Question 4
Cuba and vietnam
by Nikita Simha
Compare and contrast the careers of Fidel Castro in Cuba and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. How were they influenced by the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union? Were they mainly inspired by nationalism or communismor both?
Ho chi minh.
Ho Chi Minh, who was born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and changed his name to Ho Chi Minh, meaning “He Who Enlightens,” was born in the Vietnamese (then called Indo-China) village of Hoàng Trù. He died in 1969 from heart failure in Hanoi.
He was raised and educated by his father, who was a Confucian scholar, but he was widely cited as an atheist.
Ho Chi Minh made an effort to be religiously tolerant. When he took power, Catholics left over from imperial France made up a large minority of the Vietnamese population. Being diplomatic, Minh passed a government decree protecting religious freedom and recognizing The Vatican’s authority within the bounds of their church in Vietnam.
The Americans fought him to try and prove a political/ideological point–that old fashioned American capitalism was greater than communism.
“Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson.” That’s what Barack Obama said after meeting with the Vietnamese president.
"The Hos and the Castros have their eye on enslaving multitudes, populations, and nations"
He was raised and educated by his father, who was a Confucian scholar, but he was widely cited as an atheist.
Ho Chi Minh made an effort to be religiously tolerant. When he took power, Catholics left over from imperial France made up a large minority of the Vietnamese population. Being diplomatic, Minh passed a government decree protecting religious freedom and recognizing The Vatican’s authority within the bounds of their church in Vietnam.
The Americans fought him to try and prove a political/ideological point–that old fashioned American capitalism was greater than communism.
“Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson.” That’s what Barack Obama said after meeting with the Vietnamese president.
"The Hos and the Castros have their eye on enslaving multitudes, populations, and nations"
Fidel Castro.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro (1926-) established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades, until handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. During that time, Castro’s regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. Castro’s Cuba also had a highly antagonistic relationship with the United States–most notably resulting in the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1960, Castro nationalized all U.S.-owned businesses, including oil refineries, factories and casinos. This prompted the United States to end diplomatic relations and impose a trade embargo that still stands today. Meanwhile, in April 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles trained and funded by the CIA landed near the Bay of Pigs with the intent of overthrowing Castro. Their plans ended in disaster, however, partially because a first wave of bombers missed their targets and a second air strike was called off. Ultimately, more than 100 exiles were killed and nearly everyone else was captured. In December 1962, Castro freed them in exchange for medical supplies and baby food worth about $52 million.
Castro publicly declared himself a Marxist-Leninist in late 1961.
In 1960, Castro nationalized all U.S.-owned businesses, including oil refineries, factories and casinos. This prompted the United States to end diplomatic relations and impose a trade embargo that still stands today. Meanwhile, in April 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles trained and funded by the CIA landed near the Bay of Pigs with the intent of overthrowing Castro. Their plans ended in disaster, however, partially because a first wave of bombers missed their targets and a second air strike was called off. Ultimately, more than 100 exiles were killed and nearly everyone else was captured. In December 1962, Castro freed them in exchange for medical supplies and baby food worth about $52 million.
Castro publicly declared himself a Marxist-Leninist in late 1961.
Cold War Impact on Vietnam.
A struggle against French Imperial rule had been going on long before WW2. WW2 substantially took France out of the game, but under the doctrine called the domino theory, US leadership pledged to support France in regaining its control of Vietnam. In particular, John Foster Dulles made firm commitments to provide military aid to France, and repeatedly encouraged France to hang in there, help would soon arrive.
However, France came to the conclusion that USA was waiting for France to be defeated, with the intention of moving in afterward to claim the prize. France withdrew in an agreement with Nationalist forces, leaving Northern Vietnam in the hands of the nationalists, thereafter to be called the communists, while preparing to vacate from the south as well.
It was progressively clear that the government left in the south did not have any attachment to democracy, but that did not necessarily matter, since a slim majority or Vietnamese were not willing to go on fighting against 'Communism' in favor of a group who had sided with French Imperialism. In effect, most of the south still held Nationalist views.
The Domino theory made it necessary to fight for any group opposed to communism, even if those being supported were not popular, not acceptable to a majority. So, North Vietnam, seen as nationalists by southern Nationalists, had a vast array of support in the south, too.
Fighting a war with support of a minority of the country's people presented a no-win situation if it meant supporting a group put in power by the imperialists. But Domino thinking made it critical to defeat communism.
For Vietnam, this was never a cold war situation, it was a hot war, starting well before WW2, and continuing until USA pulled out. Cold war might properly describe a stand off between nuclear armed countries like USA and Nato, USA and China. But the term suggests not much happening in terms of real warfare going on.
Theories have abounded that USA might have gained the support of both north and South Vietnam, against Communism, had it opposed French imperialism, supported Vietnamese nationalism. Credible as this is, we can not be sure this would have worked. All we can say is that siding with French Imperialism did not work.
While North Vietnam did receive help from Russia, and to some extent from China, North Vietnam was very eager to avoid having any Chinese claims asserted to sovereignty over Vietnam... these were nationalists first, and communists by convenience.
When the North overran the south, and forced a quick evacuation of USA and allies, Vietnam united once again. This set off a rush of Chinese nationals into the sea in small boats. These 'boat people' found their way to many parts of the world. The boat people did of course include a lot of Vietnamese who had fought against the nationalist cause.
However, France came to the conclusion that USA was waiting for France to be defeated, with the intention of moving in afterward to claim the prize. France withdrew in an agreement with Nationalist forces, leaving Northern Vietnam in the hands of the nationalists, thereafter to be called the communists, while preparing to vacate from the south as well.
It was progressively clear that the government left in the south did not have any attachment to democracy, but that did not necessarily matter, since a slim majority or Vietnamese were not willing to go on fighting against 'Communism' in favor of a group who had sided with French Imperialism. In effect, most of the south still held Nationalist views.
The Domino theory made it necessary to fight for any group opposed to communism, even if those being supported were not popular, not acceptable to a majority. So, North Vietnam, seen as nationalists by southern Nationalists, had a vast array of support in the south, too.
Fighting a war with support of a minority of the country's people presented a no-win situation if it meant supporting a group put in power by the imperialists. But Domino thinking made it critical to defeat communism.
For Vietnam, this was never a cold war situation, it was a hot war, starting well before WW2, and continuing until USA pulled out. Cold war might properly describe a stand off between nuclear armed countries like USA and Nato, USA and China. But the term suggests not much happening in terms of real warfare going on.
Theories have abounded that USA might have gained the support of both north and South Vietnam, against Communism, had it opposed French imperialism, supported Vietnamese nationalism. Credible as this is, we can not be sure this would have worked. All we can say is that siding with French Imperialism did not work.
While North Vietnam did receive help from Russia, and to some extent from China, North Vietnam was very eager to avoid having any Chinese claims asserted to sovereignty over Vietnam... these were nationalists first, and communists by convenience.
When the North overran the south, and forced a quick evacuation of USA and allies, Vietnam united once again. This set off a rush of Chinese nationals into the sea in small boats. These 'boat people' found their way to many parts of the world. The boat people did of course include a lot of Vietnamese who had fought against the nationalist cause.
Cold war impact on cuba.
The Cold War Period: Tensions between the two governments peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 after the United States revealed the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Following the imposition of a U.S. naval blockade, the weapons were withdrawn and the missile bases dismantled, thus resolving one of the most serious international crises since World War II. A U.S.-Soviet agreement that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis assured Cuba’s protection from military attack by the United States.
Cuba’s alliance with the Soviets provided a protective umbrella that propelled Castro onto the international scene. Cuba’s support of anti-U.S. guerrilla and terrorist groups in Latin America and other countries of the developing world, military intervention in Africa, and unrestricted Soviet weapons deliveries to Cuba suddenly made Castro an important international contender. Cuba’s role in bringing to power a Marxist regime in Angola in 1975 and in supporting the Sandinista overthrow of the dictatorship of Nicaragua’s Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 perhaps stand out as Castro’s most significant accomplishments in foreign policy. In the 1980s, the U.S. military expulsion of the Cubans from Grenada, the electoral defeat of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and the peace accords in El Salvador and Central America showed the limits of Cuba’s influence and “internationalism” (Cuban missions to support governments or insurgencies in the developing world).
A Continuing Cuban-U.S. Cold War: The collapse of communism in the early 1990s had a profound effect on Cuba. Soviet economic subsidies to Cuba ended as of January 1, 1991. Without Soviet support, Cuba was submerged in a major economic crisis. The gross national product contracted by as much as one-half between 1989 and 1993, exports fell by 79 percent and imports by 75 percent, the budget deficit tripled, and the standard of living of the population declined sharply. The Cuban government refers to the economic crisis of the 1990s and the austerity measures put in place to try to overcome it euphemistically as the “special period in peacetime.” Minor adjustments, such as more liberalized foreign investment laws and the opening of private (but highly regulated) small businesses and agricultural stands, were introduced. Yet the regime continued to cling to an outdated Marxist and caudillista (dictatorial) system, refusing to open the political process or the economy.
The traditional Cold War hostility between Cuba and the United States continued unabated during the 1990s, and illegal Cuban immigration to the United States and human rights violations in Cuba remained sensitive issues. As the post-Soviet Cuban economy imploded for lack of once-generous Soviet subsidies, illegal emigration became a growing problem. The 1994 balsero crisis (named after the makeshift rafts or other unseaworthy vessels used by thousands of Cubans) constituted the most significant wave of Cuban illegal emigrants since the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, when 125,000 left the island. A Cuban-U.S. agreement to limit illegal emigration had the unintended effect of making alien smuggling of Cubans into the United States a major business.
Cuba’s alliance with the Soviets provided a protective umbrella that propelled Castro onto the international scene. Cuba’s support of anti-U.S. guerrilla and terrorist groups in Latin America and other countries of the developing world, military intervention in Africa, and unrestricted Soviet weapons deliveries to Cuba suddenly made Castro an important international contender. Cuba’s role in bringing to power a Marxist regime in Angola in 1975 and in supporting the Sandinista overthrow of the dictatorship of Nicaragua’s Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 perhaps stand out as Castro’s most significant accomplishments in foreign policy. In the 1980s, the U.S. military expulsion of the Cubans from Grenada, the electoral defeat of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and the peace accords in El Salvador and Central America showed the limits of Cuba’s influence and “internationalism” (Cuban missions to support governments or insurgencies in the developing world).
A Continuing Cuban-U.S. Cold War: The collapse of communism in the early 1990s had a profound effect on Cuba. Soviet economic subsidies to Cuba ended as of January 1, 1991. Without Soviet support, Cuba was submerged in a major economic crisis. The gross national product contracted by as much as one-half between 1989 and 1993, exports fell by 79 percent and imports by 75 percent, the budget deficit tripled, and the standard of living of the population declined sharply. The Cuban government refers to the economic crisis of the 1990s and the austerity measures put in place to try to overcome it euphemistically as the “special period in peacetime.” Minor adjustments, such as more liberalized foreign investment laws and the opening of private (but highly regulated) small businesses and agricultural stands, were introduced. Yet the regime continued to cling to an outdated Marxist and caudillista (dictatorial) system, refusing to open the political process or the economy.
The traditional Cold War hostility between Cuba and the United States continued unabated during the 1990s, and illegal Cuban immigration to the United States and human rights violations in Cuba remained sensitive issues. As the post-Soviet Cuban economy imploded for lack of once-generous Soviet subsidies, illegal emigration became a growing problem. The 1994 balsero crisis (named after the makeshift rafts or other unseaworthy vessels used by thousands of Cubans) constituted the most significant wave of Cuban illegal emigrants since the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, when 125,000 left the island. A Cuban-U.S. agreement to limit illegal emigration had the unintended effect of making alien smuggling of Cubans into the United States a major business.
APP.
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Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fidel-castro
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/358824/ho-chi-minh-fidel-castro-and-other-jeffersonians-jay-nordlinger
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/fidel_castro
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fidel-castro
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/358824/ho-chi-minh-fidel-castro-and-other-jeffersonians-jay-nordlinger
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/fidel_castro
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war