Category: The United States and Vietnam since the war

One issue that kept the United States and Vietnam from developing normal diplomatic relations after the war was the problem of accounting for the Missing in Action. What was the problem? How did the category MIA relate to the issue of POW?

Why were most of the MIA’s connected with bombing missions over North Vietnam?

Did the Vietnamese have MIA’s as well?

Thirty years after the war ended, this issue has still not disappeared. What gives the issue its power? Will there ever be a resolution? Some have argued that the issue has always been a purely political one within the United States. What does that mean?

What is the timeline for eventual full diplomatic relations between the governments of the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam? Why did it take so long? (Consider that the United States resumed full diplomatic relations with Germany and Japan within ten years of the end of World War II.)

What problems does Vietnam have today as a result of the American use of herbicides like Agent Orange during the war? What is being done to resolve these problems?

There are large numbers of unexploded ordinance (bombs, artillery shells, mortar shells, land mines, etc.) scattered throughout Vietnam. What kinds of problems does this fact create for the Vietnamese people? What is the United States doing to correct the situation that it created?

What is the current level of trade and commerce between Vietnam and the United States? What statistical evidence is there available to allow a student to project a trend for the future?

Does the United States have a moral obligation to provide economic assistance to the government and people of Vietnam?

How do Vietnam veterans, who have survived the war, recall their years of service there? Perhaps this would be a welcome opportunity to engage a veteran in a dialogue about the war and their contribution to it with a student who has no personal memory of it. There are a number of veteran organizations that would probably be happy to set up such a dialogue. The Joiner Center at UMass-Boston would be a good place to begin such an investigation.

Visit the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s website for their views on American and Vietnamese relations. What questions do you have before you visit the site? What questions do you have after visiting the site?

http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/embassy/