Old Hippie Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 The AMericans started the war...? hmmm...maybe yes, and maybe no...would you hold the French at all responsible for any of the problems in Vietnam? Lao? Cambodia? Not trying to dodge responsibility here, but I am just wondering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 OH, from the wikipedia quote above: The Secret War Main article: Secret War In the early 1960s, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began to recruit the indigenous â??Hmongâ? people in Laos to join fighting the Vietnam War, named as a Special Guerrilla Unit led by General Vang Pao. Over 80% of the Hmong men in Laos were recruited by the CIA to join fighting for the U.S. Secret War in Laos. The CIA used the Special Guerrilla Unit as the counter attack unit to block the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main military supply route from the north to the south. Hmong soldiers put their lives at risk in the frontline fighting for the United States to block the supply line and to rescue downed American pilots. As a result, the Hmong suffered a very high casualty rate; more than 40,000 Hmong were killed in the frontline, countless men were missing in action, thousands more were injured and disabled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I am well aware of all this My question is/was more along the lines of "what other elements as in countries, played a part in South East Asia's as in Vietnam, Lao Cambodia's, problems..?" I am already on board with the USA taking responsibility for these Hmong. On a separate, but slightly related note, look at the Promises made to the Filipinos during WWII, we reneged on that as well...hmmm, starting to see a pattern here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 So, the Hmong were "recruited"...not enslaved or forced from what I gather. And as Flash pointed out, paid relatively handsomely. Do you think they were forced to fight? Do you think they would have assisted the U.S. for free? If not, they were mercenaries. If so, they did so because they had a stake in the war themselves and found that siding with the U.S. was more to their benefit than doing nothing, going it alone, or surrendering to the VN. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Well, that is really another good point, what responsibility do we owe them besides a pay check? but really, if we are going to let the Mexicans slip in here, why not let the Hmong in? at least they try to fit in...? and don't demand special services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 HH, I accept your argumentation and maybe can modify my earlier words to if it's someone's problem it's one for the USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Well, I live in a city in CA that is about 70% Anglo, 25% Hispanic and 5% asian. Most all of the Asians are from Laos--most identify with one of four main tribes. The degree that the Asians have assimilated into the city, I don't think, is to any extent greater than the Hispanics. As for crime, there are about four Asian gangs represented in the city...and the local police describe them as the most vicious, if not the most prolific in terms of the number of crimes committed. The Asians DO seem to take school more seriously...lower absenteeism and higher grad rate from high school. We can only be thankful that Canada borders us on the north and not China 55555555555555 HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 The USA started the war? The Laotians and Vietnamese were doing a pretty good job of killing each other off before the US decided to get involved. The US govmt expanded the war, but in no way started it. p.s. Remember those US citizens (Laotian refugees) who were murdered in Thailand on orders of the Pathet Lao govmt? The US govmt hasn't made a peep about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Plans to resettle refugees in the United States have been complicated by provisions of the Patriot Act and Real ID Act under which Hmong veterans of the Secret War, who fought on the side of the United States, are classified as terrorists. elef, you've put your finger on what might just be our (US)greatest hypocrisy of the moment - the refusal to allow refugees to enter the US if they were associated with (gave 'material support' to) terrorists, when the terrorist group was created and supported by the US, or WAS the US! It's mind-boggling, and they've recently tried to start patching up this embarrassing hole by giving specific groups permission to enter despite their terrorist connections - so, some Burmese, Cubans, Tibetans, and perhaps eventually Hmong will be allowed to enter the US, even though they gave support to terrorists... It's a good place to start peeling back some of the inanities of the War on Terror stuff (after ending all the secret wiretapping, outing of CIA officers, etc...). YimSiam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwood13 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Found this interesting statistic from a Los Angeles Times article. "U.S. census figures paint a grim portrait of the educational levels of some Asian and Pacific Islander communities in California. For example, 66% of Hmong, 58% of Laotians and 56% of Cambodians have not completed high school, according to a recent report compiled by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center based on census data and estimates." More specific listing of ethnicity at Univ. of California urged -redwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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