Wow, they're already surrendering!
Posted on 06/05/2006 9:06:34 PM PDT by neverdem
HANOI, June 5 — The United States and Vietnam agreed today to increase their military contacts and to discuss additional ways to broaden their defense cooperation, American officials said.
The understanding was sealed in talks between senior Vietnamese officials and Donald H. Rumsfeld, who was making his first official visit to Vietnam as defense secretary.
The two nations, Mr. Rumsfeld declared with evident satisfaction early this evening, had decided to step up "exchanges at all levels of the military."
Vietnam was an important stop on an Asian swing that has already taken Mr. Rumsfeld to a meeting of defense experts in Singapore. During the Singapore sessions, Mr. Rumsfeld denounced Iran as a "terrorist" nation, complained that Russia was bullying its neighbors and criticized China for being secretive about its level of military spending.
In Hanoi, by contrast, the defense secretary heaped praise repeatedly on his hosts. He lauded Vietnam's economic development, which he inspected during a walk late Sunday evening through the streets of Hanoi.
"I was, and remain, struck by the economic success that you can see, and the activity and the change in this city," said Mr. Rumsfeld, who noted that he had previously visited the country as a congressman and private citizen.
During a visit to Vietnam's Temple of Literature, which was established in 1076 as Vietnam's first university, Mr. Rumsfeld enthusiastically struck a ritual gong. When Vietnam founded the university, Mr. Rumsfled told Vietnam's defense minister, Pham Van Tra, native Americans in the United States were still living in "mud huts"
"That's impressive," Mr. Rumsfeld said of Vietnam's advanced vision in learning.
For their part, the Vietnamese greeted their guest with a resplendent military honor guard, which played the Star-Spangled Banner before the talks began at Vietnam's defense ministry.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Bottom line: The USA wants Vietnam as counterweight to China.
Nothing builds mutual respect like a war against each other. Maybe it's time to go to war with France?
Nah, France already tried that with Vietnam.
Bottom line: Vietnam wants the USA as counterweight to China.
vietnam is the ideal counter weight to china. india is too weak a nation to stand up to the chicoms and the vast majority of japanese are still pacifist.
good move by rumsfeld. as usual
Seems to me that VN has been making steady efforts to play nice and ease into the real world.
Wow, they're already surrendering!
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NEVER FORGET
The Communist Vietnamese' real version of playing nice:
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
NEVER FORGET
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australia is busy selling to china. japan will take decades to become a military power again.
about the indians fighting the chicoms..ha ha ha..india is a weak nations without a backbone. it can hardly stand up to islamic terrorism. incidentally muslims and communists are becoming more powerful in india.
suffice to say that a diamond cuts a diamond. just like we used the PRC against the Soviets, we need the Vietnamese against the Chicoms. only vietnam has the guts to take the fight to the chinese. vietnam is an important country we need to encircle china.
Ancient animosites never go away. Political comradery doesn't overcome that. Vietnam is nervous by the saber rattling being done in Beijing, hence the change of tone between the US and Vietnam.
Interestin' times we live in, eh?? :-)
Geeeeee .. I thought McCain and Kerry took care of the MIA issue a long time ago ..?? NO ..?? Could this be why they are so palsy-walsy ..?? Hmmmm?? Kinda makes you wonder.
Other Bottom Line: Viet Nam craves to have the USA as a counterweight to China. Because of Vietnamese fear of China the USA, by Protecting Viet Nam, has considerable influence for good in that country in regard to things like the treatment of Minorities and Protestants. The government got its foot off the neck of the Catholics last year and now its grip on the Catholic wrist is less firm. I am advised by my correspondents that, in their opinion at least, it has a lot to do with the government desire to install Viet Nam firmly in America's protective orbit. The ubiquitous corruption has to await internal rectification but much else that is in the purview of government policy can be influenced by Bac(Uncle) Sam.
Actuially we did that already. The first army we fought in Europe in WWII was the French Army in North Africa- Vichy, but French, nonetheless.
NEVER FORGET but keep it in the past where it belongs. Viet Nam's main foreign policy goal is to obtain the protection of the Americans. Viet Nam has already fought China once in 1979 and believes it won. Viet Nam and Vietnamese have fought the Chinese for millenia. Even the Overseas Chinese in Viet Nam do not love the thought of Chinese hegemony. In a China-US military confrontation where Viet Nam must choose sides, it will choose for the Americans so long as the US is firm in its defense of itself. Without the Americans Viet Nam will resist China by itself. Viet Nam's army is a pretty fair deterrent to the PLA moving into Southeast Asia.
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Thank you, Freeper ThanhPhero, I've always enjoyed reading your thoughtful internet posts over the years.
Your geo/politics analysis of the current reasons why Communist Vietnam & America are coming together for mutual benefit is excellent. Plus ..America is also acting against Terrorism and Vietnam is acting against terrorism as well.
Only problem is that ours and their definition of terrorism differ greatly. The Communist leadership of Vietnam defines a terrorist as anyone who threatens their hold over its people. And there's the rub, isn't it?
The people of a Communist enslaved Vietnam are NOT Free. There are NO human rights there. ZERO.
And the Free Vietnamese people outside that enslaved country around the world are NEVER FORGETTING to remind the Communists in Vietnam of this fact.
Thus their constant pressure on Vietnam's Communist leadership for human rights CHANGE in that country runs unabatted.
And this is a good thing, even given your correct geo/political analysis.
Case in point:
Persecuted Vietnamese Actor DON DUONG, who after filming "WE WERE SOLDIERS" about the Vietnam War & "GREEN DRAGON" about its aftermath (..an internationally famous actor who lived in Saigon, Vietnam all his life..) was declared a traitor (..without a trial..) to the people of Vietnam & its People's Army for his movie portrayals.
DON DUONG refused to confess to being such a traitor, even under heavy duress, while awaiting his coming punishment in-country to be imposed upon him by that Communist State.
As we here on the other hand worked to get him outta there.
On the day SADDAM's Statue fell for Freedom in Bagdhad Iraq on April 9, 2003 ..DON DUONG, along with his family, arrived in San Francisco, California a Free man FOREVER ..and just about kissed the ground here in gratitude.
Before thread:
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/768075/posts
After thread:
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/888311/posts
Freedom & LOVE are coming to Vietnam, from ALL sides.
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965, Landing Zone Falcon
http://www.WeWereSoldiers.com
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm
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Thanks for putting together those threads and sites. I have them all in a new bookmarks folder now.
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