Very strange, people thought—Very strange that Trump would propose
Hanoi as the venue for the second round of talks with North Korea’s Kim
Jong-un. Hanoi was the place of American humiliation—and North Korea was
altogether happy to exploit the venue’s embarrassment for America. But analysts
are finally figuring out that Trump not only plays chess while everyone else
plays checkers, but that he plays 3-D chess.
After a
decade of war, Hanoi was in ruins and disrepair. For years, America did no
business with Hanoi, and the city struggled to arise from ashes and despair. In
many ways, Hanoi was like North Korea. North Korea is a nation utterly
dependent upon China for everything. People die of starvation routinely in
North Korea. There is a famous satellite picture of North Korea at night that
explains North Korea’s economic ruin compared with neighboring countries. Surrounding
countries of South Korea, China, and Japan are all lit up, while North Korea is
dead black.
In the
last 20 years, however, Hanoi has grown exponentially, and has become one of
America’s strong trading partners. Hanoi’s skyline shows it vibrancy. America’s
great nemesis now has an incredibly beautiful skyline. Kim Jong-un assumed the
choice of Hanoi was a Trump blunder (as did most of the American media), but
when Kim Jong-un and his large retinue of statesmen arrived and saw the
glorious skyline and highly developed beach resorts, they immediately realized
that Trump’s blunder was a brilliant move. Each one of them thought, “If
America’s great enemy Hanoi could become like this through friendship with the
U.S., then why can’t North Korea also become a place of great development, wealth, and beauty.”
The same can be true of Nagalim. Now, having
suffered 70 years of suffering and deprivations, a stable and peaceful Nagalim
could follow in the footsteps of resurrected Hanoi through free trade with the
U.S. Nagalim has such extraordinary natural beauty that it would make an
excellent tourist destination. Traditional festivals throughout the tribal
areas could draw thousands more every year. Many westerners would love to
explore the great megaliths and study traditional Naga culture in many venues.
Many war historians would take the opportunity to visit the site of the Battle
of Kohima which the British Imperial War Museum claims was the greatest battle
ever of all time for the British Army.
All this might be overly optimistic, but the
possibilities are very real. Americans don’t want to invest in China. But many would
find Nagalim as a great opportunity. Given the historic relationship between
American Baptists and Nagalim, there might already be opportunities awaiting in
the wings.
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