Thứ Tư, 8 tháng 6, 2016

Tin NÓNG: BOB KEREY TUYÊN BỐ SẼ KHÔNG TỪ CHỨC CHỦ TỊCH FUV



Minerva Institute executive chairman Senator Bob Kerrey speaks during the Columnist coversation at the New York Times Schools For Tomorrow Conference at the TimesCenter on September 17, 2013 in New York. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The New York Times)
Bob Kerrey Says He Won’t Step Down As Chair Of New University In Vietnam
 
Here & Now

Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey tells Here & Now‘s Robin Young that the backlash against his appointment as chair of a new American-backed university in Vietnam will not stop him from moving forward to help advance the university.

Kerrey’s appointment to Fulbright University Vietnam has angered some Vietnamese who recall his involvement as a Navy SEAL in a 1969 massacre during the Vietnam War in which 20 villagers, including women and children, were killed. Kerrey acknowledged his role in the midnight raid more than 30 years after the incident, just before an investigation between CBS News’ “60 Minutes II” and the New York Times was to be published in the newspaper’s magazine.

Fulbright University is a project long in the making. It was established by Harvard University and the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City and is the first independent private university in Vietnam. Senator Kerrey, Secretary of State John Kerry and Senator John McCain have said the project is a symbol of reconciliation between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Read An Excerpt From Kerrey’s Speech 

Note
: The excerpt below is from Sen. Bob Kerrey’s April 18, 2001 speech at the Virginia Military Institute. It was his first public acknowledgement of his involvement in a 1969 massacre during the Vietnam War in which 20 villagers, including women and children, were killed.

“Allow me to tell an unhappy story about myself and a choice I made while serving in Vietnam. In February 1969, I led a squad of 6 other U.S. Navy SEALs on a military operation in an area of Vietnam that was controlled by the Viet Cong. Reliable intelligence told us that a seven-man squad faced considerable danger if we chose to enter the area. I chose to go. We entered two hours after sunset on a dark, moonless night. It was the most risky mission I had led in my short time in country. My greatest fear was that some mistake on my part would end in the death of my men. Following orders I had been given and training I received, we used lethal procedures when there was doubt. When we received fire, we returned fire. But when the firing stopped, we found that we had killed only women, children and older men. It was not a military victory; it was a tragedy and I had ordered it.

How, I have anguished ever since, could I have made such a mistake? Though it could be justified militarily, I could never make my own peace with what happened that night. I have been haunted by it for 32 years. Knowing that the people we killed were probably enemy sympathizers and their missing men had fired upon us, drawing our fire, has not helped. Knowing that I followed what I considered to be the standard operating procedure has not helped.

I tell you this story now because I believe a part of your military training must include how to cope with the horrors of war if you are lucky enough to survive them. Your military training must include ethical examination of what is permissible in war. Ho Chi Minh once said famously that Americans do not have the stomach to do what you have to do to win a guerrilla war. He was right, but it is not an insult for us to believe so. It is what makes American leadership at its best so different and so vital in a world where evil still controls too many innocent lives.

George Catlett Marshall became a paragon of what good a good man can do because he had the courage to pay attention to the ethical detail of life. He knew how important those last six inches could be. He became a hero because he did not try to become one. I urge you to do the same.

In May 1970, I received the Congressional Medal of Honor and have been called a hero ever since. I know better. I received this award on behalf of men whose heroism was never witnessed or was lost in the very imprecise machinery of such awards. Most of all, I received it for the George Marshalls of our world whose ethical, heroic, unselfish behavior was sustained every day of their lives.

Your unconventional decision to serve is a beginning of a life that I pray will be full of good fortune, happiness and love. From the depths of my heart I am grateful for your beginning. I know that America and the world will be your beneficiaries.”

11 nhận xét :

  1. HOÀN TOÀN ỦNG HỘ. CHÚC ÔNG THÀNH CÔNG. CHÚC QUAN HỆ VIỆT- MỸ VƯỢT QUA THÙ HẬN, NGÀY CÀNG PHÁT TRIỂN. MONG GIÁO DỤC VÀ CHÍNH TRỊ CỦA VIỆT NAM ĐI THEO CON ĐƯỜNG CỦA NƯỚC MỸ, TỰ DO, DÂN CHỦ, NHÂN QUYỀN, CÔNG KHAI, MINH BẠCH.

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  2. Hoan nghênh quyết định của ông

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  3. Đại đa số người dân VN chúng tôi ủng hộ quyết định của ông. Tôi tin rằng đó cũng là động lực để ông hoàn thiện tốt quản trị trường ĐH lớn giúp VN . Không thể sửa được lịch sử thì thay vào đó ta hành động cho hiện tại vì một tương lai tốt hơn, còn hơn một số người VN chỉ nói nhiều mà không chịu hành động gì!

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  4. Vô cùng vui với quyết định của ông.Người dân VN sẽ đón ông với lòng chân tình như tình cảm dành cho TT Obama đến VN vừa qua.

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  5. Đúng là tính cách người Mỹ, quyết đứng về phía lẽ phải

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  6. Nhân dân Việt Nam chân chính luôn luôn ủng hộ, hoan nghênh ông BK ! Hãy qua Viet Nam với nhân dân Việt Nam, ý kiến nhỏ nhặt của vài người hợm hĩnh ngu ngốc xin ông đừng để ý.

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  7. Hãy làm những gì mình cho là đúng, thưa ông BK. Đừng để ý đến mối thù (dai) của bà Ninh của chúng tôi,

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    1. Viết „bà Ninh của chúng tôi“ là sai. Bà ta chỉ là của bà ta thôi chứ không phải của chúng tôi !

      Xóa
  8. The truth will set you free, Mr. Kerrey
    Thank you for rising above the pettiness of grudge holding minds which do not represent the majority of the Vietnamese people in undertaking this job for the goodness of all. You are forgiven and welcome just like one of our own.

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  9. The truth will set you free, Mr. Kerrey
    Thank you for rising above the pettiness of grudge holding minds -which do not represent the majority of the Vietnamese people- in undertaking this job for the goodness of all. You are forgiven and welcome just like one of our own.

    Trả lờiXóa
  10. Mr. Kerrey,
    I wish to let you know that I fully support your decision to stay in your position of chairperson of the Trustee Board of FUV. Kindly be advised that Ms Ninh does not represent Vietnamese people. I also want to express my sincere thanks to you for your great effort for and great contribution to the conciliation between US and Vietnam. I trust that under your leadership FUV will be successful!
    Dao Quynh Hoa

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