CIA withheld letters to President Truman
September 27, 2017 6:21 PM Subscribe
In the first episode of Ken Burns' Vietnam, the narrator says that Ho Chi Minh sent letters to President Truman that were never given to him. I can't find out anything about this on the web so far, any help? More inside.
In searching google I see the CIA report from 1971 at this link. It says "One of the earliest disclosures in the account [in the Pentagon's secret study of the war] is that in late 1945 and early 1946, Ho Chi Minh wrote at least eight letters to President Truman and the State Department requesting American help in winning Vietnam's independence from France...The analyst says that he could find no record that the United States ever answered Ho Chi Minh's letters. Nor has Washington ever revealed that it received the letters." Also there is a short discussion of this on Reddit (in relation to this first episode of the series). Does anyone happen to know where Burns sourced this information or where this came from? Given how the right wing nutty media has been on about the "deep state" lately I'd like to have an idea how often this happens where the CIA doesn't give the president important information like this. Also, I'd like to point out that it wouldn't have been the CIA per se but the OSS which was the CIA's predecessor.
Looking for a source please, since my google failed me. Grazie.
In searching google I see the CIA report from 1971 at this link. It says "One of the earliest disclosures in the account [in the Pentagon's secret study of the war] is that in late 1945 and early 1946, Ho Chi Minh wrote at least eight letters to President Truman and the State Department requesting American help in winning Vietnam's independence from France...The analyst says that he could find no record that the United States ever answered Ho Chi Minh's letters. Nor has Washington ever revealed that it received the letters." Also there is a short discussion of this on Reddit (in relation to this first episode of the series). Does anyone happen to know where Burns sourced this information or where this came from? Given how the right wing nutty media has been on about the "deep state" lately I'd like to have an idea how often this happens where the CIA doesn't give the president important information like this. Also, I'd like to point out that it wouldn't have been the CIA per se but the OSS which was the CIA's predecessor.
Looking for a source please, since my google failed me. Grazie.
National Archives has one, or maybe it's a telegram.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:54 PM on September 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Ideefixe at 7:54 PM on September 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm not able to link to his source pages, but Howard Zinn mentions the letters.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:02 PM on September 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Ideefixe at 8:02 PM on September 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sorry for the serial posts, but you can search the Dept of State archives and find quite a few references to Minh's letters to Truman.
Here's one report. "Ho Chi Minh handed me two letters addressed to President of USA, China, Russia, and Britain, identical copies of which were stated to have been forwarded to other governments named. "
Fun fact: Stalin didn't reply to any of Minh's letters, either.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:19 PM on September 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Here's one report. "Ho Chi Minh handed me two letters addressed to President of USA, China, Russia, and Britain, identical copies of which were stated to have been forwarded to other governments named. "
Fun fact: Stalin didn't reply to any of Minh's letters, either.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:19 PM on September 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Have you read A Bright Shining Lie? Its been too many years for me to remember if this specific element is in the book, but I think it might be.
posted by jindc at 7:08 AM on September 28, 2017
posted by jindc at 7:08 AM on September 28, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for the replies. I think I need to restate, I'm looking for the source that Ken Burns might have used for the statement that the CIA withheld letters from Ho Chi Minh to the President. I know there were many communications, and thanks to Corb I'm wading through come of them in the Pentagon Papers, but I'm interested in whether they were deliberately not forwarded to the President and why. It looks like HCM sent telegrams and letters to the State Department too, but I see nowhere where the papers state that "this letter should not be delivered to the president" or some such. There is a statement after one telegram in the PP from "SEA-Mr. Moffet" that says "SEA considers that no action should be taken on the attached telegram from Ho Chi Minh to the President requesting membership of the so-called Viet-Nam Republic on the Far Eastern Advisory Commission" but that doesn't out and out say "don't forward to the President". jindc, I will look into that book, perhaps it says something more definite. If anyone else has ideas I'm all...eyes, I guess. :) Thanks all.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:19 AM on September 29, 2017
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:19 AM on September 29, 2017
Best answer: Rufous - I believe in the documentary that Burns stated the "letters were never delivered" not that "the letters were withheld by the CIA." You're well informed on this already and perhaps my memory is faulty, but I don't recall thinking that the CIA was being particularly nefarious.
posted by Thistledown at 2:18 PM on September 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Thistledown at 2:18 PM on September 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Perhaps the accompanying book includes footnotes/sources? This might require a little legwork, but it might be worth a try.
posted by pmurray63 at 12:08 PM on October 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by pmurray63 at 12:08 PM on October 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by corb at 6:54 PM on September 27, 2017