Frustrations of a super-power
Sir : Robert Conquest's charge that I 'substantially misquoted' Eisenhower (Letters, 23 February) is unfounded. My quotation was exact. To have con- tinued the extract with the words 'as their leader rather than Chief of State Bao Dai' would not have affected the argument.
Bao Dal had the countrywide prestige of an ex- emperor and was supported both by the French and, at that time, by the Americans., There was no other serious contender in sight, Ngo Dinh Diem not yet having emerged. So it is a fair inference that if, as Eisenhower's advisers thought Ho Chi Minh would have had a four to one majority over Bao Dai, he would have had at least that majority over any other opponent. Your correspondent's mention of Messrs Thorpe and Gollan is irrelevant.
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