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| Southeast Asia |
| Vietnam looks to build ties with U.S. army |
| 2005-06-08 |
| No mention of the French in this venue for some reason. HANOI (Reuters) - Communist Vietnam said a visit by a senior U.S. defense official will firm up ties between the former Vietnam War enemies and boost understanding between their armies, state-run media reported on Wednesday.U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman held talks with Vietnam's Defense Minister Pham Van Tra and his deputy Nguyen Huy Hieu on Tuesday at the start of the two-day visit, the defense ministry-run Quan Doi Nhan Dan daily said. A front-page article in the newspaper quoted Tra as telling Rodman that he believed the visit "would contribute to enhancing friendship and mutual understanding between the two armies." The United States is seeking to build closer military ties with Vietnam, but will let them evolve in the long term instead of pushing hard, officials said before Rodman arrived. State media said Rodman visited a military facility in Hanoi which specializes in bomb and land mine disposal techniques. He was also due to meet officials from the Police Ministry, the National Defense Academy where Vietnamese military officers are trained, and the Foreign Relations Institute. Rodman's visit to Hanoi comes ahead a planned June 21 meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and President Bush in Washington. Khai will be the most high-ranking Vietnamese to visit the United States since the Vietnam War.Vietnam and the United States mark the 10th anniversary of their normalisation of relations in July. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #4 My guts tell me its NOT too late for the US and Western democracy in Vietnam - the locals have along history of fighting everybody, from the Chinese to the Mongols to the Japanese, French, and America. Unlike the Norkies, many of the Hanoi boyz are still intensely anti-Chinese/Russian despite being dedicated Commies, and despite Beijing doing everything it can to control the Vietnam CP. They remember France and America and espec the general national wealth that came with them. The Russians who came after the fall of of Saigon were belabeled as "Americans without Money", whilst the Chicoms were "poor Japanese", etc. Vietnam is America's CUBA in the Pacific/East Asia - if we use the right policies, we can defeat Comunism locally without having to take any mil action, or disrespecting or suborning local nationalism. THe Viets know that ags China they might win a few battles, but eventually China will take them over. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-06-08 22:07 |
| #3 O 'member have some pretty close ties back in '67 out Na Trang way. |
| Posted by: Michael 2005-06-08 18:30 |
| #2 If the US had won, Vietnam would now resemble South Korea in terms of development instead of the backwards thirdworld povvo dump it is. I wonder if the Vietnamese are capable of comprehending this? Can they ever read about it in a paper? |
| Posted by: anon1 2005-06-08 13:17 |
| #1 Was Kerry there? Which side did he represent? |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-06-08 13:11 |