VIETNAM Uncle Sam's Present

The amount is insignificant even by Third World standards, let alone Washington's. The purpose, to buy artificial limbs for disabled war veterans, is unexceptionable. Only one thing made the donation noteworthy: the recipient. The $1 million happens to be the first U.S. aid extended to Vietnam since the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Earlier in April, the two countries agreed to open a temporary office in Hanoi to investigate what happened to American military personnel unaccounted for since the war; the $1 million is intended in part to speed up that effort. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Solomon cautioned that the office "will have no diplomatic or political responsibilities and should not be seen as a first step" toward normalization of relations. Maybe not, but the two countries are at least talking again.

Solomon also met with Vietnam's United Nations representative in New York City three weeks ago to draw a "road map" for progress toward resumption of trade -- now forbidden by the Trading with the Enemy Act -- and diplomatic relations. But Washington continues to emphasize that both depend on Vietnamese cooperation, not just in tracking down the missing Americans but also in negotiating a political settlement in Cambodia.