Letters are needed immediately, to stop confirmation hearings for an Ambassador to Vietnam.

Hearings on the nomination of an Ambassador to Vietnam will be held Thursday, February 13, 1997. The National Alliance of Families opposes the confirmation of an Ambassador to Vietnam.

Please read the following information. The press release from the Office of Congressman Sam Johnson, and letter to Senator Jesse Helms and Senator Craig Thomas, signed by Congressman Ben Gilman, Gerald Solomon, Dan Burton and Sam Johnson, clearly outline the concerns of the National Alliance of Families.

Call, mail or fax letters to: Senator Jesse Helms, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations at: 403 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C., 20510

Senator Craig Thomas, Chairman, Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 302 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D. C. 20510.

There should be no Ambassador to Vietnam, until the Hanoi government fully and totally cooperates on the POW/MIA issue and all questions as to the legality of normalization of relations with Vietnam are answered.

Copies of all letters should be sent to Senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tn), who heads the committee charged with investigating the Huang, LIPPO, Raidy, Commerce, DNC, Clinton connection and the decision to normalize relations with Vietnam.

523 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D. C. 20510

Contrary, to President Clinton'$ statements the Vietnamese government is not cooperating with the United States on POW/MIA issues. We all remember, in July 1995, when Clinton normalized he spoke glowingly of Vietnamese cooperation. It was a lie. We knew it and Clinton knew it. Yet, he used that myth of cooperation as justification to normalize relations with Vietnam.

Now, almost two years later, disturbing information has surfaced which indicates that Clinton'$ decision to normalize was a direct result of financial contributions made by foreign interests to the Democratic National Committee (DNC.)

We are not alone in our concerns. On Thursday Feb. 6th, 1997, Congressman, and former POW, Sam Johnson (R-Tx) issued a Press Release expressing his concerns. The press release calls for the "delay of Vietnam Ambassador Confirmation. Congressman Johnson cites "Recent news reports have stated that President Clinton's decision and subsequent actions toward normalizing relations with Vietnam came following the receipt of communications from Mochtar Raidy supporting the policy change. Riady is an Indonesian businessman who founded the LIPPO Group and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic National Committee."

In addition to the press release, Congressmen Ben Gilman (R-NY), Dan Burton (R-In) Gerald Solomon (R-NY) and Sam Johnson sent a strong letter urging postponement of the hearing, to Senator Jesse Helms, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senator Craig Thomas, Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The letter requested that no confirmation hearing on an Ambassador to Vietnam be scheduled until "Congressional committee have reported their findings on whether official U.S. foreign policy toward Communist Vietnam has been improperly influenced by illegal foreign financial contributions to the Clinton/Gore reelection effort."

The letter continued "We take seriously the reports that, following the receipt of communications from Mr. Mochtar Riady advocating the normalization of relations with Vietnam, President Clinton and his administration began to rapidly reverse longstanding U.S. policy toward Hanoi. As you know, Mr. Riady is an Indonesian businessman who founded the LIPPO Group and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal foreign contributions to the Democratic National Committee. According to various reports, the LIPPO Group had been trying to position itself for major investment projects throughout Vietnam based on the timing of U.S. normalization of relations with Hanoi. We are further concerned with Commerce Department advocacy of this policy change, which appears to have been actively coordinated in violation of conflict of interest regulations by Mr. John Huang, a top Democratic National Committee fundraiser who worked as an executive for the LIPPO Group before joining the Commerce Department.

The President has publicly claimed that his decision to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Communist Vietnam in 1994 and to open a U.S., Embassy in Hanoi in 1995 was made to encourage further disclosures by Vietnam on POW/MIA cases -- disclosures which, incidentally, have not been forthcoming since 1993 in several critical areas, including information on U.S. POWs from Hanoi's politburo, military, and prison camp archives. We are not yet swayed by the President's public rationale for moving forward with Vietnam in view of the lobbying he received from DNC fundraisers like Mr., Huang and foreign DNC contributors like Mr. Riady before he made his decisions.

This is especially disturbing because it is obvious to us that the President's current policy toward Vietnam has not resulted in full disclosure by Hanoi on hundreds of unaccounted for U.S. POWS and MIAs. Frankly, it appears that the President has put commercial and political interests ahead of the POW/MIA issue -- an issue that is supposed to be our nation's highest priority with Vietnam. Indeed, the President's actions may have hindered our leverage and ability to learn the truth about missing U.S. personnel from the Vietnam War.

We note that this view has already been communicated to you by our nation's largest national veterans organization, The American Legion, and also the National League of POW/MIA Families, the National Alliance of POW/MIA Families, and the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition.

In view of this situation, it is imperative for Congress and the American people to know whether or not U.S. foreign policy toward Vietnam is wholly, or in part the result of illegal foreign financial contributions to the Clinton/Gore reelection effort. We hope this is not the case, but we strongly believe that it would be irresponsible for the Senate to now begin action, at the President's request to confirm an Ambassador to Vietnam. Again, we request that you wait for our appropriate Congressional committees currently investigating the influence of illegal foreign political money on official U.S. policy to report their findings."

On Friday, February 7th, 1997, Jim Wolf of Reuters reported that Senator Craig Thomas decided to proceed with the scheduled confirmation hearing. According to Reuters, Senator Thomas shares the concerns of Congressmen Gilman, Solomon, Burton and Johnson, that despite Clinton administration's claims of cooperation Vietnam "is not fully cooperating with us on the POW/MIA issue"

In a letter to Congressman Gilman, Senator Thomas stated "....And I am worried because some of the president's actions appear to put his administration's political and economic agenda ahead of our missing servicemen, who should be our absolute highest priority in dealing with Vietnam..."

In spite of his concerns Senator Thomas favors holding Thursdays hearing. According to Reuters Senator Thomas plans to use the opportunity to "ask Peterson and the administration 'very pertinent and specific question' about the MIA issue as well as the campaign contributions and any Vietnam policy link."

On February 7th, 1997, the National Alliance of Families issued a memorandum to Senator Jesse Helms and the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demanding that John Huang be subpoenaed to testify at the Peterson confirmation hearings.

Citing Senator Thomas' plan to ask Peterson "very pertinent and specific about the MIA issue as well as the "campaign contributions and any Vietnam policy link," the Alliance Memorandum states "Peterson surely knows nothing about this tragic episode. The individual who knows everything is John Huang, who press reports indicate had access to all "top secret" dispatches about American POWs/MIAs at the very time he was lobbying the White House to lift the trade embargo with Vietnam to help his boss Riady."

The Alliance memo concluded "If you insist on going ahead with these hearings, we demand that you subpoena Mr. Huang to testify under oath about his actions in this treasonous, sordid, disgusting affair. Then and only then will these hearings have merit."

Ambassador designate Peterson was not in a position to, nor should he, have knowledge of the LIPPO, Riady, Commerce, DNC, Clinton connection. IF he does have knowledge of the goings on, he definitely should not be Ambassador to Vietnam.

Yesterday, a New York Radio Station jokingly reported that the United States had been sold to Indonesia and we all had two weeks to get out. Think about it.

Who put the "For Sale" sign up? The better question is who, in Washington De Ceit. will have the strength and moral courage to take it down.

Remains Identified - From United Press International - Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A DNA test and a mother's blood have helped solve the mystery of an Air Force pilot missing since the Vietnam War. Officials said Monday a DNA analysis helped positively identify the remains of Capt. James L. Huard (HUGH'-ard), who died with another officer in the crash of an F-4 jet in July 1972. The Air Force jet was on a solo tactical mission when it went down northwest of Dong Hoi (dong HOY') in North Vietnam.

Huard's remains were thought to have been buried by Vietnamese villagers, exhumed in 1976 and moved to Hanoi following a search by U.S. and Vietnamese officials. The Vietnamese government repatriated the remains in 1986. But the U. S. military said the remains were insufficient to identify Huard and until now he has been listed as missing in action. The Air Force removed Huard from the MIA list last week after DNA testing with Huard's remains and his mother's blood produced a positive match...." "Huard was 27 years old and married with three sons when he died."

To the family we offer our prayers and hold you in our heart during this difficult time.

Looking for family of - Wayne Edwin Lewis, Korea 21-22 March 1952, He and his crew of four just vanished. A friend would like to be in touch.

The National Alliance of Families Eighth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 19th - 21st, 1997. Once again, we will meet at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in Washington D.C. In order to make this Forum a reality, funds are needed. Please consider a contribution to The National Alliance of Families. The Alliance is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible. Contributions may be mailed to The National Alliance of Families, P.O. Box 40327, Bellevue Washington 98015-4327

According to information published in recent days, strong evidence exists proving that voter fraud cost Congressman Bob Dornan his seat in Congress. Hopefully, attorneys will be successful in overturning the results of last years election and calling for a new election.

We can think of nothing more beneficial to our POW/MIAs than the return of Bob Dornan to the House of Representative.

From UPI - Dornan attorneys charge 'conspiracy' - "WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Attorneys for former Rep. Robert Dornan have accused an Hispanic advocacy group of a "systematic conspiracy" to commit voter fraud on behalf of California Democrat Loretta Sanchez. The attorneys say 1,789 illegal votes were cast for Sanchez in Orange County in November's election, the Washington Times reports (Saturday). Sanchez defeated Dornan by 984 votes."

The author of the Washington Times article is Ruth Larson. According to Ms. Larson's article "court documents released this week show that Hermandad held an illegal raffle to encourage people to vote, offering chances on a 1996 Chevy Cammaro if would be citizens registered to vote and prove they voted."

"The winner of the raffle - a non citizen - got a check from Hermandad for $12,000.00, in lieu of the Cammaro, which is valued at $18 to $20 thousand dollars, according to a 39 page affidavit used to gain a judges permission to search Hermandads Santa Ana offices."

Attorneys for Congressman Dornan "...also demanded a congressional probe of Hermandad, which tax records show has received 35 million in Federal and state funds since 1988."

From UPI - Dornan claims election rigged - "SANTA ANA, Calif., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Former Republican Congressman Robert Dornan's lawyer says (Friday) they have documented evidence of large-scale non-citizen voting in the Nov. 5 election that the conservative Republican lost. Attorney Michael Schroeder, who is also the vice chairman of the California Republican Party, accused an activist group called Hermandad Mexicana of engaging "in a systematic conspiracy to fix the outcome of the election," and called on victorious Democrat Loretta Sanchez to resign and call for a new election."
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