Latest news with #Knapper
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump administration eases ban for US diplomats at Vietnam War anniversary
Knapper is also not expected at the main event, which includes a parade and speeches Wednesday, the actual anniversary of South Vietnam's surrender and the American evacuation from what was then Saigon on April 30, 1975. Critics of the attendance ban welcomed Burns's presence, but insisted it was not enough. They said the Trump administration had already shown a lack of understanding about the importance of postwar reconciliation with a country that is now a strategic partner in efforts to counter China's influence across the region. Advertisement 'From where I sit, they don't have a clue,' said John Terzano, a founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, who has been returning to Vietnam since 1981. He said the United States had bumbled into the war and stayed too long because leaders at the time, like Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, saw Vietnam only through the lens of arrogance or parochial interests. Washington was now at risk of making similar mistakes, he added. Advertisement 'The ambassador is not here,' Terzano said. 'And the symbolic nature of that matters.' The Trump administration did not give a reason for the ban, though some US officials speculated that the White House did not want to be seen as celebrating an anniversary of defeat around the 100th day of Trump's second term. Analysts noted that the United States and Vietnam had elevated their ties in 2023 to a comprehensive strategic partnership as a step forward — not because of the war or a hunger for reconciliation, but rather because of urgent shared interests, which can transcend diplomatic squabbles. 'The US values its closer ties with Vietnam because of its strategic competition with China, while Vietnam hopes its closer ties with the US will greatly help its quest for security and prosperity,' said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. Few countries in Asia are more hostile to China than Vietnam is. Vietnam's people see their national identity as embedded in their resistance to dominance from Beijing. As China's southern neighbor and former colony, Vietnam has frequent disputes with China over territory in the South China Sea, even as it welcomes Chinese investment. Roughly 30 percent of Vietnam's exports went to the United States last year, producing a large trade imbalance. But China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, and Trump's tariffs and his destruction of the US Agency for International Development have shaken Vietnam's bond with the United States. USAID recently suspended funding for removing land mines left behind from the war, and the cleanup of Agent Orange, an herbicide that causes cancer and birth defects. Advertisement Vietnam's goal has long been balanced relations with great powers. In an essay published Sunday in the state news media, To Lam, Vietnam's top leader and the general secretary of the Communist Party, stressed the power of personal reconciliation among former enemies. 'I have witnessed many moving encounters between Vietnamese veterans and American veterans — those who once stood on opposing sides of the battlefield, who once confronted each other at gunpoint, but who can now shake hands, converse, and share sincere understanding without lingering resentment,' he wrote. 'Today, Vietnam and the United States — once former adversaries — have become comprehensive strategic partners, cooperating for peace, for the benefit of both peoples, and for the security and stability of the region.' Yet Xi Jinping, China's leader, who recently visited Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, and the Trump administration have each warned Vietnam not to support the other. The US ambassador's absence at the 50th anniversary commemorations may now be seen as another attempt to pressure Vietnam into compliance. 'For many Vietnamese, the message is: 'You have to choose,'' Vuving said. 'For some others, the message is 'Vietnam's Communist regime is incompatible with a US partnership.'' This article originally appeared in
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'We're where I expected'
Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper insists the Canaries have done well to put themselves in the Championship play-off picture with all the changes the club has undergone in the past 12 Canaries have won three promotions to the Premier League in the past 10 seasons but, each time, they were relegated at the end of the following Hoff Thorup's side are currently 10th, four points outside the top six with 12 games to play, having lost to Leeds United in the play-offs in Attanasio's Norfolk FB Holdings Group will formally take control of the club at the weekend when a share issue process giving them an 85% stake is completed."Where we are is probably about where I expected us to be right now," Knapper told BBC Radio Norfolk's The Scrimmage."With all the changes we've made, from all levels of the club, trying to integrate a new complex playing style, lots of young players, a big shift in age profile, that was always going to be something that takes time."Every time this club is in this division, we should be targeting to try and get into the play-offs at the very least, try to get promoted and that doesn't change."We know with the choices we've made, that comes with some challenges, but we're in this for the long term to build a project that's sustainable and the first steps we've made have been really positive. There's loads to come and hopefully it can be an exciting end to the season." No 'need' to sell this summer A year ago, Knapper said the club was "Premier League ready" in many then, however, Thorup has replaced David Wagner as head coach, the squad has been revamped, and Attanasio - owner of Major League Baseball team Milwaukee Brewers - has progressed his takeover from former owners Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn summer, forward Jonathan Rowe was among the prized assets transferred elsewhere, but although the Canaries are no longer in receipt of Premier League parachute money, Knapper said the new owners had made it clear there would be no "need" to sell this summer, whatever the divisional that does not mean offers will not be considered. "The new ownership does give us that luxury of being in a position where we have a little bit more autonomy in terms of decisions we can make or not make," he continued. "When it comes to players, we are where we are in terms of the bigger landscape, the pyramid, and it's all well and good thinking that you don't want to sell a player but if they've got a fantastic offer from a club higher up the food chain, you have to be reasonable and that's something you have to consider. "We treat every situation on its merits but it's definitely not us having to go into the summer where we're having to do something, which is a nice position to be in." Knapper, Thorup and executive director Zoe Webber will travel to Phoenix in the next international break to observe baseball club Brewers' spring training camp and see if there is anything they can adapt for Norwich's benefit."The owners in general, Mark and [director] Richard [Ressler] and the whole group, are brilliant for us," Knapper said."They're so engaged, so passionate about it and they've got such a wealth of experience - in sport but also more broadly, which is a great resource for me."I love speaking to them and picking their brains. Sometimes they just provide a different perspective but always with the freedom of letting us get on with it, which is a real nice blend for me as a sporting director." Youngsters hint at bright future for Norwich Knapper also insisted he was satisfied with the club's transfer dealings in the past two added: "I like a lot of what we've done. I think we've managed to do a good job in terms of our selling strategy, in trying to maximise value for the club, but also in so many of the acquisitions we've made, some really exciting young players."I look at someone like Oscar Schwartau and the way that he's integrated. For someone of his age to have played the minutes he has and to watch him expressing himself has been brilliant. "And Lucien Mahovo, to have plucked him from where we did [League Two side Notts County] for a really modest fee and to see the effect he's made in only nine months at the club is fantastic."United States international Josh Sargent has been hampered by injuries this season, but Knapper insisted the Canaries have had enough cover in attack."Ante (Crnac) is a nine, that's his core position - he can play in other positions as well, off the right, or even as a second striker but we feel good that we've got two really high-quality 'nine' options," Knapper said."From a squad composition perspective, we wouldn't want to be in a position where we're carrying three top expensive nines, it's not a smart use of resource and it's difficult to manage that situation as they're all going to want to play."Norwich are next in action on Saturday when they travel to Blackburn Rovers, but three of their five games in March are at home.
