate us. And I believe that you, the Cartel, are one of those unseen forces that corrupts human behavior. This is why I am shining my light upon you. Although I may be deluded, it makes me ‘feel good’ to believe that this light might expose the corruption and motivate someone to actually change their behavioral direction.”

 

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