"[in his briefing over what's needed for the advisory effort in South Vietnam, complete with slides] Southeast Asia. Rubber, timber and manpower. Southeast Asia, the Communists want it and we wanna stop 'em. And in my hand, I hold the secret weapon to win the war in South Asia. [shows handful of rice] Rice. Rice, gentlemen. Rice. For the Vietnamese peasant, it is everything. They fought the Chinese, the Japanese, they fought the French for their rice fields. The Communists have hijacked that rebellion. [points to slides] This man, Ho Chi Minh, and his General Giap, have promised the farmers they will give them back their rice, while our man, President Diem... continues dealing it. We must regain the goodwill of the peasants, restore the good faith of the people. To win the war in Vietnam, we must take back the rice revolution, throw out the rice dealers and give them back their rice. We must wage war for the peasants, not against them. Build their houses, don't destroy them. Kill the enemy with this [shows dagger], instead of this [pointing to slide of B-52 dropping bombs]. In short, we must harness the peasant revolution to defeat the Communist revolution. Thank you."
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A Bright Shining Lie
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