Viet war hero dropped in Politburo shake-up

Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, who engineered the defeat of the French and Americans in Indochina, was dropped from Vietnam's ruling Politburo in a purge that demoted five other older leaders, Radio Hanoi reported. General Giap, a deputy prime minister, ranked sixth in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy. Veteran Western analysts were divided on the meaning of the moves.