"Vietnam is still with us. It has created doubts about American judgement, about American credibility, about American power--not only at home, but throughout the world. It has poisoned our domestic debate. So we paid an exorbitant price for the decisions that were made in good faith and for good purpose" (Vietnam: Yesterday and Today, 1).

This quote by Henry Kissenger can be found at the top of the World Wide Web page, Vietnam: Yesterday and Today. The web page and the quote it self are testaments to the fact that of all the wars in which the United States has been engaged with the exception of the Civil War none has been as difficult to come to terms with as the Vietnam conflict. Even in the case of the Civil War, most of the southern states were reinstated into the Union within two years. Now, twenty years later, the U.S. has finally established diplomatic ties with communist Vietnam. Almost since the establishment of the union, the United States has had a policy of quick resolution after a war. The obvious example of this is the United States' help in rebuilding Japan and Germany after World War II. A large portion of the thirteen billion dollars the United States allotted for the rebuilding of post World War II Europe went to strengthen West Germany. In Japan American ideals of democracy paired with industrial technology helped to make Japan the world power it is today. Yet with the conclusion of the Vietnam conflict, America did just the opposite of her traditional post-war ideal and levied a trade embargo against the now communist controlled Vietnam. The reason for this difference, but not necessarily the embargo, is simple; we lost.

There were no trials of war criminals, there were no hero's welcomes from liberated countries or proud Americans. What proved most destructive to continued relations with Vietnam was that there was no chance to recover the remains of those Missing In Action or MIA's and Prisoners Of War. All of these issues (and many others) combined to make it impossible for America to react with help and kindness as it had with its former enemies.

Although President Clinton will be remembered as the U.S. president who normalized relations with Vietnam, he was not the first to attempt it. In 1977 President Jimmy Carter cautiously extended the olive branch to the new Vietnamese government. Soon after his election President Carter said that he "would be perfectly glad to support the admission of Vietnam to the United Nations and to normalize relations with Vietnam"(Olson ,276). This attempt to rectify past differences showed promising signs of success as academic and cultural exchanges were made. In1978, however, Vietnam made several mistakes. First, the Vietnamese government demanded reparations from the U.S. as the condition for reestablishing diplomatic ties and normalization. These demands, which made the U.S. feel like the war criminal instead of the liberating hero, opened old wounds for the American people. Despite President Carter's efforts, Congress killed any attempt to normalize relationships with Vietnam.

Second, in 1978 Vietnam committed another act that further estranged relationships with the western world and the U.S. in particular. In reaction to the devastation brought upon the Cambodian people (Vietnam's immediate neighbor to the south) by the Khmer Rouge and, in the interest of her borders, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Vietnamese hten launched an offensive against the Khmer Rouge, forcing them into the jungles and establishing the People's Republic of Kampuchea. This put an end to the mass slaughters of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but it was a major undertaking by a country not prepared to deal with the repercussions of an invasion.

In reaction to this invasion of Cambodia the U. S. government initiated a trade embargo against Vietnam. This embargo was supported by the Western European countries and other non communist Asian countries. This U.S. lead embargo kept Vietnam from receiving the much needed foreign investments that it required to reestablish its virtually ruined economy.

Vietnam had never fully recovered economically from the war with the U.S. The North Vietnamese government lacked the capital to initiate programs to rebuild the damage caused by the bombing of Vietnamese communication and transportation systems. They had insufficient food for their population, and the corruption that had so crippled the South Vietnamese government had found its way into the once idealistic North Vietnamese communist regime.

Despite these conditions, Vietnam had a standing army of one million men, the fourth largest in the world. Because of this fact, and not wanting to see Vietnam spread her influence in South East Asia, China launched a small invasion of Vietnam. Although this border conflict lasted only one month, 35,000 people were killed. On their retreat, the Chinese destroyed several towns, blew up important railways, and obliterated important power plants and a phosphate mine responsible for most of Vietnam's fertilizer.

The Vietnamese were now fighting wars on two fronts, the people were starving, and the government was being eroded by corruption. These awful conditions, coupled with the U.S. embargo, forced Vietnam to turn to the U.S.S.R. for help. The Soviet government responded to Vietnam's request for help with $1.5 billion in aid annually. Soviet involvement brought Vietnam heavily under the control of Moscow. This satellite relationship with the Soviet Union further wedged distrust and enmity between the United States and Vietnam.

As the United States entered the "Reagan" era of the 1980s a new issue arose that would further estrange the two countries: the accusation that Vietnam was still holding POW's and MIA's in prison camps. Along with President Reagan's ideals of restoring American pride came the idea of a tough foreign policy. This applied especially to Vietnam. In 1982 (the same year the Vietnam memorial was dedicated) Vietnam agreed to talks about American MIA's still in Vietnam. Although the Vietnamese government made several attempts to promote better relations with the U.S. in the 80s, the Reagan administration refused to further these attempts until the volatile issues of Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and the more emotional issue of American POW's was addressed.

Besides the insistence of the Reagan administration that American POW's were still in Vietnam, Hollywood helped to convince the American public that not only were our service men still held captive, but were being tortured as well. Movies such Missing In Action and Rambo popularized the idea of an American retribution against the cruel Vietnamese captors of our starved soldiers. Despite Hollywood's subscription to the idea of POW's, many people have criticized President Reagan for his stand on the issue. On such critic, Terry H. Anderson, wrote, "Technically, it is impossible for any Vietnamese government to find all recoverable remains' under fifteen years of jungle growth. . . Also MIA's are not just an American problem. The French still have 20,000 MIA's from their war in Indochina and the Vietnamese list over 200,000. Furthermore, the United States still has 80,000 MIA'S from World War II and 8,000 from the Korean War, figures that represent 20 and 15 percent, respectively, of the confirmed dead in those conflicts; the percentage is 4 percent for the Vietnam War. . . . The real "noble cause" for [the Reagan] administration is not the former war but its emotional and impossible crusade to retrieve "all recoverable remains"(Olson, 279).

The media's popularization of the POW situation and the resurgence of American pride fueled the animosity of the 70s through the 80s. Finally in 1988, the downward spiral of hate and distrust stopped when Vietnam started to cooperate with the U.S. in resolving the fate of American MIA'S. In September of that same year the U.S. and Vietnam conducted the first joint field investigation looking for the recoverable remains of American service men.

In 1989 Vietnam continued to move toward better relations with the Western World as she completed the withdrawal of troops stationed in Cambodia. Despite her fear of the return of the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam needed to make serious changes in both domestic and foreign policies. The Soviet Union was collapsing and was no longer able go give the desperately needed financial aid. Hunger and poverty were still rampant, and the cost of maintaining an occupational force in Cambodia was sapping the life out of the country. A new, more liberal, Vietnamese government knew that they had to get the U.S. to lift the trade embargo for the country to have a chance at recovering from it's twenty year depression. The end of the embargo would also allow Vietnam to qualify for international bank loans. These loans would allow Vietnam to pay back old debts and obtain new funds for economic progress.

To further these ends, Vietnam petitioned Washington for guidelines detailing what she would need to do to normalize relations and lift the embargo. In 1991 a congressional committee was formed to investigate the POW issue and President Bush outlined a "road map" to normalization, stressing that there be significant improvement regarding the POW and MIA issue. In cooperation with the Vietnamese government, Washington set up a permanent office in Hanoi headed by retired general, John Vessey. Its purpose was to determine the location of lost soldiers. The joint effort proved very positive and a great deal of headway was made. Although there were and are many U.S. soldiers still unaccounted for, the U.S. and Vietnamese government were sincerely and successfully working together to tie up the remains of a conflict that was said to have ended 18 years before.

As relations began to thaw between the two countries, capitalism and free market economics became the engine that propelled the U.S. to normalize relations and lift the trade embargo. In December of 1992 President Bush allowed U.S. firms to establish offices in Vietnam in anticipation of the lifted embargo. However, the embargo was still in place and prevented American firms from biding for development projects in Vietnam.

In January of 1993 the congressional committee that was formed to determine the POW/MIA issue reported that "There is no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia" (Kehoe,1583). Soon after this report President Clinton removed U.S. opposition to World Bank loans allowing Vietnam access to nearly $230 million in much needed capital with which to begin reforms. Still, U.S. companies were disadvantaged by the existing U.S. embargo which President Clinton renewed in September of 1993. However, he eased restrictions on the embargo allowing U.S. firms to bid on projects funded by the newly available World Bank loans.

At this point it was only a matter of time before the embargo was lifted. And,with Vietnam's help, new information regarding POW's and MIA's was being brought to the surface monthly. American business was eager to take advantage of the emerging free market economy in Vietnam. And the U.S., concerned with growing Chinese military power realized that Vietnam could be more advantageous as a friend than as an enemy. These reasons in mind, President Clinton ended the 19 year embargo with Vietnam in February of 1994, opening the way for capitalism to replace communism in the marketplace instead of the battlefield.

Positive progress on the MIA issue continued for the next year, giving support to those in favor of normalizing relations with our once enemy. At this point liaisons offices were opened between both capitols, but embassies had not yet been exchanged. On July 11, 1995 President Clinton, backed by strong bipartisan support from two former Vietnam veterans, Senators John Kerry (D, Mass) and John McCain (R, Ariz.), announced that the United States had normalized relations with Vietnam.

This action by President Clinton ignited strong reaction from certain members of both the House and Senate. Bob Dole, then Senate Majority Leader, vowed to stop funding for an embassy in Hanoi. Several representatives took similar stances on the issue and pledged support for Dole's initiatives. However, whether it was due to pressure from business investors, the Pentagon's desire for more alliances in Asia, or a general belief that twenty years is a long enough time to hate, on August fifth of the same year Secretary of State Warren Christopher opened the U.S. embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Opposition to these events has been raised, stating that by normalizing relations with our once enemy we somehow have betrayed the servicemen who fought and died there. In response to this, one Vietnam War veteran visiting the Vietnam Memorial responded, "A lot of people I seved with lost their lives. . . It's time to get on with normal relations.

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