For this week I have found a very interesting article, one that I recommend everyone should read. It is about the unexploded ordnance and the footprint left in Vietnam by the US after the war. Even though its been nearly half a century since the US have dropped bombs on Vietnam, yet it is estimated that there are "at least 350,000 tons of live bombs and mines that remain in Vietnam, and that it will take 300 years to clear them from the Vietnam landscape at the current rate" (NY Times). This issue has already caused the deaths of nearly 40,000 Vietnamese, as well as 67,000 maimed since the end of the war in 1975. Not only bombs but another issue is that during the war the US used nearly 18 million gallons of herbicides in an effort to defoliate the forests, which would thus expose enemy troops. During this time the US sprayed not only the countryside but an estimated 3181 villages. It was also established that one of the active ingredients in these toxins were a compound known as Dioxin, which is regarded as one of the deadliest substances known to man. "Just 85 grams of dioxin, if evenly distributed, could wipe out a city of 8 million people." (NY Times).
So aside from the obvious statistics, and the number of lives lost, this is a serious issue. It is killing men, women, and children of all ages, as well as altering DNA causing many birth deformities among those affected by the toxins and exposed to. It's hard to take a stance on this as far as who should fix it. Because although the US is obviously directly responsible for the actual items being left in Vietnam, it was all acts of war, I mean Vietnam could have chose not to wage war if they had not wanted some of these things to happen to them, as brash as that sounds. Ultimately I think it is upsetting that the US has not offered to do more regarding this issue, I believe it is up to the Vietnam govt. to ensure that the process of clearing this ordnance is sped up, as well as coming to a solution for the toxins affecting the public.
A way I feel like this is related to geography, is that prior to the war, the Vietnam region had more forests, and the land was untouched by civilization in a way, but now the US has changed the climate of that region potentially by damaging villages as well as forest areas.