The Quiet American (novel)
by Graham Greene
The Quiet American (film / movie, of the same name as the novel, DVD, publicly available)
[Vietnam timeline]
[Vietnam timeline 2nd century B.c. -- 1975]
2nd century B.C.
Chinese general Zhao Tuo conquers the kingdom of Au Lac, bordering the south of China in what is now northern Vietnam. He named it Nam Viet. Over the next 2000 years, Vietnam would remain in flux between national independence and Chinese foreign occupation.
During this time, the country expands south into the Mekong Delta and west along the present-day Cambodia and Laos.
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19th century
After a long period of Vietnamese civil war, a French Catholic Bishop assists ousted heir Nguyan Anh to reclaim Vietnam under a new, unified dynasty.
Resistance to the new regime is met brutally, and religious persecution harsh.
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1858
Under the pretext of Catholic persecution, France and Spain invade Vietnam.
By 1887, France conquers Vietnam and incorporates it into its Southeast Asian colonies, known as French Indochina.
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1940
Germany defeats France during World War II.
After the French surrender to the Germans, the Japanese invade Vietnam.
This occupation supplants the French government, and replaces France's reign of power.
Ho Chi Minh leads resistance against both the French and their Japanese masters. He founds the Vietminh organization to liberate Vietnam and push for democratic reforms.
In an effort to undermine the Japanese presence, the U.S. sends a group of elite O.S.S. officers, known as the “Deer Team”, to arm and train the Vietminh. The Vietminh had previously been fighting against the French in an effort to gain Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule.
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1945
([ two atomic bombs dropped on Japanese cities ])
September 2, 1945
World War II ends. Japan surrenders.
[in August 1945, the history of the world was altered abruptly. The first atomic bomb hit Hiroshima on 6 August. The second hit Nagasaki on the 9th., source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSS_Deer_Team]
Ho Chi Minh proclaims Vietnam independent. O.S.S. Officers known as the “Deer Team” are part of the celebrations in Hanoi as U.S. planes fly overhead.
In his address to the public, Ho Chi Minh borrows from the American Declaration of Independence, stating:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident ...”
France, unwilling to let go of its colonial holdings, drives the Vietminh out of South Vietnam.
With the future of Vietnam at stake, the Vietminh and French spend over a year in negotiation.
The Vietminh demand a free, unified country, while the French insist on control over South Vietnam.
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1946
November 1946
France shells the city of Haiphong.
6,000 Vietnamese civilians are killed and war begins in an attempt to regain control over Vietnam.
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1947
March 12, 1947
In a speech to Congress, President Truman separates world between governments of “free peoples” and those of “terror and oppression”. The Cold War begins. Communism, in whatever form it may take, has become the new enemy of the United States.
Despite the fact that Ho Chi Minh is not anti-American, nor evidence found that he is working for the SOviet Union, he is condemned for being a communist.
Ho Chi Minh implores the United States to help Vietnam in its struggle for freedom.
Not only does the Truman Administration ignores these requests, it also begins secretly funneling aid to France.
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John Brooks, Business Adventures: twelves classic tales from the world of wall street, 1959
pp.173-174
Between 1947 and 1960, Haloid spent about 75 million dollars on research in xerography, or about twice what it earned from its regular operations during that period;
copyright © 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
All the material in this books has appeared in the New Yorker in slightly different form.
John Brooks, Business Adventures: twelves classic tales from the world of wall street, 1959
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1950
March 10, 1950
President Truman officially recognizes France's colonization of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.
Soon thereafter, the U.S. sends military aid and a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to Saigon. This group was to assist French in their fight against the communists.
Over the next four years, the U.S. sends more than $4 billion in aid for France's war on Vietnam.
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[ June 25, 1950: North Korea invades South Korea (the forgotton war) ]
1954
March 1954
The Vietminh surround and lay siege to the remote French garrison of [[Dien Bien Phu]].
[put wikipedia entry here; from a military perspective, this is one of the significance battle ]
12,000 French soldiers remain trapped inside.
April 7, 1954
In a historic press conference, President Truman makes the case for containing communism in Indochina. The “Domino Theory” stated that if Vietnam were to become communist, then the rest of Asia would follow, ending with Japan becoming a communist country.
Despite criticism, the “Domino Theory” would guide the U.S. in its crusade against communism in Vietnam, and throughout the world.
May 7, 1954
After months of holding out, France finally surrenders Dien Bien Phu. It marks the pivotal end of war for France. A cease-fire is called, followed by France's eventual withdrawal from Vietnam.
June 1954
France and Vietnam agree to terms of peace under the Geneva Accords. The 17th parallel temporarily separates the country into two: to the NOrth the communist Vietnamese government of Ho Chi Minh, to the South the American installed government of Ngo Dinh Diem. Elections are to be held in two years to unite the country.
Installed by the U.S., Diem ruled over South Vietnam as an authoritarian power.
Already fragmented with rivalries and factions, South Vietnam suffered under massive corruption, religious oppression and poor leadership.
In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh faced his own problems. Dissidents were executed, and the military was used to put down uprising in North Vietnam.
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1956
Fearing a communist win, South Vietnamese Premier Diem and the U.S. block elections scheduled to reunite Vietnam. American military advisors are stepped up in South Vietnam.
American pours money into South Vietnam to prop up its economy. Premier Diem institutes oppressive measures to root out communists in the South and continue his rule.
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1959
January 1959
North Vietnam officially sanctions force in its struggle to unite the country. Military attacks and assassinations are stepped up against the South.
The Ho Chi Minh trail is established as a military route to South Vietnam.
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1961
December 1961-1962
President Kennedy authorizes a drastic increase in the number of military advisors sent to Vietnam.
Within a year, 9,000 advisors are directly assisting South Vietnam in fighting against Communists.
Agent Orange is used to defoliate the countryside.
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1963
Buddhists protest religious presecution in South Vietnam, garnering worldwide attention when monks self-immolate themselves on the streets of Saigons.
With American approval, the South Vietnamese military stages a coup, murdering Diem and his brother.
Three weeks after Diem's murder, President Kennedy is assassinated. Vice President Johnson assumes the reins of power.
The following year, another coup rocks South Vietnam.
In the years following, SOuth Vietnam undergoes more the five coups and changes of leadership.
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1964
August 2, 1964
North Vietnam attacks a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Tonkin. A second attack, conceived by the U.S., though not actually occurring, provides the impetus for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
Congress overwhelmingly passes the resolution, giving the President broad powers to wage war.
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1965
January 1965
Attacks against the South Vietnamese and their American advisors intensify, Americans die in battle and sabotage.
Consequently, President Johnson initiates Operation Rolling Thunder, a series of sustained bombing attacks against the North which would last 3 years and kill over 180,000 civilians.
March 1965
Johnson deploys the first American combat troops to Vietnam.
By the end of the year, their numbers would grow to 160,000
The first “teach-ins” are held at American universities to protest the war. A growing anti-war movement includes veterans, politicians and foreign leaders.
1965-1967
American troop strength builds as the war insensifies. By the end of 1967, American troop strength is at more than half a million with expenditures of over $2 billion a month.
The U.S. drops more tonnage of bombs than it had in all the World War II.
Resistance to the war increases, with a march on Washington number 100,000 strong.
White House staff members resign, draftees dodge the war and public opinion in favor of the President drops.
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1968
January 1968
Taking advantage of the lunar New Year of Tet, the Communists launch a massive assault on South Vietnam.
The North suffers huge losses as a result, with approximately 30,000 killed, but the United States is stunned by the effort.
Two months later, Lyndon Johnson announced on television that he will make efforts at peace with Vietnam, and more shockingly, will not seek re-election.
In the village of My Lai, American troops massacre approximately 200 civilians.
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1969
President Nixon begins secret bombing raids into neighboring Cambodia, a neutral country used by North Vietnam to infiltrate south. The resulting destabilization of the country eventually would lead to a genocidal Cambodian dictatorship which murdered millions of its own people.
A policy of “Vietnamization” is announced, in which the South Vietnamese would be expected to take up more of the fighting while the U.S. de-escalated its ground war.
At the same time, Nixon steps up the bombing, averaging one ton of bombs dropped every minute.
On September 4th, Ho Chi Minh dies of a heart attack in Hanoi.
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1970
Americans protest Nixon's invasion of Cambodia. Massive protests are held throughout the country. At Kent State University and Jackson State University, protests are shot and killed by the National Guard.
U.S. troop size in Vietnam falls to 280,000. Approximately 65,000 servicemen are using easily available drugs. Nixon announces the draft will end in 1973.
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1971
June 1971
Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, restricting the President's war-making powers. It also restricts further attacks into Cambodia. Instead, Nixon steps up invasions into neighboring Laos.
Nixon announces the withdrawal of 100,000 troops from Vietnam by the end of the year. Public opinion against the war reaches an all-time high, with 71 percent of the public believing it was a misake.
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1972
May 1972
While American ground troops decrease, Nixon initiates Operation Linebacker, a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
New “smart” bombs are also used: computer-controlled bombs mounted with television cameras for precise targeting. Massive casualties ensure.
October 1972
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger signs terms for a cease-fire with North Vietnamese representatives.
Kissinger's announcement that “peace is at hand” is undercut by South Vietnam's opposition to the agreement.
December 1972
Nixon initiates what would become known as the “Christmas Bombings”, dropping more tonnage of bombs in 12 days than in the entire period from 1969 to 1971.
The attacks draw worldwide condemnation. Nixon's popular approval rating sink. Congress calls for an end to the war.
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1973
January 1973
Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho meet in Paris to sign terms of “peace with honor”.
The war continues without direct U.S. military involvement.
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William R. Clark, Petrodollar warfare, 2005 [ ]
p.21 (pdf - page 42/289)
In May 1973, with the dramatic fall of the dollar still vivid, a
group of 84 of the world's top financial and political insiders met
at Saltsjobaden, Sweden, the seclude island resort of the Swedish
Wallenberg banking family. This gathering of [the] Bilderberg
group heard an American participant, Walter Levy, outline a ‘scenario’
for an imminent 400 percent increase in OPEC petroleum
revenues. The purpose of the secret Saltsjobaden meeting WAS NOT
TO PREVENT THE EXPECTED OIL PRICE SHOCK, BUT RATHER TO PLAN HOW TO MANAGE
THE ABOUT-TO-BE-CREATED FLOOD OF OIL DOLLARS, a process US Secretary
of State Kissinger later called ‘recycling the petrodollar flows.’
[emphasis added]
-- F. William Engdahl, A Century of War43
(Petrodollar warfare : oil, Iraq and the future of the dollar, William R. Clark, 2005, )
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1975
April 30, 1975
The last Americans evacuate Saigon as North Vietnamese forces roll into the capital.
The war is finished. Nearly 30 years after Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam's independence with the words of Thomas Jefferson, Vietnam is unified under a communist government.
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Post-war
58,015 Americans died in the conflict.
It is estimated that over one and a half million Vietnamese lost their lives.
<---------------------------------------------------------------------------->
[Boom and Bust cycle in the economy]
[United States presence in Vietnam ]
[ ongoing Vietnam war ]
[ June 25, 1950: North Korea invades South Korea ]
[ Vietnam (Nov 1955-Apr 1975) -> war deficits spending from Vietnam ]
[ growing Vietnam war deficits spending -> Aug 1971, Gold Exchange suspended ]
[ Aug 1971, Gold Exchange suspended -> free-floating dollar ]
[ free-floating dollar, growing trade deficit, big debt -> USD devaluation ]
[ US dollar devaluation -> possible monetary move to a basket of currencies ]
[ to prevent this monetary transition to a basket of currencies ]
[ basket of currencies from the Group of Ten nations, or G-10. ]
[ Saudi Arabia to unilaterally price international oil sales in dollars (only)]
[ vietnam => war deficits => gold exchange => free-floating dollar ]
[ free-floating dollar => US dollar devaluation =?> rise in oil price ]
[ Saudi Arabia to price intl oil sales in USD (only) =?> rise in oil price ]
[ what else ??? => rise in oil price]
[ Evisceration of the Libyan Independents => enable rise in oil price]
[ vietnam -> war deficits -> gold exchange -> free-floating dollar ]
[ to prevent [Saudia Arabia's currency reserve from oil] monetary transition to basket of currencies <- subvert market mechanism <- to keep USD hegemony ]
[ OIL PRICE SHOCK -> FLOOD OF OIL DOLLARS ]
[ OIL PRICE SHOCK <=· {what ??? led to rise in oil price} ]
[ Saudi Arabia to price intl oil sales in USD (only)]
[ 1973 the start of petrodollar cycle a.k.a. recycling petrodollar ]
[ flood of oil dollars -> 1970s intl lending spree -> 1980s banking crisis ]
[ how US presence in Vietnam led to 1980s banking crisis ]
[ macro economic of the US dollar (Petrodollar cycle) ]
[ petrodollar cycle ·=> 2003 Iraq war ]
[ for there to be U.S. presence in Iraq <==· 11 September 2001 hijackers]
[ for there to be U.S. presence in Iraq <==· Iraq need to have oil ]
[ for there to be U.S. presence in Iraq <==· policy to remove Saddam ]
[ to remove Saddam <==· U.S. military boots on the ground is needed ]
[ 11 September 2001 hijackers <==· let the bad-fall guys in (operation) ]
[ Osama bin Ladin (al-Qa'ida ── Arabic for “the base”) takes public credit for 11 September 2001 hijackers or did he? ]
[ Osama bin Ladin ?=> CIA asset/ rogue operative/ free agent/ independent operator ]
[ 11 September 2001 hijackers ·-> 1, 2, 7 WTC buildings ·-> Iraq ]
[ Viet. growing war debt ·-> gold exchange suspended ·-> free-floating dollar ]
[ free-floating dollar, growing trade deficit, big debt ·-> USD devaluation ]
[ USD devaluation ·-> one topic of discussion at May 1973 Bilderberg meeting (Saltsjobaden, Sweden) ]
[ USD devaluation ·-> Saudi Arabia/US/UK/Euro petrodollar cycle scheme ]
[ US's debt from Vietnam-Indo-China war ·-> petrodollar cycle]
[ Vietnam linked to petrodollar cycle; petrodollar cycle linked to Iraq ]
([ in the above big picture, the connections (links, relationship, strings, threads) between Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the bond market, Cantor Fitzgerald, the World Trade Center building 1, 2, 3, and 7, and the United States of America (U.S. Government, The Pentagon, U.S. businesses at the World Trade Centerbuildings) are the seams between the pieces of the jizsaw puzzle of the Big Picture; follow the money: follow the flow of the money, or, in this case, follow the baseline [source node], the inflow & outflow [source node], the rate of inflow [source node], record all the changes in the rate of inflow & outflow [source node], the baseline [destination node], the inflow & outflow [destination node], the rate of outflow [destination node], record all the changes in the rate of inflow & outflow [destination node] of the petrodollar cycle ]) ([ that was complicated and messy: basically, you tap into a line, or a node; you monitor the baseline over time, as you archive the baseline data over time, from that you should be able to calculate the inflow, the outflow, and the rate of changed; think of it this way: you are sitting at the front entrance of building and tracking all the people entering and exiting the building, you have some one else doing the same thing at the back exit, you have another person at the entrance to the parking complex, you have another person at the exit zone of the parking area; so in theory and in practice, unless there is some other secret passage way into and out of the building, you should be able to track all the people from that building; then there is that guy that escape from Japanese custody - out of Japan - by hiding inside a large suitcase or a sort of electronic equipment shipping case; with that in mind, you would track all packages going in and out that is big enough to hold a small person; you would also track all vehicles; ...])
([ bitcoin ])
([ how to circumvent centralized control of asset ])
([ distribution of asset ])
([ in most cases, you're going to have access to only one of the nodes, either the source or the destination ])
([ debt (war debt), fossil fuel (oil & gas), and pertrodollar cycle are the links between Vietnam, The Gulf of Tonkin incident (Vietnamese: Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ), Saudia Arabia, Nine-Eleven event, world trade center buildings (buildings 1, 2, and 7) in New York, Afghanistan and Iraq ])
([ how does the U.S. military get its energy ])
([ will congress pass laws to have the U.S. military go green ])
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