In July, having failed to elicit the desired American response, Thach turned still more pragmatic. “We recognize the world-politics of the U.S. at this time does not permit taking a position against the French,” he now acknowledged. But the Truman administration could nevertheless help by providing economic and cultural assistance to Vietnam, and by endeavoring to mediate the conflict either through tripartite discussions or through having the newly independent Philippines take the Vietnamese case before the United Nations.
