ownererz

Thank you for the link, I took a look at the document and it seem'd very interesting. After reading Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg I remember Komer's name coming up several times:I couldn't believe the paper was hosted on a RAND website!

How would you go about constructing a stable democracy in a culture so different with people that are hostile? In Vietnam from what I've read the more wealthy and equal a area was the more likely it was to side with the NLF and NVA then the ARVN and US, while the poorer regions would just fall in line.

After reading much on the Vietnam war (mostly 1950s onward) and how corrupt the Republic of Vietnam was, do you think it would have been possible to straighten out a regime so corrupt? Do you think a central leadership if strong helps even if it is as corrupt as a weaker, more decentralized government?