NATION6SEP. 28 - OCT. 4, 2012

Many expatriates have written to Vietweek concurring that despite the problems they face in Vietnam, it is simply not acceptable that people direct their anger and slurs at allVietnamese. This forum opens the floor for you, the expats, to hold forth on the changes you see in Vietnam: what disappoints, what pleases and what you would like to see happen.Email your thoughts to editor@thanhniennews.com. We reserve the right to edit your submissions for reasons of space and clarity.

YOURTWO CENTS

A de-facto admission of Agent Orange guilt

PHOTO: AFPVietnamese General Nguyen Chi Vinh (R), Deputy Defense Minister, speaks to the US Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear as they attend the ground-breaking ceremony of thejoint US-Vietnam Dioxin Cleaning Project held at the a former US airbase in the central city of Da Nang on August 9

By DR. WAYNE DWERNYCHUK (*)

On September 24 the USEmbassy in Hanoi issued apress release titled

“Vietnam­US Joint AdvisoryCommittee [JAC] HighlightsBilateral Cooperation on AgentOrange.”

This group has met annuallysince 2006 to provide scientificadvice to the governments ofVietnam and the US on dioxincleanup strategies for former USmilitary bases in Vietnam, andresearch involving human healthissues related to AgentOrange/Dioxin (AO/dioxin)exposure.

Two statements attributed in thepress release to US Ambassador to

Vietnam, David B. Shear, providehints of a possible policy shift inthe US’s view on the relationshipbetween AO/dioxin and resultinghealth consequences forVietnamese people exposed to thistoxicant.

During the two­day meeting,Ambassador Shear “highlightedprogress made in bilateralcooperation to help Vietnamrespond to environmental andhealth challenges related to AgentOrange …” He also stated: “Thisproject is a significant milestone inour joint efforts to address thelegacy of Agent Orange inVietnam.”

Since the termination ofhostilities between the US andVietnam, that is, over the past 37

years, successive USadministrations have consistentlychanted the mantra that noscientifically­proven link existsbetween the exposure ofVietnamese people to AO/dioxinand any human­health relatedconsequences… that is, no causeand effect relationship exists.

This position was certainly oneof the reasons no assistance toVietnam was forthcoming fromthe US all these years addressing,specifically, human health and thedioxin equation.

I am somewhat perplexed bythe fact that no journalist hasposed very obvious questions tothe US, and in particularAmbassador Shear, regarding,what is to me, glaring

inconsistencies in US policy. If I was in a position to pose

questions to Ambassador Shear, Iwould ask him:

“Sir, you have said the JACmeeting has highlighted progressrelated to environmental andhealth challenges associated withAgent Orange. The environmentalchallenge is self­evidentthroughout southern Vietnam, inthe devastation of once lushtropical forests and wildlife.However, the ‘health challenges’you refer to are another matter.

“If you profess there is noevidence that AO/dioxin exposurein Vietnam has compromised thehealth and wellbeing of localpopulations, as has beenconsistently maintained by US

administrations, why is there a‘health challenge’ that must beaddressed? What is the challengeyou are referring to if youradministration does not accept acause/effect relationship ofexposure and health issues?

“You also mention that the JAChas made significant efforts toaddress the legacy of AgentOrange in Vietnam. I presume the‘health consequences’ youmentioned earlier are part of thislegacy.

“So how do you reconcile thislegacy with your government’slong­held stance of no provencause/effect relationship, whichhas been advanced historically tojustify not assisting Vietnam?

“Has the US finally acceptedthere is a full and legitimatecause/effect relationship? If not,why are you investing significantUS dollars in the cleanup offormer US military basescontaminated with dioxin? Doyou still deny that dioxin has beena significant factor incompromising the health ofexposed Vietnamese people?

“What has moved the US awayfrom decades of denial,obfuscation, and inaction? I amcertain the US administration didnot wake up one morning and say‘it is time to do the right thing.’Basically, why is the US offering toassist Vietnam with theirAO/dioxin problem now, when ithas been ignoring emphatic callsfor responsible action fromVietnam and the internationalcommunity at large for decades.What has changed?

“How would you respond toreports that suggest China’sgrowing influence in the region isa factor, possibly the primaryfactor, in guiding the USadministration to invest in dioxincleanup activities in Vietnam; thatthe real aim is to gain a valuableally in the geo­political structurewithin the region?”

If the Ambassador denies thegeo­political rationale, the issue ofcause and effect of dioxinexposure takes the spotlight.Acceptance of a definitivecause/effect relationship places theUS in a precarious situationregarding liability. Why is the USoffering financial aid to address aproblem that it has for longmaintained does not exist?

It is possible that Vietnam iswelcoming US involvementwithout dwelling on specificreasons for it. Having the US as anally in the face of China’saggressive territorial claims is,basically, not a negativecircumstance, from theirperspective.

(*) The writer is an environmentalscientist in British Columbia,Canada. The opinions expressed arehis own