Ho Chi Minh: Rattled Genius or Dictatorial Lunatic?

Ho Chi Minh He married nationalism to communism and perfected the deadly art of guerrilla warfare BY STANLEY KARNOW n emaciated, goateed figure in a threadbare bush jacket and frayed rubber sandals, Ho Chi Minh cultivated the image of a humble, benign "Uncle Ho." But he was a seasoned revolutionary and passionate nationalist obsessed by a single goal: independence for his country. Sharing his fervor, his tattered guerrillas vaulted daunting obstacles to crush France's desperate …

… regime with some semblance of democracy. And so, in 1946, there took place the most ridiculous political event in history : representatives of the Viet people unanimously voted to the office of president a man who was a total stranger to some and whom the rest of them mistook for someone else. That was a good illustration of how well Nguyen Tat Thanh learned from his masters the techniques of concealment, deceit and trickery.