That's a pretty good summary, Bowser. It's worth recalling what Archimedes Patti (an OSS agent) remarked on the PBS Viet Nam special:

"We had Ho Chi Minh in our pocket."

Uncle Ho, it seems, really admired the United States of America. He was probably much more a patriot than he ever was a communist. It is likely he sided with the Reds for the purely simple expedient of the financial and military aid the commies offered, rather than any devotion to Maxist ideology. Recall that the United States put guns back in the hands of the occupying Japanese after the cessation of hostilities in WWII to "maintain order" until the arrival of the French to re-establish their colonial ambitions there, and you will begin to understand the deep suspicions the Vietnamese in general, and the Viet Minh, in particular, harbored about Uncle Sam.

The best way of understanding Viet Nam and other foreign misadventures is to realize there are powerful interests in this nation who desire (and profit from) war.

Ike had something to say about them in his Farewell Address.

S