Presidential Myopia: Leaders in Vietnam and China Only See What they Want to See

Peace and Freedom - Policy and World Ideas ^ | June 25, 2007 | John E. Carey

[Lou L]

Presidential Myopia: Leaders in Vietnam and China Only See What they Want to See

By John E. Carey
Peace and Freedom
June 25, 2007

Presidents are often accused of selective blindness. Hero of the U.S. Civil War General U.S. Grant became President of the United States and was considered by most men of his time, including Mark Twain who published the President’s memoirs, an honorable man. Yet Grant filled his government with corrupt and crooked men who almost destroyed him.

In the last century, some leaders hailed Adolph Hitler during the 1930s for building an economic resurgence of miracle proportions in Germany. After 1945, they claimed to deny the holocaust or said that they were just following orders.

The current President of Vietnam, H.E Nguyen Minh Triet, spent last week in the United States transmitting a message of economic prosperity and growth for those that do business with Vietnam. But what he was told, by the President of the United States and several congressional leaders, was that he had to address what Amnesty International has called widespread abuse of human rights in Vietnam. “Harassment and threats against leading dissidents increased and attempts were made to ensure that they could not meet or talk with foreigners,” Amnesty International reported on May 23, 2007.

President Triet didn’t hear any of this.

[Lou L]

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