Legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap Dead at 102

One of the most legendary underrated generals of the 20th Century, General Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam has passed away at the age of 102. A self-taught general who had fought a successful guerrilla war against the Japanese in WWII, defeated the French Army in Indochina, and ultimately forced the United States to abandon it's futile crusade to save Vietnam from Communism was considered a national hero in Vietnam and by many an inspiration to anti-colonial fighters the world over. Known for his ruthless tactics and brilliant strategy, General Giap never defeated American forces in battle but he ultimately won the war. It's a curious note that CNN and other US based news sources have chosen to deliberately ignore the passing of General Giap. In our opinion we would like to take a cue from Francis Ford Coppola film "Apocalypse Now" where Colonel Kilgore says "Any man who is brave enough to take on our boys can drink from my canteen anytime." While Sun Tzu would have not agreed with his tactics, we'll agree he was a noteworthy adversary whose passing should not be ignored. This 'Red Napoleon" as he was once dubbed broke the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and destroyed American confidence in the Tet Offensive in 1968 where veteran CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite declared the war in Vietnam un-winnable. While his tactics absorbed atrocious losses, he ultimately defeated the US Backed South Vietnamese Government and later served as Deputy Prime Minister of the first truly independent Vietnamese nation it has known in over 1000 years. Despite losing over three million losses in the war against the Americans, he encouraged warmer relations with the United States which re-established ties in 1995. "We can put the past behind," Giap said in 2000. "But we cannot completely forget it." And neither shall we.

 General Vo Nguyen Giap

25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013