“[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 harsh forms of land reform and the Great Leap Forward). Unfortunately, he was not always successful in fending off those forms of external advice that he didn't agree with.”
![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
