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A similar assessment comes from a senior Bush Administration official who follows Vietnam closely. "I don't think having a society that is armed to the teeth and poor to boot is good for the region," the official says. "Our long-term interest is in the peace and stability of the Southeast Asian peninsula." For its part, the Vietnamese government sees the Soviet presence fading in the region and wants renewed American involvement as a counterweight to growing Chinese influence. Two years ago, Hanoi floated a proposal to let the U.S. military reoccupy its former bases in Cam Ranh Bay and Danang. This month, following reports that the Soviet navy was scaling back its forces in ) Cam Ranh Bay, the Vietnamese repeated the offer. The Vietnamese would benefit from the dollars flowing into their economy from the bases. The U.S. would regain the use of facilities that the Pentagon loudly bemoaned losing and in turn would gain invaluable leverage in the ongoing negotiations with the Philippine government over renewing the leases at Subic Bay and Clark air base. It could be what Pentagon planners call a "win-win" scenario.
Strategy aside, there is a more humane reason for recognition. American involvement in Indochina was more than just an exercise in global strategy. The desire to help people preserve their freedom and improve their lives was an important justification for committing U.S. soldiers to battle. The lingering pain of Vietnam is due, in part, to the realization that the idealism turned sour. For the half-million Vietnam vets suffering from post- traumatic-stress disorder and even for those who have adjusted well, a U.S. return to Vietnam might ameliorate the sense that America left a job unfinished. McClellan puts it this way: "Every time we walked down that road at the beginning of a patrol, we turned off. I've always wondered what was around the next bend. I want to go back before I get too old, and walk around that bend to see what's there. Then maybe I'll be able to put Vietnam to rest."
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CAPTION: VIETNAM YESTERDAY AND TODAY