Vietnam Redux

A lot of the time, when the NY Times does a story, I don't link to it. It's not that I don't like the Times, it's that I hate their subscription policy. And even though it's free (for now) it's a pain in the ass.

So now, I bring to you (a day late, and a dollar short) VietNam Redux

Via the Falls Church News Press

By Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 - United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 percent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam. The election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in January, 1966, to which President Johnson gave his personal commitment when he met Premier Ky and General Thieu, the chief of state, in Honolulu in February. The purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy to the Saigon Government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since November 1963, when President Ngo Dinh Deim was overthrown by a military junta.

...and we all know how well the conflict in Vietnam turned out.