News Story: The Forty- One Year Grudge?

This past May President Obama transmitted to Congress a U.S. Vietnam nuclear
energy cooperation agreement. Under this agreement the United States could license the
export of nuclear equipment to Vietnam. Also, this past year we have been named
Vietnams largest foreign export market. Voices in the U.S. favoring improved relations
have also grown recently. Does this mean that we no longer see the effect of American
protest against Vietnam?
Forty-one years ago marked the end to a highly controversial war. American
reaction to the war was strong, and the fighting was heavily protested. It would be more
than accurate to say that the effects of the divided nation during that time trickled down
to the younger generations. The U.S. fled Vietnam in what many would describe as a
humiliating end to a war. However, we can see that in 2014 the U.S. looks increasingly
friendly with Vietnam.
There are still protests, such as, Vietnam War legacies asking first for improved
human rights in Vietnam before closer relations. Also, it has taken us thirty years to end
the embargo in place against the country. However, we do appear to have already
strengthened ties with Vietnam. Ernest Bower, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, commented by saying, Washington sees Vietnam as
the most strategic-thinking of all the ASEAN countries. Vietnam has stepped up its game
in amazing ways over the last five years. Its incredible.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1950. When
Vietnam split, we did not recognize the Vietnamese northern government. We entered

into a war where we supported Southern Vietnam. In 1975 we evacuated completely from
Vietnam, under harsh media and social pressure.
It was not until 1995 when we reinstated formal relations with Vietnam. This begs
the questions, are the effects of the Baby Boomer generation no longer in opposition to
American involvement with Vietnam? Are the protests and reactions of young Americans
that once fueled the end to the War, no longer there? Are we to become divided again
over entering into relations with Vietnam, or have Americans simply moved on from the
past?

Bibliography:
http://time.com/108567/us-vietnam-friendship-alliance-relationship/

http://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40208.pdf
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4130.htm