Vietnam--what if?

Great Debates
1

IANAICE, but here’s the set-up. Correct my “facts” if they’re wrong:

Ho Chi Minh appealed (I think) to Harry Truman after World War II to help his country. Truman opted not to, instead either doing nothing, or supporting France’s attempts to reclaim its colony. Therein lies the beginning of a 30-year war, ultimately ending in a unified Vietnam.

The questions:

Was Truman’s opposition to Vietnam just because he had been allied with the Soviets, or out of respect to France?

If we had supported Ho Chi Minh, might he have further distanced himself from the Sovs and more toward the US?

2

If we supported Ho Chi Mihn, then that would have made China mad. Our military always said that we should never get into a land war in southeast asia. We couldn’t have defended him and probably he would have gone communist or gotten overthrown. That’s my opinion.