About William J. Duiker
[Wikidata] American historian... | [Wikipedia] William J. Duiker is a former United States Foreign Service officer and is currently Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies at Penn State University. His area of expertise is East Asia; while in the Foreign Service, he was stationed in Taiwan, the Republic of (South) Vietnam, and Wash
![“From the outset, when [Ho Chi Minh] became a member of the French Communist Party in 1920, he was an independent thinker who adjusted Marxist-Leninist ideas and tactics to what he perceived to be the concrete situation in Indochina.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4d3/william-j-duiker-21821_communist_from-the-outset-when-ho-chi-minh-became_391245.jpg)
![“Finally, in 1954 [Ho Chi Minh] agreed to the Geneva Agreement, which divided the country temporarily into two zones, in the hope that national elections might unify the country under his leadership.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/abe/william-j-duiker-21821_agreement_finally-in-1954-ho-chi-minh-agreed-to-th_798642.jpg)
![“[Dissidents] groups would benefit enormously from learning about Ho Chi Minh's ideas on how to defeat a more popular enemy.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f7c/william-j-duiker-21821_benefits_dissidents-groups-would-benefit-enormous_627793.jpg)
![“In the end, many of his more militant colleagues began to feel that [Ho Chi Minh's] tendency to compromise, and his reluctance to confront the enemy directly, was a sign of weakness. The decision to confront the United States in 1963-1965 was a tacit recognition that Ho's approach had failed.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/064/william-j-duiker-21821_approach_in-the-end-many-of-his-more-militant-col_40669.jpg)
![“I would hazard the statement that in the broad sense [Ho Chi Minh's] ideas had triumphed, since the communist victory in Vietnam was a consequence of political, diplomatic, and psychological factors more than military ones. That is a tribute to the ideas that he introduced in his life and thought.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/685/william-j-duiker-21821_broads_i-would-hazard-the-statement-that-in-the_1527553.jpg)
![“If [Ho Chi Minh] had had carte blanche over his movement, would the results of the war have been different? That is difficult to say. In some cases - as in 1945 and 1946, he appeared to overestimate the possibility that the United States might decide to recognize his government and the…” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/772/william-j-duiker-21821_blanche_if-ho-chi-minh-had-had-carte-blanche-ove_797048.jpg)
![“On many occasions in the late 1950s and 1960s, [Ho Chi Minh's] ideas were apparently ignored by those who felt that his approach was too naive and prone to compromise. The outbreak of open warfare with the French and later with the United States was in effect a sign of the failure of Ho Chi Minh…” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6be/william-j-duiker-21821_1960s_on-many-occasions-in-the-late-1950s-and_865835.jpg)
![“I did not feel - in President [J.F.] Kennedy's words - that we could win the war for [the government in Saigon]. When I sought the reason for the dedication shown by the enemy, it seemed to me that the leadership and charisma shown by Ho Chi Minh was a major part of the answer.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/30d/william-j-duiker-21821_answers_i-did-not-feel-in-president-j-f-kennedy_2607794.jpg)
![“In the spring of 1946 [Ho Chi Minh ] signed a provisional agreement with the French representative on a compromise solution to the dispute over Vietnamese independence. Once again, he might have been naive in hoping that a compromise was really possible.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c19/william-j-duiker-21821_agreement_in-the-spring-of-1946-ho-chi-minh-signed_3202818.jpg)
![“When the advice of Moscow ran counter to [Ho Chi Minh's] own ideas - as in the 1930s - he kept his head down and waited until the situation changed in his favor with the beginning of the Pacific War.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c64/william-j-duiker-21821_1930s_when-the-advice-of-moscow-ran-counter-to_3059969.jpg)
![“Ho Chi Minh sought to defeat both adversaries [French and American] primarily by using diplomatic and political means, combined with paramilitary activities.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e88/william-j-duiker-21821_activity_ho-chi-minh-sought-to-defeat-both-advers_2051242.jpg)
![“Today [ Sun Tzu] ideas are not widely applied, at least among Islamic dissidents, whose profligate use of indiscriminate terrorism appears to limit the appeal of their ideas rather than to "win hearts and minds," as the Vietminh and the National Liberation Front did in Vietnam so many decades ago.” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf9/william-j-duiker-21821_appeals_today-sun-tzu-ideas-are-not-widely-appli_2880199.jpg)
![“I first became interested in Ho Chi Minh in 1964-1965 while I was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in South Vietnam as a foreign service officer with the Department of State. The government in Saigon was at the point of collapse and the [Lyndon] Johnson administration was preparing to send U.S…” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/491/william-j-duiker-21821_administration_i-first-became-interested-in-ho-chi-minh_2609137.jpg)
![“When he served in China during World War II, [Ho Chi Minh] learned about Mao Zedong's tactics of guerrilla war against the Japanese (and later against Chiang Kai-shek's forces), and he translated some of Mao's works into Vietnamese. But it is clear that his own ideas on how to counter the enemy…” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/98d/william-j-duiker-21821_china_when-he-served-in-china-during-world-war_2125987.jpg)
![“[Ho Chi Minh] was always conscious that conditions in China and Vietnam were not always the same. He "kowtowed" to the Chinese - as he had to the Soviet Union - in order to receive their assistance, but he quietly worked to limit those forms of influence of which he did not approve (such as the…” quote by William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4c8/william-j-duiker-21821_advice_ho-chi-minh-was-always-conscious-that-co_2997107.jpg)