Get Real.

I just love those people who talk about American imperialism and how our government sent troops there to protect our 'businesses'. These people are talking through a place where the sun doesn't shine. Aside from Coca Cola (which is sold in China and Russia today)and a billboard for Singer sewing machines, I did not see much else of American business (I was there in late '64 through '65 returning in '71). The rubber plantations were French owned; the cars were predominately European and Japanese as were the bicycles and motorbikes. The beer, La Rue and Ba Moui Ba,were from local breweries. Electronics and even watches were Japanese. Heck, even the tailor shops and bookstores were run by others, namely East Indians. The majority of American goods came after the buildup as troop strength increased and not before it. People who see every American action as a sign of imperialism still have not explained why millions of people flee away from Communist regimes not to them. In Vietnam, millions fled and risked their lives at sea to avoid the North Vietnamese take-over in 1975 and after. Involvement in Vietnam was a strategic decision made in the Fifties to stop Communist expansionism and not to promote a market for Coca Cola.