Time for America to Pay its War Debt
As Hanoi’s ties with Washington reach new heights, Vietnamese Agent Orange victims await compensation
By: Michael Hart
On 28 July, the US Department of the Treasury confirmed that Vietnam had paid-off $145m in wartime debts accrued by the defeated Republic of Vietnam regime in Saigon. Hanoi had been paying the sum in yearly installments since striking a deal with Washington in 1997, whereby it agreed to take on South Vietnam’s pre-1975 debts in exchange …