Posted on 06/21/2005 6:05:01 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai arrived here Tuesday as the first leader of a united Vietnam to visit the United States, a trip marked by protesters outside the White House and a decidedly muted reception inside.
It was a strikingly different occasion from the day when Bill Clinton made the first presidential trip to Vietnam five years ago, placing a coda on one of the most emotionally scarring wars in American history and opening a new start with the country. Then, tens of thousands of Vietnamese lined the streets to greet him.
The crowds outside the White House were far smaller and were made up in good part of Vietnamese-Americans, who focused on complaints about Vietnam's human rights record...
The coolness was a reflection, several American officials said, of the administration's uncertainty over how to deal with a government that is looking for a great leap in its links to the United States but has proved unwilling to loosen political control at home.
Vietnam's development model appears to be China: economic openness married with strict crackdowns on dissenters who threaten the central authority. It is a country to which Mr. Bush has not devoted much energy, though he plans to visit next year for an Asian summit meeting, he said Tuesday.
In the meantime, the dialogue seemed to replay the words of 2000, during Mr. Clinton's four-day visit. "We believe that America finds in Vietnam a potential cooperation partner," Mr. Khai said in the Oval Office. "We have a population of 80 million people, which means a huge market for American businesses. And these people are also very hard working, creative and dynamic."
The United States is now Vietnam's largest trading partner, doing $6.1 billion in business last year, according to the State Department...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
We are winning The Vietnam War. Final victory is a function of the outcome of The War on Terror.
==And now that I see what sources you feel are solid, please remove me from your ping list. Thank you.
I will, of course, remove you. But I challenge you to read their articles on Communism and find any significant thing you disagree with. All the best--HUAC
==We are winning The Vietnam War. Final victory is a function of the outcome of The War on Terror.
We will have to defeat Russia and Red China to prevail in the War on Terror. They are the head, the terrorist groups are but the tentacles. Here are but a few examples:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1252955/posts
http://www.attacreport.com/ar_archives/art_iswr2_muslim.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1220747/posts
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18498
Like you are doing to me now? I didn't quote you.
I believe that is a question vs. a quote.
I don't wish to read anything you post here ever again, so no.
==I don't wish to read anything you post here ever again, so no.
Even so...May your life be filled with fair skies, calm seas, and following winds.
Adam Sitkoff, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hanoi, says AmCham is confident that during his upcoming visit to the US, PM Phan Van Khai will establish a new and productive relationship with the US government, the American people, and the US business and financial communities, and seek to re-introduce Vietnam as a stable, peaceful and vibrant member of the global economy.
I thought the same thing. And I'm glad to see this...so far.
.
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
.
And these are the people that our current President is letting into the White House. Thanks God at least SOME people aren't being "re-educated" by the Red Carpet.
Tonk, the POW/MIA issue hasn't been put to bed. Khai and the Lao Dong govt isn't dealing with W's slimy predecessor or a couple smarmy senators. W didn't go to Hanoi, Khai came to Washington.
Big difference.
Khai, whose tour coincides with the 10th anniversary of normalized relations between the two countries, will meet today with Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and tomorrow with President Bush, who Khai hopes will help Vietnam gain admittance to the World Trade Organization.
Arriving at Sea-Tac Airport yesterday morning, Khai stopped at The Boeing Co.'s plant in Renton, where he was to oversee the purchase of four Boeing 787 jetliners by Vietnam Airlines.
hint
Communist officials like each other, no matter what country they are in.
...may as well toss this into the thread, just so that we'll all know that the rest of the old gang is there.
Leaders congratulate 55th anniversary of Viet Nam-Russia diplomatic ties
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331639/posts
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