early 1970s, that shows that confirmed atrocities by U.S. forces in
Vietnam were more extensive than was previously known. The
documents detail 320 alleged incidents that were substantiated by
Army investigators. The records contain material related to more
than 500 alleged atrocities that Army investigators could not prove
or that they discounted. The 1968 My Lai massacre was not part of
this total. These files were declassified in in 1994.
Seven massacres from 1967 through 1971 in which at least 137
civilians died by US troops in Vietnam.
Seventy-eight other attacks on noncombatants in which at least
57 were killed, 56 wounded and 15 sexually assaulted.
One hundred forty-one instances in which U.S. soldiers tortured
civilian detainees or prisoners of war with fists, sticks, bats,
water or electric shock.
Investigators determined that evidence against 203 soldiers accused
of harming Vietnamese civilians or prisoners was strong enough to
warrant formal charges. These "founded" cases were referred to the
soldiers' superiors for action.
Ultimately, 57 of them were court-martialed and just 23
convicted, the records show. Fourteen received prison sentences
ranging from six months to 20 years, but most won significant
reductions on appeal. In many cases, suspects had left the
service. The Army did not attempt to pursue them, despite a written
opinion in 1969 by Robert E. Jordan III, then the Army's general
counsel, that ex-soldiers could be prosecuted through courts-
martial, military commissions or tribunals.
Abuses were not confined to a few rogue units, a Times review of the
files found. They were uncovered in every Army division that
operated in Vietnam.
Retired Brig. Gen. John H. Johns, 78, a Vietnam veteran who served
on the task force, says he once supported keeping the records secret
but now believes they deserve wide attention in light of alleged
attacks on civilians and abuse of prisoners in Iraq.
Top Army brass should have demanded a tougher response, says
retired Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard, the highest-ranking member of the
Pentagon task force in the early 1970s.
The Times examined most of the files at the National Archives in
College Park, Md. and obtained copies of about 3,000 pages - about a
third of the total - before government officials removed them from
the public shelves, saying they contained personal information that
was exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
Comment: There is no statute of limitation for war crimes.
http://www.truthout
US military is poisoning our citizens
The US military is poisoning the very citizens it is supposed to
protect in the name of national security.
04 August 2006: It wasn't terrorists who laced our cups and
bathtubs with these poisons - it was private contractors employed by
the US Air Force. Hughes Missiles Systems Co. (which was purchased
by the Raytheon Corp. in 1997) worked at the Tucson International
Airport, spilling chemicals off the runway and letting them sink
into the soil of a city entirely dependent on its underground water
supply.
Tucson neighborhood'
nationwide contaminated with TCE. To this day, some area wells
remain polluted, and most estimate cleanup will not be completed for
another 20 to 50 years. Meanwhile, residents have the small
consolation their water supply is being monitored.
Last week a study was released by the National Academy of
Sciences, raising already substantial concerns about the cancer
risks and other health hazards associated with exposure to TCE, a
solvent used in adhesives, paint and spot removers that is
also "widely used to remove grease from metal parts in airplanes and
to clean fuel lines at missile sites." The report confirms a 2001
EPA document linking TCE to kidney cancer, reproductive and
developmental damage, impaired neurological function, autoimmune
disease and other ailments in human beings. TCE contamination is
disturbingly common, especially in the air, soil and water around
military bases.
Currently the EPA limits TCE to no more than five parts per billion
parts of drinking water. Stricter regulation could force the
government to require more thorough cleanups at military and other
sites and lower the number to one part per billion.
The EPA found it impossible to take such action back in 2001,
because, according to the Associated Press, the agency was "blocked
from elevating its assessment of the chemical's risks in people by
the Defense Department, Energy Department and NASA, all of which
have sites polluted with it." The Bush administration charged the
EPA with inflating TCE's risks and asked the National Academy to
investigate. Contrary to the administration'
committee's report has reinforced previous findings, which
determined TCE to be anywhere from two to 40 times more carcinogenic
than previously believed.
The Pentagon is responsible for over 1,400 properties contaminated
with TCE. The Defense Department is willing to poison the very
citizens it is supposed to protect in the cause of national security.
http://www.truthout
Unions Say EPA Bends to Political Pressure
02 August 2006: Washington - Unions representing thousands of staff
scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is
bending to political pressure and ignoring sound science in allowing
a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides.
Leaders of several federal employee unions say the chemicals
pose serious risks for fetuses, pregnant women, young children and
the elderly through food and exposure and should not be approved by
Thursday, the Congressional deadline for completing an agency review
of thousands of substances in pesticides.
"We are concerned that the agency has not, consistent with its
principles of scientific integrity and sound science, adequately
summarized or drawn conclusions" about the chemicals, union leaders
told the agency administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, in a newly
disclosed letter sent May 25.
Another senior EPA scientist who also spoke on condition of
anonymity said the agency often ignored independent scientific
studies that contradicted the industry-subsidized study that
supported many regulations on pesticides.
She cited a North Carolina researcher who found that
chlorpyrifos might have a more damaging effect on developing brains
than other studies. "What we heard back from headquarters was, 'No,
he's wrong,' " the scientist said.
"Chemicals like these can be harmful to children in ways we
don't understand yet," the scientist said. "If there is
disagreement, doesn't that cry out for further research?"
Nine union leaders representing 9,000 agency scientists and other
personnel around the country signed the letter. It was given to The
New York Times on Tuesday by environmental advocacy organizations
working on their behalf in the hope that it would arouse public
outcry and increase pressure on the agency to withdraw the chemicals
from use.
http://www.nytimes.
ex=1312171200&
A Rallying Cry for Democratic Populism
31 July 2006 Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) urges Democrats to
take on Republicans in just that way in his new book, "Take This Job
and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain Dead Politics Are Selling
Out America."
Democrats are deeply divided, of course, about whether to adopt his
advice. Many prefer pro-business, pro-trade positions that
distinguish them a little from the GOP, but not a lot. A growing
number of others, however, are in Dorgan's radical camp. They think
the way to finally win is to just say "No."
He recommends a litany of solutions, including repealing a tax break
that encourages the outsourcing of jobs overseas, prohibiting
imports from countries that abuse their workers and setting a
ceiling on our trade deficits. He would stop approving free-trade
agreements of the kind that have flowed through Congress in recent
years. To Dorgan, big corporations are the villains and labor
unions the saviors.
http://www.washingt
dyn/content/
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. MY
NEWSLETTER has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this
article nor is MY NEWSLETTER endorsed or sponsored by the
originator.)
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