Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans Day's Lesson

The year was 1966. My father was drafted as soon as he graduated college. He was promptly sent to OCS and then language school to learn Vietnamese. Assigned with four other American officers to an ARVN unit, he was forced to take part as a translator during Operation Phoenix, aka The Phoenix Program:

'...The Phoenix Program (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Phượng Hoàng, a word related to fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix) was a military, intelligence, and internal security program designed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and coordinated and executed by Republic of Vietnam's (South Vietnam) security apparatus and US Special Operations Forces such as the Navy SEALs, United States Army Special Forces and MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. It was in operation between 1967 and 1972, but similar efforts existed both before and after this. The program was designed to identify and "neutralize" (via infiltration, capture, or assassination) the civilian infrastructure supporting the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF or Viet Cong) insurgency...'

Basically this consisted of translating for the CIA and DIA while they tortured Vietnamese people.

'...Vietnam, 65-70 details re Vietnam. From 65-68 U.S. and Saigon intel services maintained an active list of VC cadre marked for assassination. Phoenix Program for 69 called for "neutralizing" 1800 a month. About one third of VC targeted for arrest had been summarily killed. Security committees established in provincial interrogation centers to determine fate of VC suspects, outside of judicial controls...

...Vietnam, 73 According to Defense Dept official 26,369 South Vietnamese civilians killed under Phoenix while op under direct U.S. control (Jan 68 thru Aug 72 ). By same source, another 33,358 detained without trial. Colby in 73 admitted 20,587 deaths thru end 71 , 28,978 captured, and 17,717 "rallied" to Saigon gvt. Thus approx 30% targeted individuals killed. All Phoenix stats fail to reflect U.S. Activity after "official" U.S. Control of op abandoned. Counterspy spring/summer 75 8...

...Vietnam, 71 William E. Colby on july 19, 1971, before Senate subcommittee testified CIA op Phoenix had killed 21,587 Vietnamese citizens between 1/68 and 5/71. In response to a question from mr. Reid "do you state categorically that Phoenix has never perpetrated the premeditated killing of a civilian in a non-combat situation?" Colby replied: "No, I could not say that...I certainly would not say never." Counterspy 12/78 6...'

The Phoenix Program rounded up Vietnamese 'suspects', killed them, tortured them and made them disappear.

The lesson here is that this is not strange or outrageous behavior. This is how empires control other countries. It's standard practice. Julius Ceasar rounded up troublesome Celts in the lands he conquered and killed them, or terrorized them into submission. Rome burnt Carthage to the ground and sowed salt in their fields.

America stole all of its land from people who already lived there, rounded them up, put them in camps, and/or killed them wholesale. We call them Native Americans, or Indians, in case your official government-controlled 'education' is missing some data.

America also laid waste to the Philippines.

'...In 1908 Manuel Arellano Remondo, in General Geography of the Philippine Islands, wrote: “The population decreased due to the wars, in the five-year period from 1895 to 1900, since, at the start of the first insurrection, the population was estimated at 9,000,000, and at present (1908), the inhabitants of the Archipelago do not exceed 8,000,000 in number.”[...]'

Yes, that's one million dead Filipinos in five years, simply because they didn't bow to the American Empire.

That was the turn of the 20th century, so that's the American Empire dated back 100+ years.

Let's go further, to the middle of the 19th century.

'[...]By 1863 Missouri, under U.S. Army occupation, was a place were "arson, theft, and murder became so common that vast sections of the state were uninhabited." Cisco quotes Union General James H. Lane as saying, "We believe in a war of extermination. I want to see every foot of ground in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties burned over – everything laid waste."

Another practice of the Union Army that is reminiscent of totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century was forced relocation of suspected dissenters. Cisco gives chapter and verse of how this occurred in Missouri, Tennessee, and elsewhere, as thousands of civilians were forced to leave their homes. This even included Ohio Congressman Clement Vallandigham...

...An entire chapter is devoted to the sacking of Athens, Alabama, in 1862. Every store and shop in the town was looted, along with most private homes, where U.S. troops went about "stealing what they wanted and destroying the rest."[...]


...Cisco documents "Abuse of African-Americans" by Sherman’s army in his final, stomach-turning chapter. Slaves were raped, pillaged, and murdered indiscriminately along with the white population of the South, and Sherman did nothing to stop it.

A favorite pastime of Sherman’s "bummers" was to tie a black man up by his thumbs until he told them where any valuables might be hidden. Sometimes they were hung by the neck instead, and quite often killed in that way. "They tied me up by my two thumbs and try to make me tell where I hid the money and gold watch and silver, but I swore I didn’t know," said a former slave, quoted by Cisco from The Slave Narratives...'


More American history they never told you in school. Bloodthirsty laying of waste to the South to get them to submit to the power of the Federal government. Theft, rape, pillage, murder, American on American, not even some far away place or strange foreigner to hate.

See a pattern yet? No? Get some mental floss and open your eyes.

So kids, todays Veteran's Day lesson is two-fold:

The government will use you to strengthen their own power. You will kill and you will steal. People will try to kill you. Why?

Your government has sent you to someone else's country to kill them, steal their stuff and tell you what to do.

They will lie to you to get you to do it, and to get wide-spread support for it from the people.

It's truly amazing that so many Veterans go through the same experience and never dare to question.

What's truly sad is that we never learn.

Instead of pissing all over the memory of our Veterans, and these important lessons they've learned for us, let's spread this knowledge far and wide. Let's lay aside the useless jingoistic phrases and thoughts, and respect these Veterans for what really happened.

After all, as my father will be the first to tell you, there were never any Vietnamese people invading the US. There were never any Vietnamese people walking down main street, shooting, raping and killing Americans. He's still not sure what people thank him for.

Lord knows the Vietnamese didn't. They just wanted us all to go back to our own country and leave them alone.

...much like Iraqis, Afghanis, Sioux, Iroquis, Filipinos, etc.