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Agent Orange and Dioxin Remediation and the Return to Vietnam

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The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange

Almost every aspect of the War in Vietnam has been controversial. It was a war that generated bitter emotions, and for the men and women who served in that War, regardless of where they were from, the memories of their experiences have lingered. Thus, the idea of returning to Vietnam by the US Government had by necessity required that many issues from that War be resolved before re-establishing diplomatic relations. Much has happened in the past 14 years. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the embargo of the “Republic of Vietnam” on April 30, 1975. President William Clinton dropped the embargo on February 3, 1994. In January 1995, the United States and Vietnam signed agreements on those claims related to the War, absolving both nations of damages incurred. On July 15, 1995, President Clinton announced normalization between the US and Vietnam and stated: “The time has come to move forward and bind up the wounds from War.” On August 5, 1995, the US Embassy was opened in Hanoi, and on April 10, 1997 Douglas “Pete” Peterson, a former POW, became the first Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Thus, the normalization and building of relationships between the United States and Vietnam has all essentially occurred in just over a decade. But when did Agent Orange become an issue between the two nations?

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Young, A.L. (2009). Agent Orange and Dioxin Remediation and the Return to Vietnam. In: The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87486-9_8

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