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Speaking Truth to Power
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| WAR STORIES & BLOODY BOOKS |
ALEX PRIMM
Over the last few weeks I've begun downsizing...a fascinating though an
appallingly difficult process for a book nut such as I. My wife Cathy has taken
an Attila the Hun approach to our shelves, especially discarding volumes
which may be available in libraries or on the net.
These tomes to her represent clutter capped with years of dust. To me
various texts have been lifelines and essential tools, especially books dealing
with Vietnam and war in general.
I started going through the Vietnam books a few days ago to find my copy of
The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes
published in 1972 and edited by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
It's one of those books I cannot read without feeling I am falling into a dark
hole, that the world has suddenly been set on fire for no reason. It's more
than gruesome stuff.
It's like napalm or porno. Once your eyes scan a page or two, you can't just
shake off what you've read. The images of death and destruction dig into you.
I wish I had never looked at the crap, but there it is, the dark side of our lives.
Other books on Vietnam also still have authoritative power, such as Daniel
Ellsberg's Papers on the War, 1972, with its essays on the meaning of the
Pentagon Papers and the morality of the war. He is a brilliant man, one who
clearly struggled with the ethics of releasing important diplomatic and military
secrets that he himself had helped write. But I imagine I may donate this
volume to someone or sell it.
Ellsberg's autobiography from 2002 is equally fascinating. Secrets: A Memoir
of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers shows his personal struggle to leave the
military and become an engaged witness to the failure of American policies in
Southeast Asia. Ellsberg continues to speak out for humane foreign policy via
his website, articles, civil disobedience, etc.
One of the major factors inspiring Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers
was the first Winter Soldier Investigation, according to Where the Domino Fell:
America and Vietnam 1945 to 1990 by James Olson and Randy Roberts, St.
Martin's, 1991), another book I debate letting go. "They were probably the
most influential antiwar group of all," the authors say about VVAW. "One
hundred sixteen veterans testified of atrocities they had either committed or
witnessed in Vietnam... their testimony was riveting, and the Nixon
administration knew it. Time was running out on 'peace with honor'." (p. 239)
Ellsberg may have thought if these young veterans could risk their reputations
and freedom by speaking out, so could he. Testifying against the war, both
then and now, is risky. It takes a certain courage if not moral outrage:
"The Winter Soldier Investigation in February, 1971 profoundly
affected Ellsberg, deepening his sense of personal responsibility for
the war. When he learned of the invasion of Laos later that month, he
decided to hand over the secret documents to the New York Times.
(p. 242)
Could the Iraq WSI to be held in mid-March 2008 result in similar revelations
and changes in the conduct of American foreign or military policies? Some will
debate whether the testimony is true or not. Doubts about the truth of
testimony affected the first WSI too. That's the nature of politics, debate and
skepticism. New truths are not easily accepted, especially from lowly enlisted
men. War is hell, always has been; how are grunts to know about the fine
points of international law and military policy?
How many actually read the testimony from the first WSI, and how many will
hear what is said next week at the National Labor College for WSI #2? Thanks
to Internet live video feeds, the audience may be fairly sizeable for the
upcoming WSI. However not many have the time to listen to the Iraq veterans
giving their time and testimony, much less to consider whether the war in Iraq
makes any sense.
Change happens slowly. Various political elites will debate what veterans of
the Iraq, and Afghanistan, war say. It will take a long time to sift out.
But testimony against these two on-going conflicts presented by American
military veterans, coming so near the fifth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq
on March 19, will further the arguments for change. While it is not a hearing
called for by Congress or any body other than the Iraq Veterans Against the
War and related organizations, this whole process could well inspire
progressive forces for change within the government to oppose and end
immoral policies which many Americans increasingly question.
In its entry on Vietnam War casualties, Wikipedia indicates that after the first
WSI in Detroit '71 about 3,000 more Americans were still to be killed in
Vietnam. How many Vietnamese were to die is not clear. Their total sufferings
are still a matter of debate and uncertainty, Wikipedia states.
The same uncertainty holds in Iraq. How many more innocent civilians, much
less our own troops and their families, will suffer terrible losses? If dozens of
veterans testify at WSI #2 to illegal policies that violate our own basic sense of
right and wrong, if not the generally accepted international laws of war, how
much longer can our present policies hold? How many more Americans will be
willing to fight and die for policies that have lost their meaning and public
support?
Let books long from now debate it all. The Iraq war has complex, important
issues that will merit study in the future. Can we drop any doctrine/rhetoric
and listen? Is the most important question behind WSI, how to stop the killing
now?
American veterans of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will show why we must
change our policies. They have seen it. We must weigh their witness.
ALEX PRIMM
appallingly difficult process for a book nut such as I. My wife Cathy has taken
an Attila the Hun approach to our shelves, especially discarding volumes
which may be available in libraries or on the net.
These tomes to her represent clutter capped with years of dust. To me
various texts have been lifelines and essential tools, especially books dealing
with Vietnam and war in general.
I started going through the Vietnam books a few days ago to find my copy of
The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes
published in 1972 and edited by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
It's one of those books I cannot read without feeling I am falling into a dark
hole, that the world has suddenly been set on fire for no reason. It's more
than gruesome stuff.
It's like napalm or porno. Once your eyes scan a page or two, you can't just
shake off what you've read. The images of death and destruction dig into you.
I wish I had never looked at the crap, but there it is, the dark side of our lives.
Other books on Vietnam also still have authoritative power, such as Daniel
Ellsberg's Papers on the War, 1972, with its essays on the meaning of the
Pentagon Papers and the morality of the war. He is a brilliant man, one who
clearly struggled with the ethics of releasing important diplomatic and military
secrets that he himself had helped write. But I imagine I may donate this
volume to someone or sell it.
Ellsberg's autobiography from 2002 is equally fascinating. Secrets: A Memoir
of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers shows his personal struggle to leave the
military and become an engaged witness to the failure of American policies in
Southeast Asia. Ellsberg continues to speak out for humane foreign policy via
his website, articles, civil disobedience, etc.
One of the major factors inspiring Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers
was the first Winter Soldier Investigation, according to Where the Domino Fell:
America and Vietnam 1945 to 1990 by James Olson and Randy Roberts, St.
Martin's, 1991), another book I debate letting go. "They were probably the
most influential antiwar group of all," the authors say about VVAW. "One
hundred sixteen veterans testified of atrocities they had either committed or
witnessed in Vietnam... their testimony was riveting, and the Nixon
administration knew it. Time was running out on 'peace with honor'." (p. 239)
Ellsberg may have thought if these young veterans could risk their reputations
and freedom by speaking out, so could he. Testifying against the war, both
then and now, is risky. It takes a certain courage if not moral outrage:
"The Winter Soldier Investigation in February, 1971 profoundly
affected Ellsberg, deepening his sense of personal responsibility for
the war. When he learned of the invasion of Laos later that month, he
decided to hand over the secret documents to the New York Times.
(p. 242)
Could the Iraq WSI to be held in mid-March 2008 result in similar revelations
and changes in the conduct of American foreign or military policies? Some will
debate whether the testimony is true or not. Doubts about the truth of
testimony affected the first WSI too. That's the nature of politics, debate and
skepticism. New truths are not easily accepted, especially from lowly enlisted
men. War is hell, always has been; how are grunts to know about the fine
points of international law and military policy?
How many actually read the testimony from the first WSI, and how many will
hear what is said next week at the National Labor College for WSI #2? Thanks
to Internet live video feeds, the audience may be fairly sizeable for the
upcoming WSI. However not many have the time to listen to the Iraq veterans
giving their time and testimony, much less to consider whether the war in Iraq
makes any sense.
Change happens slowly. Various political elites will debate what veterans of
the Iraq, and Afghanistan, war say. It will take a long time to sift out.
But testimony against these two on-going conflicts presented by American
military veterans, coming so near the fifth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq
on March 19, will further the arguments for change. While it is not a hearing
called for by Congress or any body other than the Iraq Veterans Against the
War and related organizations, this whole process could well inspire
progressive forces for change within the government to oppose and end
immoral policies which many Americans increasingly question.
In its entry on Vietnam War casualties, Wikipedia indicates that after the first
WSI in Detroit '71 about 3,000 more Americans were still to be killed in
Vietnam. How many Vietnamese were to die is not clear. Their total sufferings
are still a matter of debate and uncertainty, Wikipedia states.
The same uncertainty holds in Iraq. How many more innocent civilians, much
less our own troops and their families, will suffer terrible losses? If dozens of
veterans testify at WSI #2 to illegal policies that violate our own basic sense of
right and wrong, if not the generally accepted international laws of war, how
much longer can our present policies hold? How many more Americans will be
willing to fight and die for policies that have lost their meaning and public
support?
Let books long from now debate it all. The Iraq war has complex, important
issues that will merit study in the future. Can we drop any doctrine/rhetoric
and listen? Is the most important question behind WSI, how to stop the killing
now?
American veterans of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will show why we must
change our policies. They have seen it. We must weigh their witness.
ALEX PRIMM
by ALEX PRIMM
Alex Primm is an oral historian and
freelance writer in the Ozarks. He
served as an Army newspaper
editor and correspondent for the
7th Public Information Detachment
in Long Binh Junction, South
Vietnam, Sept '68 to June '69.
freelance writer in the Ozarks. He
served as an Army newspaper
editor and correspondent for the
7th Public Information Detachment
in Long Binh Junction, South
Vietnam, Sept '68 to June '69.
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