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Posted on 09/01/2004 12:47:08 PM PDT by Shermy
TRA VINH, VIETNAM -- In the spartan banquet room of the Coolong Hotel, the Communist Party apparatchiks all agree on one thing: Democratic Senator John Kerry is the best candidate for U.S. president.
Mr. Kerry, who served in Vietnam but later became an opponent of the war, is seen in the rural Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh as a brave warrior, a man to be respected "soldier to soldier."
"That George Bush is so arrogant. Mr. Kerry is better for Vietnam," says Tran Hoan Kim, the Communist Party's provincial chairman and a former Viet Cong guerrilla fighter during what was known here as the "American" war. "Kerry came here and fought, but then he went back to the U.S. and campaigned against the war. Not all the U.S. veterans agreed with the war."
Here in the Mekong Delta, 200 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) Mr. Kerry saw the most action during his 1968-69 tour. While Mr. Bush avoided active duty, Mr. Kerry commanded two patrol boats on the delta's web of inland waterways. After leaving the U.S. Navy, he became a fierce critic of the war, objecting to its rationale in testimony to the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee.
Vietnam has been a central theme in Mr. Kerry's presidential campaign, which features glowing testimony from veterans and ads that show a war-era Mr. Kerry in fatigues.
In Trah Vinh, John Kerry the warrior and peace activist is "very respected" -- as much as any American politician can be.
"We hope he wins the election. He is a good man but not a hero. The only real hero is Uncle Ho," says Tra Vinh Governor Tran Van Ven. He is referring to Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary leader whose bearded philosopher image can still be seen on billboards throughout Vietnam.
Mr. Ven, Mr. Kim and several Communist Party officials tucked into a feast of fried eel, barbecued shrimp and spicy coconut soup, and urged their Canadian guests to empty their beer glasses -- again and again. "Yo [drink up]," Mr. Kim ordered, a smile on his face. "We only trust people who get drunk. They never lie."
In the traffic-clogged streets of Ho Chi Minh City, there is much talk of the U.S. election, and of the war in Iraq. An unofficial survey of Honda motorcycle taxi drivers near Reunification Park and patrons visiting the War Remnants Museum revealed an affinity for Mr. Kerry as well as Bill Clinton, who made an historic visit here in 2000.
"Bush is a warmonger. John Kerry fought here, and so he is more realistic about war," said Le Minh Tien, a former South Vietnam Army naval officer who lost the sight of one eye during a battle in 1970.
With the United States in the midst of another controversial war, many here draw comparisons between the injustice of the "American" war and the decision to invade Iraq, to which Vietnam objected last year.
Mr. Tien said Mr. Bush has lost face because of U.S. claims of weapons of mass destruction and links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, and because of the abuse of prisoners.
Another Vietnamese war veteran visiting the museum added: "The war in Iraq is being fought for very different reasons than the war in Vietnam, but the Americans have underestimated the Muslim people just as they underestimated the Vietnamese."
In fact, Mr. Kerry himself has been a qualified supporter of the war in Iraq. While he has opposed setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, he has called for a United Nations commissioner to oversee political development in Baghdad. He has also attacked the competence of the current administration, saying he would never ask the U.S. military to "fight a war without a plan to win the peace."
Back in Tra Vinh, the Governor believes Washington will lose the peace in Iraq because of a failure to understand an alien culture.
The "U.S. will find it very difficult to get out of Iraq. They're pretending to promote their idea of human rights, but the standards for human rights are not the same in every country," Mr. Ven said.
In Vietnam, for example, the government opened up the economy in the mid-1980s, but the Politburo has shown no signs of tolerating dissent or relaxing political controls.
"Some countries need a strong central government to protect human rights," Mr. Ven said. "Expatriate Vietnamese who think we need democratic reform should come back here and talk to me, and they will understand."
The party officials around the table grunted in agreement, raising their glasses once again. "Yo, dong chi [Down the hatch, comrade]!" Mr. Ven said.
No one dared to disagree.
ping
Sounds like the democRAT convention.
Oh, I am going to have SUCH a field day with this.
(I must be feeling better...I'm getting real ornery.)
The North Viets killed hundreds of thousands of their own people and drove a million or more out of the country. Now, let them enjoy their revolution. To hell with em.
That speaks volumes.
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A ringing endorsement from the little commie....
High praise, indeed! Another ringing endorsement for horse-face Kerry. Get the word out, Joe! The commies love sKerry!
His real constituents.
"TRA VINH, VIETNAM -- In the spartan banquet room of the Coolong Hotel, the Communist Party apparatchiks all agree on one thing: Democratic Senator John Kerry is the best candidate for U.S. president.
"That George Bush is so arrogant. Mr. Kerry is better for Vietnam," says Tran Hoan Kim, the Communist Party's provincial chairman and a former Viet Cong guerrilla fighter during what was known here as the "American" war. "
Someone should make an ad of this.
And the voters should get a clue: all of our ENEMIES are supporting Kerry.
"Kerry came here and fought, but then he went back to the U.S. and campaigned against the war. Not all the U.S. veterans agreed with the war."
What this maggot fails to understand is, NO Veteran wants war. NO Soldier wants war.
What Kerry did was stab his comrades in the back just as if he had walked up behind them with his K-bar and done the deed in person.
That slimy maggot needs to be in jail, not running for President.
Aid and Comfort to the Enemy!
Bump!
Now if he can just get the Cuban endorsement, he'll have this thing locked up.
Kerry's "foreign" leaders weigh in.
Kerry clearly picked the wrong vets to speak to today.
He'll blame his staff.
Well said!
I don't understand how anyone can respect a traitor to his country men. Kerry has no honor.
Trust me, if it weren't for the press, those Vietnamese generals would be saying amongst each other, "what a wimp that Kerry is." Soldiers, no matter who they are, have little respect for turncoats, even those on the other side.
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