Re: [sixties-l] Making the Vietnam-Israeli Link ex

From: Jeffrey Blankfort (jab@tucradio.org)
Date: 10/13/00

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    While I appreciate the sincerity of Jerry West's response, he most
    assuredly was not everywhere in Vietnam and so is in no position to
    state with any accuracy that My Lai was a "sole exception" which
    involved US troops killing children.  As I mentioned in an earlier post,
    BEFORE My Lai became public, I was given a two-page list by Vietnamese
    representatives in London which contained the names of villages in which
    the inhabitants had been massacred by US soldiers and Vietnam was only
    one of the villages on that list.  Had a US military photography not
    publicized the photos of My Lai, we may never have known about it in the
    US. I have also spoken with other Vietnam vets who confirmed the killing
    of children by their units.
    
    It is only now that we are learning about a massacre of South Korean
    civilians early in the Korean War, the veracity of which was confirmed
    to be by a Korean vet who went to So. Korea to investigate the killings
    by "Defense" Secretary Cohen.
    
    It is both illusory and inaccurate to even imply that the North
    Vietnamese and the NLF were in any equipped in a manner equal to that of
    the US forces in Vietnam who had both jet fighters and helicopter
    gunships to support them and soften up "the enemy", not to mention the
    B29s which dropped more bombs on that country than were dropped in all
    of Europe in WW 2. It was the US also that exclusively used napalm,
    cluster bombs and white phosphorus against the Vietnamese, civilians and
    combatants alike, as well as Agent Orange which also inadvertently
    caused the subsequent illness and death of US soldiers who came near
    contaminated areas.
    
    When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, they also employed napalm, white
    phosphorus and cluster bombs which killed or maimed thousands of
    children. It even came to the point that Reagan suspended the shipment
    of cluster bombs to the Israelis whose attitude towards the Arabs,
    irrespective of nationality, mirrored that of the US towards Vietnam.
    
    Today, Israel's use of helicopter gunships, tanks and missiles, provided
    free by the US taxpayers, against Palestinian civilians is a violation
    of US arms export laws governing arms sales (and gifts, I would assume)
    but don't expect a president or Congress held in thrall by the
    pro-Israel lobby, to raise any objections.
    
    Jeff Blankfort
    
    
    Jerry West <record@island.net> wrote:
    > Subject: Re: [sixties-l] Making the Vietnam-Israeli Link explicit
    > 
    > Tom Nagy wrote:
    > 
    > ....by making more explicit the link of today's Israeli government
    > atrocities to the 60's atrocities of the U.S. in Vietnam.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > That is a stretch in one's imagination, particularly if one has
    > extensive experience on the ground in Vietnam during the war.
    > 
    > I am no fan of the Vietnam War nor a supporter of the US involvement
    > there, but with rare exceptions such as My Lai directly shooting down
    > children was not a common occurance.  What was a common occurance was
    > providing medical aid and other relief to the villagers, many of whom no
    > doubt were VC or VC sympathizers.
    > 
    > There is a lot to criticize about the Vietnam War and probably even more
    > to criticize about the Israeli's treatment of the Palistinians, but
    > trying to link atrocities as you propose will only cloud up one's
    > understanding of both items.
    > 
    > TN wrote:
    > 
    > Today's  Israeli solders' rockets and bullets against  Palestinian
    > children's rocks force us to relive   America's high-tech weapons
    > against the Vietnamese peasants.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > A large portion of the war was fought against the North Vietnamese Army
    > and on the ground they were as well equipped, if not better in some
    > areas, than the US was.  Even the VC were fairly well armed and very
    > clever in using the resources at hand.
    > 
    > TN wrote:
    > 
    > The same horrors, the same lies, even the same kill ratios trouble our
    > sleep.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > What is this kill ratio stuff?  Are the Israelis using a bodycount
    > system to measure progress?
    > 
    > TN wrote:
    > 
    > Answering the rocks of children with bullets invokes American napalm
    > against Vietnamese rifles.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > Only if you know little about bullets, rocks, nalpalm and rifles.  There
    > is a substantial difference between facing a few rocks and facing
    > sustained rifle fire.
    > 
    > TN wrote:
    > 
    > To preserver the vitality of the '60 list, it is essential  to address
    > today's slightly updated re-enactments of the US government lies and
    > atrocities of the '60's.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > OK, but let us not compare apples to oranges.
    > 
    > TN wrote:
    > 
    > This list must address the continuing need of the U.S. and it's allies
    > to kill kids to preserve our empire and those of our allies.
    > 
    > JW reply:
    > 
    > What exactly do you mean by need?  Maybe the word practice would be a
    > better fit?
    > 
    > - --
    > Jerry West
    > Editor/publisher/janitor
    >
    



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