Joe Allen - Vietnam (lecture)
Joe Allen is a contributor to the "International Socialist Review" and an activist in peace and justice movements. He is the author of "Vietnam."
All imperial systems attempt to reinvent the past, engineer history to suit their needs. The United States is no different. Vietnam is a perfect example. A war of aggression has been transformed into a "conflict." It was "tragic" and a "mistake." At the other end of the
spectrum is the so-called liberal "Washington Post" which called the war a "just cause." That's the range of opinion in describing one of the major atrocities of the 20th century.The sheer savagery of the U.S. attack is forgotten. The war on Vietnam, later extended to Laos
and Cambodia, included mass murder from the air and ferocious assaults on the ground. Millions were killed. About the agony and suffering of the victims? Virtually nothing. Reparations? Apologies? No way. And the architects of destruction, the war criminals? Held
accountable? Trials? Jail time? Then as now, nothing.