On the recordJuly 13, 1995
in March 1992, then Gov. Bill Clinton was quoted regarding the issue of normalizing relations with Vietnam as saying: The president should not just state that the resolution of the issue is a "national priority," he should make it the national priority, and direct that all agencies cooperate and resolve it. . . . Before I would normalize relations or provide assistance to any of the countries involved, they would be required to open their files and actively assist in solving this issue. And then in October of that same year he said: It would be "putting the cart before the horse" to normalize relations before receiving a full accounting of the prisoner situation. . . . I ask where is that full accounting President Clinton promised before normalizing of relations would occur? Where is it? President Clinton has indeed put the cart before the horse. He has normalized relations with Vietnam in return he got nothing.
Source
govinfo.gov
