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Noting debates here over the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (March-May 1954), it remains my position that the French loss (esp post-Korean War armistice) was a needless disaster & that the Allies should have helped the French resist the Communist insurgency. I blame Ike. 
The brilliant war correspondent & historian, Bernard Fall, wrote superb histories of the French experience in Indochina, include the Dien Bien Phu denouement
Bernard Fall's account of the end of the French war in Indochina at Dien Bien Phu was a lesson that awaited 'learning', less for the successor Vietnam War (which was a just war of assistance to Sth Vietnam) than for the Afghan War of our times.
Bernard Fall's comments on Dien Bien Phu - and that occupying powers will be defeated by losing the initiative & being exhausted by repetitive & draining engagements - are worthy of consideration at any time but especially now, re the military folly of counter-insurgency.
Will end this thread for now noting post-WW2 (grandiose American pronouncements notwithstanding), the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch etal all held imperial/colonial territories each wanted to hang on to for as long as possible. We lack good late Imperial histories.
