The U.S. military designated most provinces in South Vietnam as "free fire zones", which was designed to "drain the pond (the civilian population) to catch the fish (Vietcong guerrillas)." As a State Department cable to Saigon on September 3, 1966 explained: General William Westmoreland was the commander of all US military operations in the Vietnam War, from 1964 to 1968:
That's total bull (*)(*)(*)(*) and just another Marxist culturalism revisionist history lie. Do you even know what a free fire zone was during the Vietnam War ? You had restrictive fire zones and free fire zones. The U.S. military had no say so at all what these zones were, it was the Republic of South Vietnam government in Saigon who decided where and what a free fire zone was, not the U.S. military. Free fire zones didn't mean you could shoot at any thing you wanted as Hollywood liberals would have you think. A restrictive fire zone was an area where American forces who wanted to use any weapon larger than a 60 MM mortar on a target during a fire fight, they had to get permission from the RVN government via MACV in Saigon. It was time consuming, while American soldiers and Marines were being killed during a fire fight. A free fire zone was an area where American forces didn't need permission from the RVN government to use 81 MM mortars or call in artillery, naval gunfire support or call in a close air support mission. That's a free fire zone. I was in-country 69-70 and the free fire zones decreased in size almost weekly. Even concrete buildings became off limits if Charley was occupying the building.
You're reflexive dismissal of everything as Marxist revisionism does not help your argument. Michael McClintock is a senior staff member of Amnesty International's Research Division, and has spent many years on this investigation: You would have people believe that the U.S. military lured millions of villagers into strategic hamlets with milk and cookies: I guess it was Saigon that dropped these leaflets on destroyed villages: And to your suggestion that Saigon somehow had authority over the U.S. military: ^^ There's some more Marxist revisionism for you.
"Marxist culturalism" is another word for political correctness and revisionist history. But I digress. Been there and done that, Michael McClintock hasn't. I went over the link you provided and all I saw was VC, VC, VC, VC. What about the NVA ? Who were the VC ? They were the "People's Liberation Armed Forces" (PLAF) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/vietnam/vietcong-org.htm Where as the NVA (North Vietnam Army) was a well trained and armed army that had artillery, tanks, logistics, Mig M-17's, Mig 21's and Russian helicopters. One of the biggest military defeats in history was when the VC and NVA got their butts whooped big time during the failed Tet Offense of 1968. The VC never recovered and after Tet and you would find NVA officers leading the VC. As a fighting force the VC were no longer a competent fighting force. After Tet the light was at the end of the tunnel, until Walter Cronkite went on the air and lied to the American people about Tet. The rest is history, the Democrats who got America involved in a war that we should have never gotten involved in (thanks JFK) now politicized the war and back stabbed the American soldier in the back while they were still on the battle field. The Rules of Engagement (ROE) in South Vietnam were set by the RVN government not the U.S. military. Where as the ROE over North Vietnam, the air war against North Vietnam were set by LBJ unknown by most Americans at the time. The Vietnam War could have been won by 1966 if LBJ hadn't micromanaged the war. All American force were held to South Vietnam laws. Even traffic laws.
Hey man, the Vietnam war ended almost three years after we got out of the Nam. It's been forty years now since 1975 when the NVA tanks rolled across the 17 parallel and made their way down Highway 1 towards Saigon. The Vietnamese people want to move on and don't have their panties all wadded up in a bunch over the war. The American Vietnam War veteran only has a problem with his American peers who were back home on the streets at the time who backed stabbed him while he was still on the battlefield and how he was treated when he came home.
