Atrocities in Vietnam: An NLF Report

Abstract

The following are extracts from a pamphlet entitled Crimes Perpetrated by the U.S. Imperialists and Henchmen against South Vietnam Women and Children, Giai Phong Publishing House, South Vietnam, 1968. We have included only those parts which appear to relate primarily to the conduct of U.S. forces. Until recently these revelations would doubtless have been dismissed by many as propaganda fabrications. In view of what is now known about the Song My massacre, this is evidently no longer possible. The description of what happened at Song My on March 16, 1968, on page 36 below is entirely consistent with what has been reported in the U.S. press. The number of persons killed is put at 502 which can be compared with "estimates of dead by surviving villagers [which] range from 370 to 567." (New York Times, News of the Week Section, November 23, 1969) What reason is there to doubt that the other revelations of this publication are equally accurate? And if their truthfulness is accepted, how can it possibly be maintained that responsibility for U.S. war crimes in Vietnam rests on others than the highest officials in the White House and the Pentagon who make U.S. policy and must be presumed to know how it is executed? History will pass on them the same judgment, even if it cannot pass the same sentences, as the Nuremberg Tribunal passed on the Nazi war criminals a quarter of a century ago. —The EditorsThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.