VIET NAM: A Dubious Communist Victory

Long after Saigon's "liberation;" Hanoi still faces hard times

It has been just five years since the jubilant troops of North Viet Nam swept into the crushed city of Saigon and brought an ignominious end to the Republic of South Viet Nam. For Hanoi, those euphoric days of victory held hope that the long years of sacrifice would finally be repaid with peace and prosperity. A U.S.-built network of roads, ports and communications facilities remained largely intact throughout the South and a united Viet Nam, blessed with two rice-rich river deltas, abundant coal and fertile fishing grounds seemed ready to...

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