The struggle for national sovereignty reached an acute state at the end of World War II when independent governments rapidly assumed power in Vietnam and Cambodia. When the French returned, the struggle became one of open warfare with Nationalists and Communists gripped in a contest for ascendancy in Vietnam, while the rulers of Cambodia and Laos sought to obtain independence by negotiation. The withdrawal of the French after their defeat at Dien Bien Phu brought the Indochinese face to face, whether as friends or as enemies, with the Americans. In spite of an armistice in 1954, the war between Hanoi and Saigon resumed as each enlisted the help of foreign allies, which led to the renewed loss of sovereignty as a result of alliances and an increasingly heavy cost in terms of lives. These coalitions fought it out on various fronts, including the diplomatic, where questions of legitimacy assumed importance. Also, alliances shifted in the course of time, as when Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia joined the Khmer Rouge in a war against his former minister of defence.Meticulous and detailed, Dommen's telling of this complicated story is always judicious and cautious in its judgements.
Nevertheless, many people will find his analysis of the Diem coup in chapter 7, itself as long as many monographs, a disturbing account of American plotting and murder. This is an essential book for anyone who wants to understand Vietnam and the people who fought against the United States and won.
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