The US Must Do More to Address the Impact of Agent Orange
This week is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The poisonous Agent Orange used by the US in the war continues to have destructive effects on the Vietnamese people, harms for which the US government still bears responsibility.
A woman sits alone in a home for veterans and victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam. (Christophe Calais / Corbis via Getty Images)
This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the US War on Vietnam, and the United States government continues to bear responsibility for cleaning up the ravages of war imposed on the Vietnamese people.
On Wednesday, April 30, the exact day of the anniversary, there were massive celebrations in Vietnam — and subdued commemorations in the United States.
Although the bombs stopped dropping decades ago, the United States has left its poisons behind in the land and people of Vietnam — Agent Orange/dioxin and unexploded ordnance. Both will last for generations.
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