At this risk of steering into Jay Nordlinger’s lane… is the United States government completely out of the human rights business? Does this White House even pretend to care about the topic anymore?
With the embalmed body of Communist national forefather Ho Chi Minh lying under lights just a block away in his gray mausoleum, President Barack Obama on Monday signed the dissolution of the nearly 50-year embargo on selling arms to Vietnam, ending one of the last vestiges of the Vietnam War.
But what Obama had to say and do about open democracy here was as sparse as the turnout in polling places here just hours before Air Force One landed — despite, of course, government numbers putting nationwide turnout for the National Assembly elections at 98.77 percent.
Suspicious election results don’t usually come together with presidential visits, especially within hours, and especially when the president is arriving with a huge and much desired gift in the form of opening up arms trade.
Before Obama departed to Vietnam, the organization Human Rights Watch sent him an open letter:
In short, Vietnam is a police state. In our view, the main priority of the leaders you will meet is to maintain their party’s hold on power. It is noteworthy in this regard that Vietnam’s new president, General Tran Dai Quang, is the former head of the country’s notorious Ministry of Public Security. The fact that Vietnam’s Politburo chose Quang to be president indicates a great deal about their priorities.
There are many human rights issues that you could raise during your visit, including freedom of speech and assembly, political prisoners, and labor rights, among other topics.
Now we have Obama’s response: Nah.
An awkward handshake with Raul Castro, posing for a photo in front of a mural of Che, a sweeping, lenient agreement with the Iranians, and now arms sales to the Vietnamese. The autocratic regimes most hostile to America have never had it so good.
Obama: Hey, Let's Sell Weapons to Vietnam's Police State!