Word: vietnamization
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...Such harsh punishment of dissent is not surprising in Vietnam, where the Communist Party remains firmly in control despite 20 years of economic liberalization. What was new is that the court spectacle in the ancient imperial capital of Hue was so open. Politically sensitive trials especially tend to be held quietly and - perhaps - announced after the fact...
...When Vietnam granted rare access to the trial of prominent dissidents, it may not have expected to produce the sight of communist officials slapping their hands over the mouth of a 60-year-old man - a Catholic priest, no less - and wrestling him out of the courtroom. But that is exactly what happened foreign journalists and diplomats saw in the trial of dissident priest Father Nguyen Van Ly and four other activists...
...Vietnam's highest-profile political case in years, the five defendants were found guilty of "conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic" after a raucous, half-day trial Friday in which the priest loudly denounced the court as "the law of the jungle." At that point he was hushed up and hustled out to follow the proceedings by loudspeaker in an adjoining room where he eventually heard his sentence: Eight years in prison for helping set up and publicize a small, illegal opposition party, known as the Progression Party...
...past several years, Western diplomats have been urging Vietnam's government to promote "transparency and rule of law" as essential ingredients for fighting corruption and fostering smooth business transactions. The same terms are often polite code for allowing democratic movements to exist as well. Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, says he's not sure what message Vietnam's leaders were sending with the open trial in Hue. "It's possible they were just trying to tell everyone that they are so strong and so confident that, yeah, you can come into our trials, and they're phony...
...Bobby Kennedy vs. Ronald Reagan - it's the grand matchup we were denied. They debated once, mostly about Vietnam, on a 1967 CBS telecast that featured Reagan in Sacramento, Calif., and Kennedy in New York City answering questions from students in London. (It was generally agreed that Reagan bested Kennedy, who asked afterward, "Who the f___ got me into this?") Who would not have relished a repeat confrontation between the conservative champion and the liberal prophet? Perhaps in October, when Thompson and Obama stand across the stage from each other, the hopes and dreams of both parties riding on their...