Vietnam

In McCain's stump speech, the words "I have the scars to prove it," are literally about his tussles on Capitol Hill, but are clearly meant to evoke his time as a POW. In the campaign spotlight, the history of those five-and-a-half years is revealing itself. We've seen the cell John McCain was kept in, and heard the endorsement from his former captor, now the nurse who risked her safety to care for McCain right after he crashed in Vietnam 41 years ago, speaks out. Here's what she had to say:

Why she decided to care for McCain:
"I didn't know who he was, but he was obviously not Vietnamese. The pilot was not that big and heavy, he was pale and handsome. My responsibility was to care for my own countrymen only. But [North Vietnamese leader] Ho Chi Minh advised people to show compassion and to save the enemies. So I told myself that I had to fulfill my duty."

The consequences she faced:
"That evening, when I left the clinic, an old man came to me and yelled at me for 'caring for an enemy'. I told him I just did what Ho Chi Minh asked all of us to do."

To see if she thinks McCain should be president, read more

• Bailout Goes to House Vote:
  The US House will vote on the Wall Street bailout bill today. President Bush spoke this morning urging the House to pass the measure. He said, "I'm confident that this rescue plan, along with other measures taken by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, will begin to restore strength and stability to America's financial system and overall economy." Both candidates cautiously support the measure.



• Abducted Tourists Freed:
  A group of Italian and German hostages, abducted 10 days ago in Egypt, have been freed and are on their way to a military base in Cairo. No ransom was paid though the German government had been negotiating with them. Few details are known about the conditions of their release, though the Egyptian defense minister said half of the captors had been "eliminated."
• Floods Kill 41 in Vietnam:
  Typhoon Hagupit has triggered flooding in Vietnam killing 41 and injuring 60 more according to disaster officials. The typhoon made landfall last week and has caused severe landslides in mountainous provinces. The damages so far have been estimated at $60 million. An additional typhoon in Taiwan has killed two and injured 58 as well as forcing the closing of schools and the financial market.

Source

• US Clinches Relay, China Leads Medals:
  The US swimming relay team broke the world record, took gold, and snatched victory from the favored French team as the oldest member of the US swimming team accomplished one of the biggest comebacks overtaking the French team in the last few meters of the relay. The win keeps Michael Phelps dream of winning eight Olympic golds alive. In the overall medal count, China is in the lead with nine golds and 14 medals, South Korea is second in gold, and the US is third with three golds and but second overall with 12. President Bush attended the Games this weekend and said they exceeded his expectations.





• Zimbabwe Talks to Resume:
  Talks to arrange a power-sharing between Zimbabwe's governing party and opposition are due to resume in the capital today. According to President Robert Mugabe, 14 hours of talks had ended inconclusively though he remains "confident" a deal could be reached. It's thought that Mugabe may become ceremonial president while opposition leader Tsvangirai becomes executive prime minister.
• Floods in Vietnam Kill 100:
  At least 100 are dead and 50 missing after floods and landslides from tropical storm Kammuri battered the country over the weekend. Flash flooding reduced entire villages to rubble, and the government says more than 4,000 buildings have been flooded. Troops have been deployed in boats to reach those cut off by the waters.

For a stunning underwater photo of the swimming relay, read more

John McCain has announced that these days, he's speaking softly and carrying a big stick, a la Teddy Roosevelt. McCain said, "I count myself as a conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the Theodore Roosevelt mold," with a nod to Roosevelt's reputation for reform, environmentalism and tough foreign policy.

Though he may be a political Rough Rider now, these new photos of McCain's POW cell show that he's already had it plenty rough for almost six long years. The pictures show that even after the cell was cleaned up for an American historical filmmaker, the Hanoi Hilton was a chamber of terror. Debra Watkins took the pictures in 1993 before the area was destroyed. The first photo shows the door to the cell. Next to the door you can see old locks probably used to hold leg irons and other torture implements. The other photo shows the inside of McCain's cell and the leg-iron contraption the filmmaker believes he was tortured with.

Though certainly his time in Vietnam is no secret, the account of his entire time as a POW, written by McCain himself in 1973 and published online for the first time this year, is a riveting read. It's long — bookmark it and read away at it this week — but the length and detail does nothing if not prove beyond a shadow that what this man survived is anything short of miraculous. To see some excerpts of his story, read more

Tran Trong Duyet could just be the unlikeliest John McCain supporter you could hope to meet. Though he's now a retiree who likes ballroom dancing, 40 years ago Duyet was in charge of the prison where McCain was held as a POW for over five years. Speaking now, the 75-year-old says, "McCain is my friend. If I was American, I would vote for him."

Seen in the center of this picture after having ejected from his aircraft into a lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, McCain was taken to Hoa Lo prison, less than affectionately known by fellow inmates as the "Hanoi Hilton." The treatment McCain received while being held drove him to try to commit suicide. Duyet, his captor says now, "I don't know how he'd react if he met me again." And he tells a decidedly different story of McCain's time there: "I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners."

Duyet tells the tale of the man in prison, now seeking the White House:

We used to argue about the war — about whether it was right or wrong. He is a very frank man — very conservative, and very loyal to his country and the American ideal. He had a very interesting accent and sometimes he taught me words in English and corrected my accent. I have followed his career since he left prison.

While Duyet's recollection of human treatment all those years ago is impossible to corroborate in a country with wildly tight controls of the media, his support of now seems genuine. "I wish him success in the presidential election. . . I consider John McCain my friend because he did much to mend relations between our two countries. And if he becomes president he will do more to improve those ties."

Source

After being accused of having corrupt adoption practices, Vietnam is cutting their child bearing ties with America.

An Associated Press article wrote about the report from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. To see what it said, read more