Vietnam as a friend, not a foe

President Bill Clinton didn't dodge Vietnam this time. Decades after he went to England to study and avoided the war, Clinton visited the Asian country with promises of peace and a small army of businessmen eager to start trade talks and walk on the path toward forgiveness.\nThe trip to the the Asian nation is the first executed by an American president since July 1969, three months after the number of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam had peaked at 543,400. \nBut during the 31 years since President Richard Nixon's six-hour visit to South Vietnam, many people in both countries have traveled the emotional distance from hatred to forgiveness. For years, Vietnam haunted the United States and the families and friends who knew a loved one in the war. \nIt's time to put Vietnam behind us and chalk it up as a mistake, although many Vietnam veterans are alive. A generation fresh from Vietnam has emerged. According to the The Associated Press, more than half of the 77 million Vietnamese and about one in every 10 Americans are too young to have experienced the war years, one of the most tumultuous times in American history. \nVietnam stood out from all other wars because it was televised. The news media, to their credit, exposed the horrors of war and the American boys in it. Mass demonstrations and overall political upheaval rung louder than the Liberty Bell throughout the nation. More than 100,000 protesters demonstrated at the Pentagon against a war that killed more than 58,000 U.S. soldiers. Students in tie-dyed T-shirts and Army jackets smoked marijuana and passed out LSD on campuses. The Cold War sentiments that spawned the Vietnam conflict are as much a relic of the past as are its icons of popular culture. \nAcross the Pacific, Vietnam suffered far more casualties than their U.S. counterparts although it is rarely discussed. The war killed 3 million and paralyzed much of the country in the following years under the cloak of communism. Largely, Vietnam is impoverished and struggling, although the country opened its doors to tourists and foreign businesses.\nBoth parties are optimistic that the visit will hasten in a new era of political stability and economic prosperity. For their part, Vietnam's older political leaders believe Clinton's visit symbolizes the United States' acceptance of its old enemy, according to The Asociated Press. The youth of Vietnam are looking at his visit as a step toward political and economic freedom\nMany people bear the wounds of Vietnam and one visit won't act as a Band-Aid, but it will open the door to healing, and that's in everyone's best interest.