[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 113 (Thursday, July 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              CLINTON'S POLICY ON VIETNAM IS CONTEMPTIBLE

                                 ______


                         HON. DAVID FUNDERBURK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 13, 1995
  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, I am the only Member of the House to 
have served as an ambassador to a Communist country. I have seen first 
hand the barbarity and duplicity of Communists. In what Winston 
Churchill called ``the dark and lamentable catalog of human crime,'' 
there is nothing on record to compare to the 30 years of destruction 
and human misery, communism brought to Europe, Latin America, Africa, 
and Asia. Hundreds of millions died. Religious and political freedom 
was obliterated. To fight communism America spent thousands of lives 
and trillions of dollars. In light of that bloody history it is all the 
more tragic that the Clinton administration has decided to ignore a 
clear campaign promise and recognize and assist one of the last but 
most brutal Communist dictatorships left--Vietnam.
  The Vietnamese Communists deserve only our contempt. They crushed our 
allies in South Vietnam, killing millions. They overthrew the 
Government of Cambodia and Laos. They forced the entire ethnic Chinese 
population of their own country into the sea, prompting Beijing to 
invade. They opened up reeducation camps and suppressed all dissent and 
religious expression. As we speak, Buddhist monks are threatening to 
take to the streets to immolate themselves. Vietnam has entered into 
formal defense arrangements with Cuba and Iraq and has recently invited 
Saddam Hussein for a state visit thereby thumbing its nose at the world 
community.
  Hanoi brutally murdered hundreds of American POW's before the Paris 
peace accords were signed and they have lied about it ever since. Yet, 
the Clinton administration claims that we must rethink our relationship 
with Vietnam and reward it with the benefits of American recognition 
and aid because progress has been made on the POW/MIA issue. That 
progress is so illusory it is scarcely worth the mention.
  There has been no progress in accounting for over 300 Americans last 
known to be alive in the hands of their Communist captors. According to 
information produced by Congressman Dornan's National Security 
Subcommittee on Personnel, Hanoi still refuses to hand over the remains 
of almost 100 Americans we know died in captivity. Recently, the 
Communists have resorted to releasing scores of records and boxes of 
remains which when examined prove to be the bones of animals and ethnic 
Asians. In fact over 150 boxes of remains handed over to American 
authorities in recent years show signs of chemical processing and 
prolonged cold storage. Mr. Dornan's subcommittee disclosed that Hanoi 
stored over 400 boxes of preserved remains to use as leverage over 
American leaders. Vietnam has cynically and criminally played upon the 
emotions of POW/MIA families to extract financial and diplomatic 
concessions from this administration.
  In testimony last month, retired military POW/MIA investigators told 
the House that Hanoi still holds back
 remains, still holds back documentary evidence, and deliberately 
manufactures and manipulates crash site evidence. The administration 
was forced to admit that none of the hundreds of documents and remains 
handed over to a blue ribbon Presidential delegation in May will lead 
to the closing of one POW/MIA case. In fact, leaders of the most 
prominent POW/MIA family and veterans' groups were asked to participate 
in the administration's trip to Hanoi. They refused, feeling that the 
entire process was arranged to conclude that the Vietnamese were 
working hard to full account for missing Americans.

  The Pentagon's own joint task force full accounting [JTFFA] has 
repeatedly been denied access to areas where live sightings have been 
alleged. In addition, the JTFFA has never been allowed to interview one 
witness without the presence of a Vietnamese military or political 
officer. Despite administration claims that better relations with Hanoi 
have led to more MIA case closings the opposite is in fact true. During 
the Reagan administration an average of 21 MIA cases were closed per 
year. Under Bush the average was 24. But, under the Clinton 
administration case closings have fallen off to 12 per year. Since the 
open door on trade was granted to Hanoi 5 months ago, only five cases 
have been closed.
  For those who argue that opening up Vietnam to our largest companies 
will pave the way for reform, one need only look to China for 
refutation. We have been engaged in China for 25 years and all we have 
to show for it is an entrenched dictatorship and multinationals which 
are all too willing to bank in the slave-like working conditions which 
exist in that country. The same scenario will play out in Vietnam. But 
it won't stop there. The administration will request and the Vietnamese 
will demand--in exchange for more cooperation on POW/MIA's--access to 
the Overseas Private Investment and the Export-Import Bank. Once again 
the American taxpayer will be stuck floating a brutal dictatorship 
which will never have the means to repay us.
  Some in the administration and Congress are now advocating that we 
open up relations with Vietnam and open up security ties with her in 
order to counter balance resurgent Chinese militarism. That is also a 
prescription for disaster. I have seen what happened when we toyed with 
a Communist dictator who promised us that he would side with us against 
a more powerful adversary. We placated Romania's Ceausescu and turned a 
blind eye to one of the most savage regimes in the history of eastern 
Europe. Kowtowing to Romania was shameful then, but it pales in 
comparison to the policy we are about to set for Vietnam.
  Mr. Speaker, the only way for reform, the only way to stand up for 
our ideals is to say that respect for human rights and progress toward 
democracy is the precondition for American recognition. Vietnam fails 
our ideals on all accounts not the least of which is the contempt it 
has shown for the emotions and sensibilities of our POW/MIA families. 
In that light, the Clinton policy on Vietnam is contemptible.


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