U.S. may want to use air bases in Vietnam, general says
HANOI - The United States may want to pull Vietnam into its military alliance or use air
bases in Vietnam in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, a prominent Vietnamese general said in an
interview published Saturday.
''However, with such a distance (from Vietnam to Afghanistan), the air bases are in fact not so necessary,''
three-star Gen. Hoang Minh Thao said in an interview with the trade union daily Lao Dong. Thao cited India
and Myanmar as alternatives due to their more favorable geographic locations.
But the U.S. may take advantage of this chance to mobilize support from other countries, the general
added.
Thao, 80, was the commander of a strategic military campaign launched by northern communists in March
1975 against Saigon troops in the central highland that triggered the fall of U.S.-backed South Vietnam in
April the same year. He was rector of the National Defense Institute and the Military Strategy Institute.
''The U.S. will have to mainly use its air force because it is afraid of being bogged down there...and is strong
with weapons,'' the general said, adding the war in Afghanistan may be longer than that in Kosovo due to
religious factors and hatred.
Kyodo News - October 13, 2001.
Vietnamese tourism suffers
Reports from Vietnam say about 14,500 foreign tourists canceled trips to
Vietnam after last month's terrorist attacks in the United States.
The Tuoi Tre newspaper has quoted the deputy director general of
Vietnam's Administration of Tourism, Pham Tu, as saying the drop has
caused losses of nearly 2 million US dollars to local tour operators.
He says the number of foreign tourists could fall by 100,000 in the fourth
quarter of this year because of the impact of the attacks.
To reverse the trend, the administration has proposed the government
focus on attracting visitors from countries in the region, such as China,
South Korea, Japan.
Last year, Vietnam received 2.1 million foreign visitors.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - October 14, 2001.
Vietnamese Americans send less money home
Remittances from Vietnamese Americans to their relatives in Vietnam
are reported to have dropped by nearly two-thirds in the wake of last
month's terrorist attacks in the United States.
The Tuoi Tre newspaper says remittances - mainly from the US - have
declined from more than 20 million dollars in the month before the
attacks to around seven million dollars.
Banks in Ho Chi Minh City banks predict the payments will continue to
drop in coming months because of the economic downturn and rising
unemployment in the US.
More than 2.5 million Vietnamese live overseas, including more than 1
million in the United States.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - October 13, 2001.
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