Reflections on the President’s Visit to Vietnam

By John McAuliff

The trip to Vietnam in November by President Bill and Senator-elect Hillary Clinton will be seen by historians as the fitting conclusion of an unprecedented eight year process of post-war reconciliation.

While the Florida election controversy diminished the visit’s impact on US public opinion, the welcome extended by Vietnam’s government and people was remarkable and warm. If the Bush Administration follows through on the spirit and the substance of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s visit, the trip will have created the foundation for a far-reaching and enduring bilateral relationship. I timed my fall visit to Vietnam to overlap with the Clintons’. Susan Hammond, FRD’s Deputy Director, and I were able to attend several semi-public events and observed the impact of the visit through the eyes of people on the street and Vietnamese friends.

Simply listing the schedule of meetings, speeches, briefings and interviews which took place during three days suggests not only the seriousness with which the Clintons took their visit, but also the extraordinary preparations made by Vietnamese ministries, Ambassador Pete Peterson, Embassy staff and White House advance people. The full texts of speeches and interviews are available on the Embassy web site. http://usembassy.state.gov/vietnam. News articles and pictures can be found on the web site of the US-Vietnam Trade Council www.usvtc.org.

President Clinton speaks at an exhibit on landmines and unexploded ordnance
(from left) Vu Xuan Hong, President Clinton, Ambassador Le Van Bang

Cuba and the Agricultural Appropriations Bill: A Victory That Was Lost

Congressional action regarding Cuba for the 2000 session reached a conclusion, amid great controversy. On October 5, the agricultural appropriations conference committee voted to allow the first US sales of food and medicine to the Cuban government in nearly 40 years, but the bill prohibits the extension of both US government and private US financing to Cuba for its purchases. Sales to Cuba would be on a cash-only basis, or with financing and credits arranged through third-country banks. Very significantly, the bill also prohibits future expansion of the categories of US citizens allowed to travel to Cuba by codifying into law the current travel restrictions, taking away the power of the President to modify these travel restrictions. (The sale of medicine to Cuba has already technically been legal, but with strict licensing provisions and end-use monitoring.) Earlier votes in both the House and Senate on sanctions imposed on Cuba were overwhelming victories in favor of a positive change in US policy towards Cuba, though those victories were stolen in backroom deals among Republican leaders and in the conference committee maneuvering. The will of a few members of Congress with special interests and with power have subverted and overturned the will of the majority.