BJ Clinton should never have normalized relations with them, until South Vietnam was allowed to elect its own government. Too many veterans from this war are still around to just pretend it didn’t happen.
If they want to know why the urban crime is lower than in other countries, they should point out that the other countries are democracies being compared to a communist slave state. Vietnam is only friendly because they are afraid that after China armed them to the teeth for their war against the US, they’ll be absorbed into China’s “sphere of influence”, or whatever phrase is used now when “free” countries are just a larger neighbor’s b!tch. China invaded in 1979, and certainly could do so again.
China and Vietnam have been going after each other for approximately 700 years. In fact, China, France, Cambodia and Laos (to name a few) have routinely invaded or declared war on Vietnam for those 700 years.
When we got involved in Vietnam in the 50s, it was because the French had finally been defeated (again!) at the battle of Dien Bien Phu tying to end the civil war that was ragng in Vietnam at the time.
The irony of Vietnam is that Ho Ch Minh wanted to establish an American-style democracy in Vietnam. But, when he approached the Americans for assistance in overthrowing the ruling party, we blew him off. That caused him to turn to the Chinese who were only too willing to help him out.
But, you are corrct. Bubba Jeff, who never served a day in the military and hated the military, never should have normalized relations with them while the Vietnam vets were alive. By the same token, Carter should never have forgiven the traitors and cowards who fled to Canada to avoid serving in ‘Nam. All that did was rub salt in the wounds of hundreds of thousands of Vietnam vets and made suckers out of those who died there.