Many Vietnam vets say they support lifting of arms embargo

[ExFreeper]

Many Vietnam vets say they support lifting of arms embargo

AP via Stars & Stripes - By TAMMY WEBBER and CHRIS CAROLA

The way Terry Neilen sees it, lifting the ban on U.S. arms sales to Vietnam makes sense in the face of China's growing influence in the region.

Fellow Vietnam veteran Ned Foote said Americans long ago forgave Germany and Japan for World War II, so there's no reason not to do the same with Vietnam.

"We're actually acting as a team in a sense," said Neilen, of Saratoga Springs, New York, who served in the Army infantry in Vietnam in in 1967 and 1968. "They're joining together to give a show of strength."

Foote, who heads the New York State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, noted that the Vietnamese have helped account for missing American service members.

President Barack Obama's decision to lift the half-century-old arms embargo was seen Monday by many veterans as a logical outgrowth of efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and the southeast Asian nation that has become a major trading partner since the war ended in 1975...

 Steve Rylant, of Loveland, Colorado, said he didn't think lifting the ban was a good idea.

"The wounds are too deep," said Rylant, who served at an Air Force base in Thailand during the war. "It's taken this long for people to say 'welcome home.'"

Al Huber, 69, is president of the Illinois state council of the Vietnam Veterans of America. He said he's not worried about whether that country gets weapons, but he doesn't think Obama's decision to lift the embargo near the end of his presidency "serves any purpose except his personal agenda."

Obama said the move would ensure Vietnam can defend itself but denied it was in response to territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. China has warned the U.S. not to take sides, and Obama said the nation supports a diplomatic resolution...

 Neither the American Legion nor the Veterans of Foreign Wars has taken a position on the embargo, officials said.

But under a resolution adopted two years ago, the American Legion opposes the sale of long-range ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear or biological weapons, to communist nations, spokesman John Raughter said.

The group recognizes "that the president must be the chief architect of U.S. foreign policy," said Raughter, adding that the organization would "study the situation very carefully" and discuss it at its national convention this summer.

"We realize there are a lot of factors at play, including China ... but we also remain concerned about the human rights situation in Vietnam."

Army veteran Willie Guzman, who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971, said that, as commander in chief, Obama had the right to lift the embargo.

"They're an ally of ours now," he said. "I think they should be able to work together as a unit, you know, so we can help protect the freedom of that country as well."

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/many-vietnam-vets-say-they-support-lifting-of-arms-embargo-1.411104

Obama lifts arms ban in his first visit to Vietnam

AP via Stars & Stripes - By Foster Klug

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner in a region that he has tried to place at the center of his foreign policy legacy.

Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he vowed to leave behind the troubled history between the former war enemies and embrace a new era with a young, increasingly prosperous nation. Obama steered clear of harsh condemnation of what critics see as Vietnam's abysmal treatment of dissidents, describing instead modest progress on rights in the one-party state. Activists said his decision to lift the embargo destroyed the best U.S. leverage for pushing Vietnam on abuse.

"At this stage, both sides have established a level of trust and cooperation, including between our militaries, that is reflective of common interests and mutual respect," Obama said. "This change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War."

...  For Vietnam, lifting the arms embargo was a psychological boost for its leaders. The United States partially lifted the ban in 2014, but Vietnam has pushed for full access as it tries to deal with China's land reclamation and military construction in nearby seas.

It was unclear whether striking the ban would quickly result in a boost in arms sales. Obama said that each deal would be reviewed case by case and evaluated based on the equipment's potential use. But there would no longer be a ban based on "ideological division," he said.

 Obama's arrival in Hanoi late Sunday made him the third sitting president to visit the country since the end of the war. The trip comes four decades after the fall of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City, and two decades after President Bill Clinton restored relations with the nation.

Obama also made the case for stronger commercial and economic ties, including approval of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that is stalled in Congress and facing strong opposition from the 2016 presidential candidates. The deal, which includes Vietnam, would tear down trade barriers and encourage investment between the countries that signed it.

Critics worry it would cost jobs by exposing American workers to low-wage competition from countries such as Vietnam....

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/obama-lifts-arms-ban-in-his-first-visit-to-vietnam-1.411015

[Maj. Bill Martin]

These kind of stories always suck, quoting "many" vets as thinking something to imply it is the majority opinion.  But no dissenting views are quoted -- I could have given the author names if she needed some -- and no poll or other results.

So, this amounts to a bunch of rectum-smooching progressives digging up a couple of quotes to make Obama look like a genius.