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Clinton Visits Vietnam

By Dave Cline

Almost lost in the news media's frenzy over the Florida vote count was President Bill Clinton's historic November visit to Vietnam. Although his trip got little press coverage and received a negative reaction from some sections of the veterans' community, it represents a positive step in the tortured relations between our two countries and should be welcomed by all progressive Americans.

The Paris Peace Agreement led to the withdrawal of most American troops from Vietnam in 1973. In that agreement, the US government pledged "an era of reconciliation" and promised to "contribute to healing the wounds of war and postwar reconstruction." President Nixon even wrote a secret letter to North Vietnam's prime minister pledging over $4 billion in economic aid. Two years later, Marines hurriedly evacuated the US embassy from a Saigon rooftop in the last ignoble act of America's longest war. None of the pledges of reconciliation and reconstruction were ever fulfilled. Instead, US policy remained hostile for years, aimed at isolating and punishing Vietnam.

The main reason given by the US for failing to fulfill its commitments is the POW-MIA issue. When American prisoners of war - mainly pilots shot down while bombing North Vietnam - were released, Nixon claimed that all were returned. Soon the story began to change. There were a small number of "discrepancy cases" where there was some indication a serviceman was captured who remained unaccounted for. These were combined with the names of those listed as "missing in action" or "killed in action/body not recovered" to convince the American public that there were hundreds, even thousands of GIs still being held captive in Indochina. (For a thorough look at the POW-MIA issue, read the book MIA: Mythmaking In America by H. Bruce Franklin.)

An angry Congress voted to bar aid and imposed a trade embargo. This became the pattern for the next twenty years. The US insisted that Vietnam was responsible for all those still unaccounted for and demanded the government provide information and allow searches. 300,000 Vietnamese soldiers are still missing, but Vietnam agreed to help. Joint search teams have dug up numerous crash sites. The remains of hundreds of American MIAs have been located and returned to their families for burial. These searches continue to this day.

Then other issues clouded the water. When the war ended, Vietnam was a poor country devastated by years of conflict. Postwar economic policies brought little improvement. "Boat people" began fleeing to other countries, and some accused Vietnam of provoking this flood of unwanted refugees.

In 1979, after Khmer Rouge border raids took thousands of lives, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. In response, China attacked Vietnam and the two former allies fought a short, bloody war. Vietnam was criticized internationally even though it overthrew the genocidal Pol Pot regime whose three-year rule cost a million Cambodian lives. Vietnamese troops withdrew ten years later, but relations with the US remained frozen. Things began to change during the Clinton administration. In 1994, economic sanctions were lifted followed by the reestablishment of diplomatic relations the next year. In 1997, Pete Petersen, a former POW, was appointed ambassador and an embassy was opened in Hanoi, capitol of the reunified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Then there were trade talks, followed by President Clinton's trip.

While in Vietnam, Clinton announced that the United States would provide training and equipment to locate and defuse bombs, shells and landmines that still litter some parts of the countryside. Newspapers regularly report people being maimed or killed by unexploded ordnance, often uncovered while plowing fields. With this assistance, Vietnam will be able to overcome a deadly legacy of the war.

Another outstanding issue is the continuing human and environmental damage associated with Agent Orange. From 1962 to 1971, at least 14% of South Vietnam was heavily sprayed with 11 million gallons of chemical defoliants. Agent Orange has caused long-term health problems among an estimated one million Vietnamese including cancer, miscarriages and birth defects among children born after the war.

During Clinton's visit, he agreed to provide a computer system with information about where Agent Orange was stored and sprayed, and several days later, the first official meeting between the two countries to discuss joint research on Agent Orange's effect on people and the environment took place.

It has taken many years to get our government to accept responsibility for the illnesses caused by Agent Orange to American veterans. The Vietnamese victims still have not been helped. Their government provides some assistance with limited resources. The US has a moral and political responsibility to help all those suffering from Agent Orange.

Despite years of official hostility, many Vietnam veterans have worked to promote reconciliation and friendship. In the early 80s, both VVAW and Vietnam Veterans of America began sending delegations. Back then, many vets could not understand why anyone would want to go back, seeing Vietnam only as a past experience of pain and death. Over the years that has begun to change. Now thousands go back each year on humanitarian missions, to heal emotional wounds, to visit the country in peace, even to live there.

Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation has several programs, including workshops to make artificial limbs. The Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project has built medical clinics and schools. Peace Village, near Hanoi, cares for a hundred veterans and children sick from Agent Orange. Project Hearts & Minds sends medical supplies. A Peace Park has been built at the site of the 1968 My Lai massacre. Numerous other projects have been organized to heal the wounds of war and make amends for the past.

Today we are beginning to see the fruits of that work in improved relations between our two countries. There are many things for which Clinton should be criticized, but his trip to Vietnam is not one of them. For that he should be saluted.