IT'S NOT THE WAR, BUT WHAT THE WAR WAS FOUGHT OVER THAT MATTERS:

Military ties warm between US, Vietnam: China's rise and deepening trade links have brought the once bitter enemies closer together. (Simon Montlake, 2/07/06, The Christian Science Monitor)

[A]s trade soars between the two former foes - the US is Vietnam's number-one export market - military ties are also warming up. Vietnam has agreed to send Army officers on a US training program, and has hosted US warships at its ports. Last year, after Prime Minister Phan Van Khai made a state visit to Washington, the two sides agreed to share intelligence on terrorism, drugs, and other transnational threats.

Vietnam is also considering joining UN peacekeeping operations as a prelude to seeking a non-permanent seat on the security council. Hanoi last year sent a joint military-civilian delegation to Haiti to observe the UN mission there, according to a senior Western diplomat, and has agreed to commit to international peacekeeping "when circumstances allow."

They need to liberalize considerably before they can be a legitimate ally, though they're an inevitable one.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 6, 2006 7:33 PM