“There were various aspects of Sun Tzu's approach that appealed to Ho Chi Minh: a) to learn to understand both the enemy and yourself, to seek out his weaknesses and your own strengths, and act accordingly, b) to make ample use of subterfuge and stratagem in order to defeat or disarm your adversary, and c) to use outright violence only when absolutely necessary in the belief that political struggle was more effective than military struggle.”
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
