Summary: During the Vietnam War, the CIA led a mission, dropping 2 million tons of explosives. The purpose was to block the Ho Chi Minh Trail which would stop Vietnam's supplies from traveling. Between 1964 and 1973, the United States set the stage for thousands of potential victims dying from the unexploded bombs. So far 20,000 people have been killed from these bombs since the end of the war, killing about 50 people a year. Farmers are impacted the most, relying on their land to grow crops in order to feed their families; They are willing to risk their lives everyday in order to provide. A quarter of the villages in Laos are contaminated with toxins that make farming impossible. Not only does this dwindle the amount of jobs, but takes away possible land for growing food that is desperately needed. This article is significant now because Obama has planned to visit Laos and make statements addressing the actions of the US more than 40 years ago. The President announced the funding he is providing for bomb clearance, along with health and educational institutions.
Analysis: Having to accept the repercussions of their actions, the United States addresses the bombing mishaps that have been occurring over the years and start to make change. The actions the US takes to better improve the living situations of the Laos people will possibly lead to a newfound alliance between them. This might also lead the US to better understand the consequences of bombing the the particular fashion that they did, so they can avoid the delayed reactions of the bombs in the future. Seeing the victims in person might also give a different perspective on what the Laos people might need to prosper in their own country.
Synthesis: During World War II, the US dropped the first two atomic bombs on Japan. The first bomb dropped in Hiroshima in 1945, the second in Nagasaki a few months later. The results were so radical that lives are still being affected by it today. Radiation, loss of land, and tens of thousands of people killed and injured was the aftermath of both the atomic bombings and the bombings over time in Laos. Both caused by the US, the bombing are both unique. The atomic bombs happened quickly, while the Laos bombings happened over two years. There is the question of the strategies involved and how effective they were. Though they both served the same purpose, to win the war.
www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/index.html
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