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In 1960 revolutionaries in South Vietnam created the National Liberation Front, a political and military organization committed to overthrowing the Saigon government and liberating Vietnam south of the 17th parallel. The role of the NLF during the war has been hotly debated, with officials in Washington claiming from the outset that the NLF was merely a puppet of Hanoi. Based on over 100 interviews with former Communist cadre and high ranking Party officials, as well as extensive archival research in Vietnam, Brigham provides an account of the actions of the NLF and encourages a reassessment of the whole conflict. Brigham assesses the impact of the NLF's diplomatic strategy on the conduct and outcome of hostilities, explores the origin and pursuit of its policy objectives and defines its true relationship with North Vietnam. He contends that the NLF's success in convincing the world that it was independent of Hanoi was critical in upsetting the political and military balance in South Vietnam and frustrating the US war effort. In addition, he argues that differences in goals among Communists - building socialism in the north, liberating the south - resulted in disagreements over responses to American intervention, and he shows how these differences entered into foreign relations and seriously undermined revolutionary efforts.