Word: north
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...legacy, however impressive in many respects, plainly has its shortcomings. North Viet Nam is a much more egalitarian society today than it was when the "republic" was proclaimed 24 years ago, but politically as well as economically, progress has been scant. Writers and artists are limited by political requirements; a brief attempt at liberalization in the late '50s, patterned after Mao's short-lived campaign to "let 100 flowers bloom," uncovered so much resentment that repression was reinstituted almost immediately. Ho, however, was never blamed for repression: skillfully, he divorced himself in the public mind from that harsh entity known...
...Saigon, the reaction was ambivalent. There was "nothing important" in Ho's death, said President Nguyen Van Thieu. "What is important is whether the North Vietnamese will end their aggressive policies or will end the war." Communist defectors felt that Ho's death would cause deep morale problems among the Viet Cong, who admired Ho hugely. One defector noted that the guerrillas have long dreamed of seeing Ho riding triumphantly into Saigon, which then would be renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Nobody expects the V.C. to lay down their weapons because that dream has dissolved, but their righting spirit could...
...seems little question that the spirit imparted by Uncle Ho deserved a share of the credit. Ho's successors may be able to keep that spirit alive for a time, but not forever. It remains to be seen whether, once the memory of Ho fades, the soldier from the North will prove as inadequately motivated as the one from the South. Certainly, the possibility is of concern to Uncle's heirs...
...many responsible officials in Washington is to "let the dust settle," in Dean Acheson's unforgettable words on China in 1949, rather than to seize the initiative. There are, however, other alternatives. At the extremes, the U.S. could either step up the war and resume the bombing of the North in an attempt to stampede the new leadership?or pull out completely, trusting in the South Vietnamese to cope with a Ho-less foe. No one in the Government seriously advocates either course...
...private Paris talks with their North Vietnamese counterparts, U.S. officials have said flatly for weeks that they want to withdraw all American troops from Viet Nam as soon as possible. In return, the U.S. has asked only that Hanoi acknowledge this declaration of intent and get the negotiations moving?so far without any result...