Larry Pressler: “Madam President, I rise with Senator Kerry today in the hope that the Senate may join with us in recognizing that the…”

“Madam President, I rise with Senator Kerry today in the hope that the Senate may join with us in recognizing that the time has arrived to begin a new chapter in our troubled history with Vietnam. Let me say at the outset, Madam President, that whenever I consider our relationship with Vietnam, I try very hard to do so without succumbing to the sentimentality that so often clouds our judgments about our former adversary. The grievances I hold against Vietnam are not personal, nor are they premised primarily on the Vietnamese leadership's past offenses to the United States, to their neighbors, to their own people and to mankind. They are, in large part, objections to Hanoi's current failings. Similarly, my hope for a better relationship with Vietnam is not intended to fulfill a personal need to reach closure on the Vietnam War. Such a goal may still be important to some, but I made my peace with that the day I returned to the United States.”