US and Vietnam: gradually becoming bittersweet partners?

This past April 30 marked the 38th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. The iconic images of American helicopters evacuating people on building rooftops in Saigon in April 30, 1975 made it unimaginable that someday Washington policymakers and Hanoi communist leaders would explore steps towards a strategic partnership between the two countries. But the unimaginable has become possible. The US-Vietnam relationship has gradually taken the shape of a strategic one, albeit with some hurdles, through enhanced economic, diplomatic and defense relations.