NGUYEN VAN THIEU is an easy man to underrate, and both the U.S. and his South Vietnamese opponents have made that mistake. Bland in appearance, cautious by nature, reserved in public, he is not exactly the model of the charismatic leader of a small country pitted in a life-and-death struggle against an implacable foe. Yet Thieu has demonstrated a knack for survival that has confounded his doubters. Not since Ngo Dinh Diem has a national leader been able to stay in power for so long in South Viet Nam, much less run a viable...
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