[Ngo-lwg] VNA: Vietnam, US should work harder to overcome war consequences: US official

[Chuck Searcy]

As a former newspaper man, I've never forgotten that the most important
rule in the profession is to never misspell someone's name.

That didn't happen in this interview with Tim Rieser, senior foreign policy
advisor for Sen. Patrick Leahy at the Senate Appropriations Committee.

In any case, Rieser's comments and observations are correct and very
timely, regarding the relationship between the U.S. and Viet Nam and the
need to continue our cooperation to address the legacies of the war, UXO
and Agent Orange / dioxin.

Chuck Searcy
Vietnam, US should work harder to overcome war consequences: US official

VNA MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 - 16:01:00 PRINT
<https://en.vietnamplus.vn/Utilities/Print.aspx?contentid=148841>
<https://cdnimgen.vietnamplus.vn/t660/Uploaded/wbxx/2019_03_25/timothy_lieser.jpg>Timothy
Lieser, senior advisor at the US Senate Appropriations Committee (Photo:
VNA)

*Washington (VNA) *– Although Vietnam and the US have seen encouraging
outcomes of cooperation in dealing with war aftermath, there are much for
them to do in the field, said Timothy Lieser, senior advisor at the US
Senate Appropriations Committee.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in the US,
Lieser, who is also foreign policy assistant at Senator Patrick Leahy’s
Office, said he understood the war pain through what he witnessed during
his visits to Vietnam.

Like some US Senators such as Patrick Leahy and late Senator John McCain,
he saw the need to work to support both sides in overcoming consequences of
the war and help Vietnamese people who still are suffering from the war
pain.

Lieser shared difficulties in the beginning as not every American
understands the huge damage that the war left in Vietnam as well as the
significance of reconciliation.

Furthermore, some members of the US administration even opposed the
implementation of the work, and argued that it was necessary to focus on US
matters and the demands of US war veterans rather than that of other
country.

However, that was the right time to help the community and US people to get
better understanding in historical matters between the two countries as
well as the need to put aside the past to build trust and bilateral
cooperation, he stated.

According to Lieser, in early 1980s, there were prospects and opportunities
to collaborate with Vietnam in the field as bilateral trust was improved
and projects to support Vietnam were launched.

US Senator Patrick Leahy paid great attention to the work and ensured that
there was always budget for programmes in Vietnam.

Through years, more and more people have come to know the post-war
catastrophe that both nations have been suffering, and supported the work
that those like Senator Leahy have been doing over the past 30 years.

According to Lieser, over the past years, the US and Vietnam has reached
encouraging results in a number of issues such as searching for US and
Vietnamese soldiers missing in action.

The US side has supported the Vietnamese Government in improving technique
to search for remains of Vietnamese soldiers, dealing with unexploded
ordnances and assisting the disabled people in areas contaminated with
Agent Orange/dioxin and those who get injured by leftover bombs and mines.

However, there are still much to do and the two sides should continue
cooperate with each other to further promote assistance programmes in
Vietnam, including the decontamination of dioxin a Bien Hoa airport.

Lierser said that the US considers dealing with war aftermath as a priority
in the relations with Vietnam along with other priorities in trade,
security cooperation, environment, and climate change, as stated by US
leaders during their visits to Vietnam.

The US will continue implementing its commitments to assisting Vietnam in
overcoming war consequences, he added.-VNA

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CHUCK SEARCY
President, VFP Chapter 160
International Advisor, Project RENEW
Co-chair, Agent Orange Working Group
71 Trần Quốc Toản
Hà Nội, Việt Nam
Email       chuckusvn at gmail.com
Skype      chucksearcy
Cell VN    +8 490 342 0769
Cell US    +1 404 740 0653
Web         www.landmines.org.vn
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