Associating Evil | LBJ & Ho Chi Minh
“I am not going to lose Vietnam. I am not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.”
– Lyndon Baines Johnson
“You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”
– Ho Chi Minh
The horizon grew brighter. Set against the rising smoke, the rising sun looked almost artificial. Ahead, he could just see the outlines of bodies set against piles of dirt and craters from mortar shells. Through the binoculars, he could still see movement beyond the horizon, but it was getting smaller before vanishing into the line of jungle. He waited for the sun to rise, burn away the morning fog, and leave a clear line of sight on the tree line before sending his men out into the field.
The next several hours were an endless scouring of the killing field in front of them. His men searched the bodies that were still intact for intelligence or other pieces of information. Massive holes were dug to accommodate the mass graves required for the bodies of Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers. Construction equipment was used to push the piles of bodies into the holes before dirt was pushed over them by the same machine. He had seen something like this only a few times before.
Around midday, a major addressed him with a salute and provided a pile of contraband found on the bodies. He took it and watched the man head back out into the field, issuing orders to pull new wire and plant additional claymores and other explosives. The clean-up was over. It was time to prepare again.
On top of the pile of papers and photos, was a typed note. He unfolded it and read it aloud, to himself.
“Remember, we cannot defeat the Americans on the battlefield. We must defeat them at home. We will defeat them by turning their own people against them and make them eat themselves. When you fight, remember that you fight until the Americans are forced to surrender.”
The Lieutenant Colonel looked up from the paper as his men prepared the field again for the coming fight, and said nothing.
As we look at villains in history, we want to look at actions and their effects. The policies of Lyndon Baines Johnson and Ho Chi Minh were the reflection of two leaders operating in different contexts. Though the method by which they exercised their intentions was different, the root of their “why” is in question. In this episode, we want to look at both the intention and result from each leader by examining comparisons of policy during their tenure. The contexts of culture may require different methods for enacting said policy, but the intentions and subsequent outcomes show the result. For example, LBJ used the American process to send men to war, while Ho Chi Minh created his processes to do the same. What are the differences between such actions, regardless of the method used? We examine that today.
Foreign Policies
This, characterized by the Vietnam War, is the most direct comparison and possibly the most destructive for both leaders. One sought to subjugate a country through Marxist totalitarianism using force, genocide, and consolidation of power. The other used any means necessary to increase political power through a conflict due to pride and ego. In both cases, innocents paid the price.
Before his landslide election, Johnson had worked with John F. Kennedy to manage growing support from the US government to the government of South Vietnam. This was due to the growing insurgency from the communists in the north, led by Ho Chi Minh, taking control of that part of the country. Once President, Johnson sought to escalate US involvement to offset the domino effect on the region, where it was believed that one area falling to communism would lead to other areas following suit.
The president accomplished this incident by working with the CIA and other intelligence agencies to stage the Gulf of Tonkin incident, where it was reported that US destroyers were attacked by the North Vietnamese. What was true about the incident was that the USS Maddox was targeted by North Vietnamese torpedo boats on August 2, 1964. In this attack, there was no damage to the USS Maddox or any American Sailor. What was untrue was the second attack, which never happened. The false report of the second attack was used by Johnson and the US government, to grant the president unilateral power to commit whatever resources he saw fit without congressional approval. As a result, Johnson pushed for a full deployment of American servicemen to Vietnam to ensure that the communist north was stopped.
Over the next six years, American forces rose from around 16,000 to over 500,000. Service members were ordered to carry out military strategies that came from politicians in Washington rather than commanders in the field, and those who survived were ridiculed, forever scared, and forgotten.
The primary goal for Ho Chi Minh was to reunify Vietnam under communist rule. He did this through force, bloodshed, and barbarism. Financed by communist allies such as the Soviet Union and China, Ho resisted and defeated the French occupation at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The United States had been sending advisors to aid the French since 1950 and began increasing their military presence soon after the departure of the French to ensure that South Vietnam could withstand the coming communist assault. Ho consolidated power as a result of the surrender, but always kept his eyes on South Vietnam as his final goal. In the north, Ho created the North Vietnamese Army and instituted Marxist principles of land sharing and other policies while recruiting the disenfranchised people who were tired of the corruption of the South Vietnamese government. Those who stood against him were murdered. Entire regions were liquidated of all people. Villages were massacred and the bodies were deposited in mass graves. One of the most infamous massacres occurred at Hue City during the Tet Offensive of 1968, where NVA and Vietcong forces slaughtered hundreds of citizens believed to have helped the South Vietnamese. It was only after American forces retook the city were the mass graves found. As the conflict grew, so did US involvement to the point that the United States clashed directly with Ho’s forces, winning all engagements but losing the war due to US corruption and lack of competent military management.
Domestic & Social Policies
Each leader focused on the domestic policies in line with their culture and desired outcome, using the rules established within the confines of the rule of law or the law that they desired to make.
The cornerstone of Johnson’s domestic policy was his "Great Society" programs. These included the War on Poverty and urban renewal and became the basis for ongoing programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Additionally, he was an advocate for and the signer of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which solidified the rights of African Americans across the country.
Though he signed these important laws, historians have argued about his real reason for doing so. The country was changing, and there is the belief that Johnson pushed these forward as a result of such change. Privately, Johnson used derogatory, racist language towards minorities. In addition, the majority of democrats, mostly from the south, had to be talked into supporting the bill for political reasons. Had it not been for Republicans the bills would not have passed, a fact noted by Johnson himself. In addition to his racist private views, Johnson’s “Great Society” programs have caused innumerable problems that are still being felt today. The War on Poverty set societal expectations for ongoing government support, encouraging dependency while doing very little to combat poverty. Some historians have disputed these criticisms and have written that the War on Poverty though it had flaws, did help alleviate the suffering of many impoverished Americans.
Ho’s approach to domestic policy was very different, and in context, reflective of his ongoing war with the occupying French and Americans. After WWII, Ho founded the communist party and took control of Hanoi in 1945. Subsequent “reforms” were instituted to enforce his Marxist ideology. Here, things take a bad turn. His policies aimed at land redistribution meant the displacement and general, widespread genocide of farmers and families.
To put this in perspective, consider this as you sit in your home or car. You have finished working for the day, and sitting down to dinner, begin to talk with your family. Imagine, for a moment, your children laughing at something that happened that day, or someone telling a joke that makes you smile. After dinner, everyone goes their way to do what they want before getting ready for bed and turning in for the night. Suddenly, you and your family are awakened by soldiers breaking down your door. You are dragged out by your hair as you watch your children thrown onto the ground. Before you can even realize what is happening, you watch your children and other family members stabbed to death. As they lay there, bleeding out on the ground and weeping silently from the pain and fear, the communists come to you. Your bodies are thrown into a mass, unmarked grave, and the property is reallocated for the government. Your pictures are stripped from the walls. Your belongings are collected and redistributed. All that made you who you were is completely erased. At some point in the future, your empty home is distributed to a loyal family who will obey and serve the communists well.
This was a cornerstone of Ho’s “reforms”. Some historians have sought to mask such atrocity of how Ho worked to improve literacy rates, gender equality, and healthcare for the population. While some of this may be true, nothing good outweighs the absolute horror rendered by Ho and his forces. Even today, mass graves of bodies are still being found. Some American veterans have spoken about the atrocities they saw and tried to prevent, even as the last American chopper left the US embassy in 1975, before the red curtain closed around the country completely.
Standing Against Evil
In contrasting Lyndon Johnson and Ho Chi Minh, it may seem easy to say that there is no comparison. After all, Johnson did not commit such atrocities or order them. He also enacted legislation that ensured rights for minorities and sought to solve societal issues for American society as a whole. While that is true, it would be historically irresponsible to ignore the many bad decisions of Johnson. Moreover, it is horrendous to dismiss the atrocities committed by Ho to highlight whatever perceived good he may have done.
When standing against evil, it is important to observe evil for what it is, in whatever context. It was evil of Johnson to falsify the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Doing so escalated a war. It was also evil for Ho to be continually allowed to commit his atrocities. So, what was the answer? Unfortunately, given the actions that were taken in the context of the time, we will never know.
Evil actions can take many forms. Some are worse than others and may seem to negate the rest. This, however, is a fallacy. Johnson’s actions to start the war were evil. Ho’s atrocities were more evil. One does not negate the other and both are true. In the context of history, we must be careful not to appropriate justifications when we compare the actions of people. It is possible for one atrocity to be worse than the other, and both still be wrong.
When we see choices made in history for the purpose of elevating a person, bad results are inevitable. In contrast, when honest actions are applied to free the person, there is a history of actual solutions that arise. The choice of enacting such solutions becomes yet another distinction between evil ambition and righteous sacrifice. As we look to history, we must be honest about what is there. Through this honesty, we will be better equipped to understand evil, in whatever context, and be part of the force that pushes against it.
AP Photo