One conclusion is that it makes a negotiated settlement more possible. That conclusion is a conjectural one. and I think it is important in this regard that this body recognize that the only testimony of the administration on this point is that U.S. military assistance will make a negotiated settlement more difficult. not less difficult. So what the people who support this approach are suggesting is that we will cynically take individual lives. risk them for no cause. we will create greater numbers of refugees. we will create greater death. and we will not get the Vietnamese out. The only thing we can ask from our own history is: Do we really think the Vietnamese are more likely to get out based upon the United States reengaging in a perceived public way. having taken the United States of America on for over a decade. with the expense of billions and billions of dollars. or do we think there is a greater chance for negotiated settlement if we keep the situation as it now is. with ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leading the way. seeking a negotiated settlement with the United States playing exclusively a humanitarian role? That is what is at issue today: Humanitarian assistance versus military. treating people as human beings. not as pawns in an EastWest conflict.
Keywords matched
refugees