he was a communist as well who even received training in the Soviet Union. But the hard core Marxists around him - General Giap and Duong - usurped Minh ' s real power. But remember the cold war was getting really intense and both communist Soviet Union and China was actively backing North Vietnam ' s effort. And remember international Marxists had adopted a policy of expansion through "wars of national liberation", hence our "domino theory". So our desire to get involved wasn't as crazy on that basis as it seems now. What was crazy was continuing muddling on even when decision makers knew early on that it was unwinnable given our accepted tactics and level of involvement.