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Originally Posted by Pogo
I don't think there's any question that our support of him was conditional on his being amenable to US economic interests.
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Then by all means show me some examples where you feel the Saigon regime was unduly deferential to American pressure vis a vis economic issues. I'd be happy to examine them.
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From the standpoint of Vietnamese civilians, I'd say that amounts to being conquered
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Outside the urban elite, the vast majority of the Vietnamese population were concerned with local issues and not national ones. The general population generally hung back to guage which side was stronger and could offer them a better deal.
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as their interests under such circumstances were unrepresented, making them de facto subjects of US economic hegemony
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How, in your view, were their interests unrepresented? Generally speaking, the majority of Vietnamese had two main interests at this time, land reform, and security. The Saigon regime provided the first (without any of that bothersome whipping up of mass frenzy that occurred in the DRV), and at times, managed to provide the second.
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Do you really think that Diem didn't understand that US support was conditional and that he was going to pay a price for it, like it or not?
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Virtually all support is conditional to at least some extent, I should think that Diem realized if he converted to Marxism-Leninism and joined the Hanoi government, he could probably count on a loss of American support. But that's not what you're talking about, you're implying the conditions were primrily economic ones. So, again, if you've got times where you feel his regime was unduly subservient to American pressure, I'd be happy to look at them.
If not, you may wish to consider to proposition that it's possible to be a client of a great power without being its puppet.