1954 in the Vietnam War country. (In his autobiography published in 1963, Eisenhower noted that "had elections been held as of the time of the fighting [1954], possibly 80 per cent of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh ... rather than chief of State Bao Dai." This clearly indicated major difficulties for any candidate other than Ho Chi MInh in those 1956 elections.) Neither the United States nor the Viet Minh were pleased with the Geneva Accords, the U.S. because Vietnam north of the 17th parallel was given to the communist Viet Minh, the Viet Minh because, despite their military
1954 Geneva Conference Truman administration of having "lost China" when the communists were successful in dominating the country. The Eisenhower administration had considered air strikes in support of the French at Dien Bien Phu but was unable to obtain a commitment to united action from key allies, such as the United Kingdom. Eisenhower was wary of becoming drawn into "another Korea" that would be deeply unpopular with the American public. US domestic policy considerations strongly influenced the country's position at Geneva. Columnist Walter Lippmann wrote on April 29 that "the American position at Geneva is an impossible one, so long as leading Republican