“Twenty years ago, after our great World War II victory,” he intoned, “we were respected throughout the world. North Vietnam had far outpaced its southern rival in its quest for international legitimacy — to the great frustration of the American government. Nonaligned states responded promptly, offering to convey messages to Hanoi — or perhaps to act in a mediating capacity. Nonaligned states could not influence the battlefield, but their own diplomatic networks and revolutionary experiences gave them perspective sorely absent in Washington. Black and white were the only colors; there was no longer room for the gray hues of the nonaligned states.

Source: New York Times July 29, 2017 03:11 UTC