The Spy Who Loved Us_ The Vietnam War and Pham Xuan An's Dangerous Game ( PDFDrive )

The Spy Who Loved Us 125
of the KGB. “His way of reasoning and explaining things and arriving
at conclusions—they are all Communist,” said the professor.
“Today, as he narrated one story after another, they were
all presented with Communist logic.’”
“I don’t really know how the Communists think,” An said,
“but the Vietnamese welcome Dr. Tuyen’s logic. They consider
him brilliant. He examines everything from A to Z, before arriving
at sound conclusions. We think he is an excellent analyst,
and now you say that this way of explaining things is ‘Communist.’
I am shocked to think that what you say might be true.’”
“I am just letting you know that you have to be very careful
with this man. I don’t want you to come to grief in the future,”
said the professor.
“May I tell him your opinion?”
“It is up to you. If you tell him what I think and he works for
the Communists, then he will be more careful and you will
have to be even more suspicious of him.”
An narrates this story as if he is leading up to the punch line
of a splendid joke. A grin hovers around the edge of his lips. He
waves his hands through the air and sits bolt upright on the front
of his chair.
“After lunch, I walked from the river up to Dr. Tuyen’s office.
‘Hey, Dr. Tuyen,’ I said, finding him at his desk. ‘Do you
know what the American professor says about you? He says
you are a Comm . . . u . . . nist! You are not working for the Vietnamese
government. You are working for the KGB!’
“‘An, are you joking?’ Tuyen asked.
“He knew I liked to joke all the time. It’s my way of talking,
like I’m joking, but I’m serious,” An says.
“I never lie,” An told him, before explaining the professor’s
line of reasoning.
Tuyen looked surprised. Then he said, “The professor is right.”
“Does this mean you are a Communist?” An asked.
“No! I am not a Communist,” Tuyen reassured him. “But the
professor’s analysis is correct. The Communist way of reasoning