Arjay, you say "... I was conscripted ready to go to Vietnam when Gough pulled the pin on this illegal war. I wish I knew then what I know now ..."

This is misleading because the decisions to withdraw the last Australian service regulars from Vietnam were taken before the 2/12/72 election. Incidentally, conscripts who objected to being sent were not to be sent.

And now we have the obscenity of a one-party Communist dictatorship lording it over an oppressed humanity - are you happy now? BTW, how do you spell "democracy"?

Gerry of Mentone

The Vietnamese had previously experienced Japanese occupation and millenia of off-again, on-again Chinese domination. They were used to invaders packaging ideological excuses for invasions.

100,000s to millions of Vietnamese died in the attempted French and US invasions and occupations of Vietnam, particularly the "American War" 1955-1975.

French and mainly US foreign policies (thank you Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon and Kissinger) were the main causes and problems. "Democracy?" I don't think so.

The NATIONALIST Vietnamese reactions to the French and Americans were something any self-respecting country would do.

'morning Planter,

I suppose you are now going to explain just how come the French came to re colonise Vietnam after WWII?

Was it the Americans?

Pete

'Theories that the US took measures to undermine Gough's Government may not be totally farfetched.'

It's a lot more than theory. Pilger's account is probably the most comprehensive, and pulls no punches:

http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-forgotten-coup-and-how-the-godfather-rules-from-canberra-to-kiev

The evidence in Pilger's account seems to explain the way that Whitlam took the big D so eerily quietly - behaviour that was so at odds with his personality and character - and seemed content to spend the rest of his career in toothless-tiger NGOs and foundations. To put it bluntly, he was, as they say in conspiracy circles, 'got at' (the euphemism for 'threatened, big time').

And, as you say, the Murdoch press laid the groundwork for the CIA-ASIO constitutional coup, by setting up and maintaining the scenario that Whitlam was surrounded by a bunch of incompetent financial buffoons.

I remember I was still at school at the time, and I remember hearing people saying over and over again that Whitlam's government had 'screwed up the economy'. Whenever I found the courage to ash 'how' and 'why' did they screw it up, no one could come up with an answer, other than ad hominem attacks on 'idiots' like Al Grassby et al. These 'knowing' commentators were simply regurgitating what they had repeatedly read in the media.

Interestingly, the one MAJOR blot on the Whitlam government's copybook - its acceptance of the East Timor invasion and its cosying up to the mass murderer, Suharto - is rarely ever mentioned, even on the left.

Hi spindoc

Just after WWII the US perceived Vietnam as a French colony that needed to return to French control. The US provided almost all of the weapons (on land, air and sea) for France to attempt to reclaim Vietnam. In backing France the US failed to follow the US's more enlightened policy of self-determination for colonial peoples.
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Hi Killarney

I'm distrustful of Pilger, not because he's left-wing, but because his views oddly coincide with Russian foreign policy edicts. I don't see Pilger as an expert in anything to do with Australia.

My view on Gough's departure - from the Dismissal (Nov 1975) to his final exit from politics in 1977 - is that Gough had a talent for generating so many enemies in so little time.

I'm saying that Murdoch wanted Gough out by November 1975 and the US White House did as well. Through the Murdoch Press and other US influenced press Whitlam was rightly criticised. No need for intelligence agencies to be part of it.

Regards

Pete

pete

‘I'm saying that Murdoch wanted Gough out by November 1975 and the US White House did as well. Through the Murdoch Press and other US influenced press Whitlam was rightly criticised. No need for intelligence agencies to be part of it.’

I would agree with that, except for one important little word – ‘rightly’.

There was nothing at all ‘rightly’ about the demonisation of the Whitlam government. The big ‘D’ was a Psyops operation designed to rid the global powers-that-be of a potential ‘social democracy’ troublemaker.

Australians can almost feel flattered that the main global players went to so much trouble to get rid of him.