Bob Dole: “as I understand it, President Clinton will sometime between now and 6 o'clock end the trade embargo on Vietnam today.…”

“as I understand it, President Clinton will sometime between now and 6 o'clock end the trade embargo on Vietnam today. While we had a vote, a sense of the Senate vote here, and many of my colleagues think this is the right course, I believe it is the wrong decision at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. If the concern is about American exports to Asia, President Clinton should extend most-favored-nation status to China. When we get to that event in June, maybe make it permanent, maybe make it 2 years or 3 years. President-elect Clinton said--ironically on Veterans Day, 1992-- ``There will be no normalization of relations with any nation that is at all suspected of withholding any information.'' Those suspicions remain among many Americans. It is difficult to square a decision to lift the embargo with the earlier comment and the earlier commitment. Numerous objective observers believe Vietnam is withholding information and remains that could readily be turned over--if Vietnam had the political will and if the United States had decided to use political leverage. Many believe Vietnam is not being fully forthcoming--but why should they? While going through the motions on POW/MIA's, Vietnam guessed accurately that the administration would give them what they wanted and lift the embargo. The National League of Families asked the President to wait until they traveled to Vietnam to assess POW/MIA cooperation firsthand. We do not know what they would have found.…”