Many Vietnam vets say they support lifting of arms embargo

Foote, who heads the New York State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, noted that the Vietnamese have helped account for missing American service members.

President Barack Obama's decision to lift the half-century-old arms embargo was seen Monday by many veterans as a logical outgrowth of efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and the southeast Asian nation that has become a major trading partner since the war ended in 1975.

Obama, looking to bolster a government regarded as a crucial ally in the region, vowed to leave behind the troubled history between the former enemies and embrace a new era.

"The war's over," said Bernard Edelman, deputy director of government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America.

[...] human rights activists and some American lawmakers had urged Obama to press Vietnam's communist leadership to offer greater freedoms before lifting the embargo.

[...] under a resolution adopted two years ago, the American Legion opposes the sale of long-range ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear or biological weapons, to communist nations, spokesman John Raughter said.