Vietnam War apology unlikely

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, MARCH 12 The U.S. Defence Secretary, Mr. William Cohen, scheduled to begin a historic fence-mending visit to Hanoi tomorrow, is not likely to convey any formal apology from Washington to the Vietnamese leaders and people for the war that ended nearly a quarter century ago.

One aspect directly related to the past would, however, be the feasibility of intense cooperation between the two sides for a near-total accounting of all Americans still listed as missing in action. Besides some lingering questions regarding the prisoners of war, the search for the remains of the U.S. personnel killed in action would be another subject on the bilateral agenda.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright, had very recently pointed out that a negotiated trade agreement with Hanoi would be a pre-requisite for normal relations.

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Section  : International
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