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usmc4669
02-24-04, 08:24 PM
When Douglas -- or as he's usually called Pete -- Peterson arrived in Hanoi as the first postwar U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam two years ago, he promised to continue the search for missing American soldiers and work on improving trade between the two former enemies. Late last month, Vietnam and the United States reached an agreement in principle on reestablishing normal trade relations. The pact, which took three years to negotiate, will give both countries increased access to each other's markets. Details are still being worked out, and Ambassador Peterson was in Washington last week briefing Congress, which must approve the pact.

A former prisoner of war, now an ambassador

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: But its successful negotiation was a key step in finally normalizing relations between the two countries 24 years after the end of the Vietnam War. President Clinton had ended a tight trade embargo in 1994 and restored diplomatic relations in 1995. He appointed then-Congressman Peterson as the first U.S. Ambassador. He's a former Air Force pilot who was shot down on a bombing mission near Hanoi in 1966. He was captured and spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war. Peterson's appointment was welcomed by the few Americans then living in Vietnam.

greybeard
02-24-04, 08:35 PM
I guess you read we've already had a US Navy warship make a port call in "Ho Chi Minh City". :(