I am not denying it, but there is a big difference between shoving someone down Bao Dai's throat and coming to a consensus on the Prime Minister. I am merely expressing agnosticism about the nuance involved.
I think that it is illegitimate to elect a party intent upon destroying democracy once it ascends to power. Circumstances determine whether it is proper to intervene, and at what level. After the War, we did, indeed, provide under- the- counter help to the Christian Democrats, in Italy, to prevent a Communist victory, which I approve of, and we insisted on de- Nazification in Western Germany, including outlawing any version of the Party, and I approve of that too.
In the former Soviet bloc, the Communists have acceded to democratic norms, so I think it is okay that they participate. As long as we have reason to believe that the Western Communist parties have given up on the dictatorship of the vanguard party, then we can relax about them. However, if a NATO member were to be subject to a Communist coup, I think we would have a right and obligation to intervene. I would hope that if an anti- democratic party tried to take over in the United States, our allies would help those resisting it. |
