From: drk@cs.uiuc.edu (David Kohr)
Subject: Re: FOREVER GONE
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept of Comp Sci, Urbana, IL
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 20:33:30 GMT

In article <Bz9Fo4.A53@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu
(Larry Jewell) writes:
> Please explain what you're trying to say here.

Whether or not you continue to believe that there may be MIA/POW's in
Vietnam is purely your personal decision, and doesn't affect other people
to a great extent.  But if the beliefs that there may still be MIA/POW's in
Vietnam, or that the Vietnamese are withholding information about
KIA's/dead former POW's, continue to be the over-riding official reasons
why the US continues its embargo and refuses to recognize Vietnam, then it
will continue to affect a great many people (adversely in my opinion),
including American and other businesses, people who wish to travel safely
and conveniently to Vietnam (including American veterans and
Vietnamese-Americans), and the Vietnamese themselves.

This means that the "hopes" of a small, vocal, excessively-publicized
minority should not be a determining factor (or even an important factor,
IMHO) in shaping US-Vietnamese relations, as they have been in the past.

> If you're saying that Vietnam should be given a better position vis-a-vis
> the USA, then state why.

I'm not saying this.  I'm only saying that the MIA/POW/KIA/remains issue is
vastly over-emphasized (IMHO) in determining what this position should be.

> The current regime has been shown to be completely uncooperative on this
> matter unless the greatest pressure is brought to bear

I simply don't agree.  They have let US military search teams run all over
the country for over 3 years.  These teams have interviewed over 1,000
people.  They have excavated many, many sites looking for remains.  They
have had access to government buildings and documents.  This is hardly
"completely uncooperative", especially considering that much of the
relevant evidence (MIA remains and personal possessions) is in private
citizens' hands anyway rather than the government's.

> I don't think that pressure should be relieved.

And why is this?

> most likely they will continue or intensify their stonewalling.

"Stonewalling" is an interesting way to describe the (partial) list of
cooperative efforts I mentioned above.  "Intensifying their stonewalling"
is an even more curious term for the recent release of photographs and
other items from their archives, and the recent visit of a US search team
to the Citadel in Hanoi (their equivalent to the Pentagon--how many
Vietnamese do you think have been permitted to visit the US Pentagon to
search for clues to missing NVA servicemen?).

> BTW, if you make any mention of "humanitarian needs" in your reply, I
> will laugh and add you to my kill file since you don't have a clue.
>
>Larry J

I don't understand what you're trying to say; it sounds quite extremist by
any interpretation I can imagine, however.

Perhaps the real problem is that there *aren't* any MIA/POW's who
particularly wish to be found alive (certainly no credible evidence of any
has *ever* been publicized), yet certain people in the US will never be
satisfied until some are.
-- 
Dave Kohr     CS Graduate Student     Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Work: 3244 DCL, (217)333-6561  Home: (217)359-9350  E-mail: drk@cs.uiuc.edu
                   "One either has none or not enough."
Newsgroups: alt.war.vietnam