General Vo Nguyen Giap, the ruthless but brilliant military strategist, hero of the Vietnamese independence struggle, died on October 4th aged 102.
Regardless of any political opinion, Giap was certainly one of the very greatest figures of the 20th century and especially of the anti-colonial struggles. This self-taught soldier attained almost mythical status after securing victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954, the battle that provoked the withdrawal of the French from their old colony, and then masterminded the fight against the US until the fall of Saigon in April 1975. His guerrilla tactics inspired anti-colonial fighters worldwide.
A leader with the rare ability to learn from his mistakes and do better the next time.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting text by Sen. John McCain who met him twice. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304626104579119221395534220.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Darticle