How USAID cuts jeopardized decontamination of Agent Orange sites and damaged critical ties with Vietnam
At a former American air base in southern Vietnam, work abruptly stopped in February on efforts to clean up tons of soil contaminated with deadly dioxin from the military’s Agent Orange defoliant. The Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID also halted efforts to clear unexploded American munitions and landmines, a rehabilitation program for war victims, and work on a museum exhibit detailing U.S. efforts to remediate the damage of the Vietnam War. In addition to exposing thousands of people to health hazards, the cuts risk jeopardizing hard-won diplomatic gains with Vietnam, which is strategically increasingly important as the U.S....
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