[sixties-l] US-Vietnam Relations

From: Jeffrey Blankfort (jab@tucradio.org)
Date: Fri Aug 04 2000 - 07:12:32 CUT

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    This is another wonderful example of Mr. Greed at work - having donated
    welfare funds to the folk who manufactured Agent Orange, the U$
    administration now sees cleaning-up the effects as providing opportunity
    "... to see American firms involved, especially where investment
    opportunities existed.

    "Almost all of the environmental work that has been done and is currently
    being done by the United States military is done by American
    private-sector firms,"

    "We're not here to discuss a U.S. government cleanup of contamination.
    ...In terms of international and U.S. law, the U.S. military can only fund
    cleanups outside the U.S. where there is a clear liability under an
    international agreement.

    "In the absence of such a liability it would need the specific
    authorisation of Congress."

    ========================

    US wants private, world role in Agent Orange plan

    HANOI (Reuters) - The United States would like to see U.S. firms and
    international organisations take part in a cleanup of Agent Orange in
    Vietnam and does not intend to do the work itself, a U.S. defence official
    said on Thursday.

    Gary Vest, principle assistant deputy under-secretary of defence for
    environmental security, said he held ground-breaking meetings with
    Vietnamese counterparts this week and they made clear Agent Orange was
    their highest environmental priority.

    Vest's trip follows a March visit to Vietnam by U.S. Defence Secretary
    William Cohen, who pledged cooperation on Agent Orange, a chemical
    defoliant employed by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War and blamed for
    serious health problems.

    Vest told a news conference the two sides agreed to consider joint
    workshops to address control and cleanup issues which he hoped would lead
    to more comprehensive cooperation.

    But he stressed: "It's very important to emphasise we were not here to
    discuss a U.S. government cleanup of contamination.

    "We were here to discuss how to create capacity and capabilities and share
    technologies and management approaches in how to deal with these issues."

    U.S. forces sprayed some 72 million litres of herbicides, of which Agent
    Orange is the best known, over southern Vietnam during the war to deny
    communist guerrillas jungle cover.

    Agent Orange contained dioxin, a known carcinogen, and Vietnam has long
    sought compensation for the spraying, saying the health of large numbers
    of people has been ruined.

    AGENT ORANGE "HOTSPOTS"

    Researchers have identified at least two Agent Orange "hotspots" where
    dioxin has found its way back into the food chain in Vietnam and say there
    could be many more.

    Asked why the United States could not consider directly funding or
    carrying out a cleanup, Vest replied:

    "In terms of international and U.S. law, the U.S. military can only fund
    cleanups outside the U.S. where there is a clear liability under an
    international agreement.

    "In the absence of such a liability it would need the specific
    authorisation of Congress."

    Instead, the United States would like to see American firms involved,
    especially where investment opportunities existed.

    "Almost all of the environmental work that has been done and is currently
    being done by the United States military is done by American
    private-sector firms," he said.

    "It would be our hope or anticipation that as environmental projects and
    works develop here in Vietnam, regardless of whether they are
    contamination cleanups or water projects, American firms would have a
    substantial involvement."

    He said he envisaged funding for a cleanup coming from the international
    donor community, non-governmental organisations and private foundations,
    but could not estimate the cost.

    Vest said he was not aware of any restrictions to prevent the U.S. helping
    fund a cleanup via such organisations.

    "But in any case, the prerequisite for investment or funding is to get a
    clear understanding of the nature and magnitude of the problem and
    alternative ways it can be fixed," he said.

    Vest said he had not been provided by the Vietnamese with a "quantitative
    assessment of the scope of the problem".

    He said he had visited one affected site near Danang which was not
    particularly large and to "define (it) in terms of clean up and extent
    would require certain studies and analysis."

    "There are an unspecified numbers of other sites in the country which
    logically and obviously would need to be identified and scoped over time
    in an orderly process."

    ======================

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