After all these years, will Vietnam become a strategic ally of the United States?

It's barely possible that when President Obama returns from his visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Communist Vietnam may be, of all things, a de facto strategic ally of the United States!

The catalyst is China's growing aggressiveness toward Vietnam. Vietnam's internal political situation makes the easing of civil liberties the United States will likely require in order to facilitate closer ties possible.

Having a U.S. base at Cam Ranh Bay again, though unlikely, is not beyond the realm of possibility. As Harry Caray would say, "Who'da thunk it?"