Obama lifts arms ban in his first visit to Vietnam

What a POS. We could have traded POWs, bodies or remains at the very least. We have lost another opportunity to square at least some of the record on the POW/MIA mistreatment...

Gross Generalization alert!!! I read the masters thesis of one of my daughters friends. The topic was about the stability of the Communist Chinese regime. I warned her that I was woefully ignorant on the topic.

She destroyed some pre-conceived notions I had. China is not a huge monolithic homogeneous political entity. Within its' own borders, China has huge regional differences in culture, language, ethnicity, and economic prosperity. These differences are fanning the fires of internal regional aspirations of autonomy and self rule. Her points is that China really does not have a significant desire to expand it territory. It has reached the limits of its ability to control political activity within its borders, and the Chinese government knows that. She maintains that what the Chinese want to do is increase the weight of their influence within their existing sphere of influence.

The writer of the thesis maintains that the best course of action for the United States is not direct confrontation, but to strengthen the nations within China's geographic sphere of influence. Essentially to put China in the position of "herding cats". The continued westernization of China's economic elite and the economic disparity within China will create another set of "cats" that need to be herded. Eventually leading to a decentralization that ends or severely cripples China's superpower status.

In that light, President Obama's rapprochement with Viet Nam may be a sound policy. Or I may be full of it. I don't know enough to know what I don't know. What do you think?