“Throw them a Dissident” Vietnam Lures the US into Trade Deal
Bruce Kesler

Scott Johnson, of the Montagnard Foundation, wrote the following guest post. Any regular reader here knows how deeply I believe that the U.S. is literally throwing away both its sole negotiating card for human rights in Vietnam along with the U.S.’ credibility as a defender of human rights. All thrown away for the enrichment of the “new class” in Vietnam and some Western businessmen, and for a photop of President Bush in Hanoi on a planned trip next November. Vietnam is independent of but deeply in bed with China, its powerful northern neighbor. Speculations of Vietnam being an ally of the U.S. in any future military engagement with China is baseless.

[Read the whole thing.]

On a closely related note, R J Del Vecchio, who still maintains contacts in Viet Nam and travels there periodically, emails that this is also important:

Fostering Democracy
Daniel Silverberg and Yoohnah Lee

As international news focuses on the conflict in the Middle East, the nuclear stand-off in Iran, let alone the war in Iraq, America should not lose sight of other parts of the world where it can foster democracy through more traditional means. Vietnam is a prime example. The Administration's recent decision to approve Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organization — a decision that must be ratified by the U.S. Senate — is an important step towards opening Vietnam to reform and strengthen a critical partnership in Asia. Yet absent a strong-minded commitment to democratic development in that country, long-term economic growth in Vietnam is still in doubt.

[Read the whole thing.]

Contributed by Bill Faith on August 30, 2006 at 06:46 PM in Bill Faith, Viet Nam | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: GI Zhou

The Vietnamese and the Chinese simply are not in bed together militarily. Neither country likes the other, the emnity is centuries old, and even during the Vietnam War the Chinese used to swap good parts for crap on the equipment the Russians supplied to North Vietnam and held in Yunnan sage from US aircraft. The Chinese never got over the Son Tay raid - how do spell scores of dead Chinese air defence advisors.

Posted by: GI Zhou | Aug 31, 2006 6:19:34 AM

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