EFFORTS by Washington to determine the fate of the 2,252 US servicemen still listed as missing in action (MIA) would be boosted if the economic embargo against Vietnam was lifted, American Chamber of Commerce vice-president Gage McAfee says.
Removing the trade barriers, he said, would provide the US Government with more opportunities to determine if there were any MIAs still alive by simply having Americans in Vietnam.
''You still have people who think Vietnam is the evil empire,'' he said. ''I don't think anybody who's been involved in this process really believes it at this point.
''If we're serious about wanting to find more answers, the best way to do it is to be there. It's part of the healing process. It's the best way to get it behind us.'' Mr McAfee said the US could increase its political leverage by encouraging economic ties because Vietnam would become more dependent on trade relations, in much the same way as China must now weigh US concerns.
''Our leverage might disappear the longer this [the embargo] goes on,'' he said. ''Other countries will move in and the Vietnamese will get fed up. How long will they wait for the US to do the right thing?'' Mr McAfee's position echoed recent statements made by US Major General Thomas Needham, head of the Joint Task Force - Full Accounting, which is responsible for accounting for missing servicemen.
General Needham told a US delegation visiting Vietnam that co-operation with the Vietnamese would improve if the embargo was lifted.