Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

[bcassill]

The military has seemingly done a much better job of making sure the news from the war zone is "clean" than in past wars. Now the stories of potential atrocities are only coming out after the fact. Wonder what this does to the price of oil?

Iraq War Vet: "We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us"

[chr5648]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

Not much different than wall street, buy, buy, buy and have bernanke, paulson, turbotim, and the gang save you.

[D-Mack]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

Looks like the mercenaries weren't the only ones, although listening to Elvis should be unique.

[bpr]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

The military has seemingly done a much better job of making sure the news from the war zone is "clean" than in past wars. Now the stories of potential atrocities are only coming out after the fact. Wonder what this does to the price of oil?

As I understand it, Mai Lai took almost a year to come to the light.

I began to report on My Lai in 1969—and I wasn't in Vietnam at the time—and I initially wrote five stories about the mass murders that took place there. But something interesting happened after the third story, and after Walter Cronkite picked it up, and any reservations that the newspapers had about the truth of what I was reporting disappeared. The third Sunday after I started writing about My Lai, as a freelancer, dozens of newspapers suddenly had their Vietnam correspondents writing devastating stories about other atrocities they had witnessed. Stories that they'd had in their files.
Yes, stories that they'd had...

Seymour Hersh

Some stuff from that era is still coming out as we speak, and we may never know the extent to which U.S. officials committed crimes.

As I see it, the U.S. is having more trouble keeping a lid on this stuff than it has in times past.

[flintlock]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

More "Hearts and minds" work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/wo...afghan.html?hp

KABUL, Afghanistan — American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near Kandahar on Monday morning, killing as many as five civilians and wounding 18, and sparking anger in a city where winning over Afghan support is considered pivotal to the war effort.

To be fair, the soldiers are being put in an impossible situation.

[marvenger]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

can't we all just get along

[flintlock]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

That's an all but forgotten war, at least in the States.

[marvenger]

Re: Shades of Vietnam in Iraq

Pretty stark choice it can come down to.

'If I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists'

economic breakdown and wealth inequality had a lot to do with the rise of fascism in Europe. There were a lot of economic tensions pre WW1. Suddenly a strong man who'll take your freedoms away but put food on your table becomes appealing when your livelyhood depends on market forces outside your control. A lot of guys,and girls, shooting fascists were rural folk not dependant on markets who didn't like the idea of having their freedoms taken away.