Vietnam Sentences 3 Convicted Terrorists

Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee, left, of Orlando, Fla., waits for her trial to begin Friday, Nov. 10, 2006, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Foshee and six others are charged with an attempt to take over state radio stations to call for an uprising against the communist government of Vietnam. (AP Photo/David Longstreath) (David Longstreath - AP)

The trade vote is of great importance to Vietnam. Without it, U.S. companies will not be able to enjoy all the benefits of Vietnam's new WTO agreement. Bush had been hoping to get the bill approved before he came to Hanoi for the APEC summit. Resolution of the terrorism case might increase his chances, although Congress will be in session only briefly before he departs next week.

Carlyle Thayer, an expert on Vietnamese politics at the Australian Defense Force Academy, said he suspects the country decided to proceed with the trial to send two messages. One is an internal warning that Vietnam must remain vigilant against potential dangers.

"The second one is, 'Come on United States, we've given so much away to get into the WTO because of your pressures, we're bending over backward to accommodate you on the war on terror _ be consistent with us,'" Thayer told The Associated Press by telephone.

Hanoi wants the United States to take action against Vietnamese living in America who are viewed as terrorists by their homeland, Thayer said.

An indictment said the plan to take over radio airwaves was hatched by the Government of Free Vietnam, a California-based organization that the Vietnamese government considers a terrorist group.

It is one of many anti-communist groups founded by Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Many of its leaders are soldiers of the former South Vietnamese Army who fled Vietnam after the war ended in 1975.

The Government of Free Vietnam group is run by Chanh Huu "Tony" Nguyen, who is wanted in Vietnam for failed plots to bomb the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand and buildings in Vietnam.

Nguyen, a permanent U.S. resident, was arrested at Vietnam's request in April while traveling in South Korea. He was held for three months before being released to the U.S.

In addition to the Americans, Vietnamese nationals Tran Dat Phuong, 65; brothers Ho Van Giau, 59, and Ho Van Hien, 38; and Cao Tri, 35, were convicted and issued the same sentence. Cao Tri is also a U.S. resident.

Under questioning from the judge, some of the defendants acknowledged carrying radio equipment to Cambodia on behalf of the Government of Free Vietnam, while others described themselves as employees at an adoption agency.