s welcomed the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, but that the ômovement was a nationalist one and only Western clumsiness was compelling it to become Communistö (Atkins 228). What was a nationalist movement on the part of different groups of Vietnamese was turned into an ideological struggle by the interferences of the West on one hand, and the Communists on the other. The American government supported the south mainly as a means of holding back the Communists who had given ideology to the nationalism of the north.
Pyle's function is to carry out American policy by whatever means necessary. His knowledge of politics comes from theories, especially the Third Force theory of his hero York Harding who, after spending a few days in Vietnam, postulated that ôwhat the East needed was a third force,ö something different from French colonialism and Communism, the imposition of democracy on a country that just wanted independence and self rule. But to people like Pyle, the concept of democracy outweighs the right to self-determination. Pyle has the best of motives in carrying out U.S. policy, but his actions and ôtunnel visionö belie his motives. He is too ignorant, too blindly idealistic. There are many references to the danger caused by such innocents as Pyle. Fowler comments, ôGod save us always from the innocent" (Greene, TQA, 20). WhatÆs the good reasoning with Pyle, Fowler thinks. ôHeÆll always be innocent, you canÆt blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them.ö This turns out to be a key concept regarding the plot of The Quiet American. Ultimately Pyle is killed because ôhe was too innocent to live.ö
Pyle, who is a CIA operative posing as a member of a humanitarian Economic Mission, is certain he has the moral imperative to use any means to achieve what he regards as noble ends, even acts of terror, all in the name of democracy. As Fowler observes, ôI never kne...