Aletheia’s Reviews > Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965 > Status Update

This book is just not for me, man

The US failed to recognize that internal security and legitimacy were problems that only the South Vietnamese government could resolve, not something the U.S. could fix through military force or externally imposed strategies.

Ho Chi Minh had successfully positioned himself as the true nationalist leader, while South Vietnam’s government was perceived as a continuation of French colonial rule. This made it seem foreign and illegitimate to many Vietnamese, rather than a true national government.

I fundamentally disagree with the thesis statement of this book