Appalling article

[kelliem]

I just finished reading an article about the probability that over a thousand American POWs were left behind in POW camps at the end of the Vietnam war and never rescued. In addition the article reveals the fact that this has been covered up by every administration since that time, with the help of politicians on both sides of the aisle, such as John Kerry and John McCain. This is no National Enquirer article either, the author is a Pulitzer prize-winner. If this is true I just... I don't know what to say, or how to express my outrage. I could easily see the original event happening like this, with the Nixon Administration involved, but the idea that the facade was maintained by successive administrations is just unbearable.

(original link seen in celli's LJ)

Comments

[munchkyn-mom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, same thing Schanberg has been saying since 1994. This issue has been so politicized by the Right that I am automatically suspicious every time it comes up. I find it impossible to believe that EVERY ADMINISTRATION for nearly forty years has covered it up. No politician is that discreet. Ever. Especially if it could be turned into ammunition against the other side.

Schanberg himself is hardly an impartial reporter. He praised the Khmer Rouge in advance of their takeover of Cambodia, claiming that the Cambodians would be better off when the Americans went home. Yeah, I'm sure the victims of Pol Pot agree with that. He won a Pulitzer for his reporage on that war, and wrote the book that became the film "The Killing Fields". In short, his whole career is tied to the wars in Southeast Asia. I'm not surprised that he keeps fanning the flames of what may be a long-dead fire.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

That's good information, thanks. I've also asked one of our faculty who specializes in the Vietnam Wars for his input. I'll let you know if he gets back to me.

[darklock.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know what he has to say, also. I have a special interest in VCAP - Vietnam Combined Action Platoons from that era. And, the article is heartrending.