The New Vietnam
Presented by Dr. Clark Neher
Thursday, April 15, 1999, 7:30pm
Staff Lounge, Founders Memorial Library (Lower Level)
The fourth and final Friends program for the 1998-99 academic year was a well delivered slide and lecture presentation by Clark Neher entitled, "The New Vietnam". Professor Neher has been a member of the NIU faculty in the Political Science Department since 1969, specializing in comparative politics, and since 1996, has served as director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
For more than thirteen years, the United States was involved in what is referred to as the Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-75. During this war, more bombs were dropped than all the wars of the world combined up to that period, and over two million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans died. Looking back, much of Vietnam's history has been one of occupation and war. For more than a thousand years, the land was occupied by the Chinese. In the mid-1800's, the French colonized the country, and in the 1940's the Japanese arrived. The French-Indochina War was between the years 1946-54, a war primarily financed by the United States. With all its history of occupation and war, Vietnam emerged with its culture and language intact. The United States failed to recognize this fact on the eve of its involvement.
During the post-World War II period, the Geneva Convention divided the country at the 17th parallel into a North Vietnam with its capital in Hanoi and a South Vietnam with its capital in Saigon. From this environment, following the defeat of the French in 1954, Ho Chi Mein gained leadership using a communist ideology merged with a strong nationalist ideology. He gathered a wide following in the North and formed guerilla groups, called Viet Cong, whose purpose was to reunite the country. America's involvement began gradually one step at a time in the early 1960's, but greatly escalated under the presidency of Richard Nixon. In the early years, most U. S. citizens viewed the war as necessary to stop the spread of communism. Foreign policy argued a domino theory, where if Vietnam fell into communist hands, before long so would other countries of Southeast Asia, including India.
The turning point came in 1968, when the U. S. failed to achieve its objectives in the Tet Offensive. The battle made clear that the enemy was still strong, and it was a psychological disaster for the U. S. America lost further credibility as a result of the My Lai Massacre. Anti-war sentiment argued that Vietnam was a civil war and presented no threat to American security. The war had produced a disproportionate amount of destruction that cost billions of dollars that would be better spent on America's needs. America's foreign policy was doing no more than buttressing a corrupt regime in South Vietnam whose leaders were dictators. When Nixon's escalation moved the war into Cambodia, it sparked some of the most violent anti-war protests in this country. Neher remembers this period as a "heady" time, both fantastic and ghastly.
The United States pulled out in 1973. However, Neher stated that if Vietnam won the war, it lost the peace. The country went into chaos, and millions of Vietnamese tried to leave the country. Among those who left were some of the very best minds. Many became "boat people," and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost when overloaded, makeshift boats sunk. Over a million Vietnamese came to the United States. A country that had been a major exporter of rice became a major importer of rice.
In 1986, a new national policy called Doi Moi, or renovation, began. This policy essentially ended the socialist economic system and introduced capitalist reforms. The people rallied, and today the country is once again a major rice exporter. While the country is more open than any time in the recent history, it still has many problems. There is a single political party system, and oppression continues. The population has swelled to over 75 million in a country the size of California. Vietnam is an environmental disaster. The number one problem is education.
The United States lifted the trade embargo in effect from 1975-95, and reinstated diplomatic ties in 1996. It established an embassy in Hanoi. Foreign investment is now seen nearly everywhere, and economic growth rates are running approximately 8 to 10 percent a year. Tourism has become the main industry. From the slides shown of modern Vietnam, it is almost impossible to see any devastation from the war. Neher concluded with what he felt is the key to understanding Vietnam—nationalism and a sense of independence.
-Byron Anderson
For more information, please call (815) 753-9838 or e-mail libraryfriend@niu.edu.