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5: History of United States Involvement in Vietnam In most of Southeast Asia, anti-colonial nationalist movements secured independence either peacefully or following a bitter but relatively brief struggle. The notable exception was Vietnam. There, France’s wartime policies and her continuing stubborn resistance to the demands of Vietnamese nationalists brought non-Commu- nist and Communist patriots together in a common efort to secure independence. ; In their occupation of colonial Southeast Asia during World War Il, the Japanese—-except in the French colonies—deemed it advantageous to work through elements of the Western educated native élites, regarding them as more reliable than the colonial civil servants. In return for their cooperation in administering the occupicd countries, the Japanese usualy granted educated na- tionals higher administrative positions and considerably greater scope for political activities than they had previously enjoyed. The Japanese also made promises of independence and sometimes granted a significant measure of freedom to organize nationalist movements. Nationalist leaders, therefore, usually found it more to their interests to 0 riage of convenience with the Japanese, than to atiempt under- ground resistance. The one great exception was Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, 37 Herate above t i ™m rt tar- 9 operate above ground, in some sort of mar g