Martin Luther King and his Opposition to The Vietnam War

aa
Martin Luther King, Jr. – Beyond Vietnam – A Time To Break The Silencex

By: Chuck Palazzo
Contributing Editor
www.VetSpeak.org
x
Danang, Vietnam - Starting in 1965, King began to express doubts about the United States' role in the Vietnam War. In an April 4, 1967 appearance at the New York City Riverside Church—exactly one year before his death—King delivered a speech titled "Beyond Vietnam".  In the speech, he spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, insisting that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony" and calling the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today".
x
 He also argued that the country needed larger and broader moral changes:
x
A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just."
x
King also was opposed to the Vietnam War on the grounds that the war took money and resources that could have been spent on social welfare services like the War on Poverty. The United States Congress was spending more and more on the military and less and less on anti-poverty programs at the same time. He summed up this aspect by saying, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death".
x
Many white southern segregationists vilified King; moreover, this speech soured his relationship with many members of the mainstream media. Life magazine called the speech "demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi", and The Washington Post declared that King had "diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people."
x
King stated that North Vietnam "did not begin to send in any large number of supplies or men until American forces had arrived in the tens of thousands".  King also criticized the United States' resistance to North Vietnam's land reforms. He accused the United States of having killed a million Vietnamese, "mostly children."
x
The speech was a reflection of King's evolving political advocacy in his later years, which paralleled the teachings of the progressive Highlander Research and Education Center, with whom King was affiliated.  King began to speak of the need for fundamental changes in the political and economic life of the nation. Towards the time of his murder, King more frequently expressed his opposition to the war and his desire to see a redistribution of resources to correct racial and economic injustice.
x
Though his public language was guarded, so as to avoid being linked to communism by his political enemies, in private he sometimes spoke of his support for democratic socialism. In one speech, he stated that "something is wrong with capitalism" and claimed, "There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism."
x
King had read Marx while at Morehouse College, but while he rejected "traditional capitalism," he also rejected Communism because of its "materialistic interpretation of history" that denied religion, its "ethical relativism," and its "political totalitarianism."
x 
King also stated in his "Beyond Vietnam" speech that "true compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar....it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring".  King quoted a United States official, who said that, from Vietnam to South America to Latin America, the country was "on the wrong side of a world revolution."King condemned America's "alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America," and said that the United States should support "the shirtless and barefoot people" in the Third World rather than suppressing their attempts at revolution. 
x
King spoke at an Anti-Vietnam demonstration where he also brought up issues of civil rights and the draft. "I have not urged a mechanical fusion of the civil rights and peace movements. There are people who have come to see the moral imperative of equality, but who cannot yet see the moral imperative of world brotherhood. I would like to see the fervor of the civil-rights movement imbued into the peace movement to instill it with greater strength. And I believe everyone has a duty to be in both the civil-rights and peace movements. But for those who presently choose but one, I would hope they will finally come to see the moral roots common to both.
x
The words above are from Dr. King and some commentary about that famous speech which was held at the Riverside Church in New York on April 4, 1967– in my opinion, a genius of a man, who was ironically assassinated exactly one day from the speech which I quote parts from, above. How prophetic were his words? Look at the messes we are in today - we spend and spend and spend on wars in foreign lands. We have no reason to be there. And those are monies that could be used right in the US – to feed the poor, to house the homeless, and yes, to help all of us, the Veterans who bravely fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice, unwillingly and unknowing.
x
Here is a link to Dr. King’s entire speech from that day. I urge us all to read it, listen to it and ask ourselves, are we any further along? I say we are not – I say we are moving in the wrong direction!  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm
x 
An appropriate tribute to a great man? If were were at peace with the world, that would truly be the tribute that Dr. King would embrace, and comprise some of his Dream.
x
Wikpedia was the source reference
x
http://www.vetspeak.org/

Forbes Company of the Year - Anti-Green Monsanto: Agent Orange Creator and Defense Department Vendor

By Chuck Palazzo

Agent Orange Editor

www.VetSpeak.org

x

Danang, Vietnam - A slap in the face! What an insult. What a display of ignorance. What little to no compassion, let alone admission of guilt to the war crimes this company was involved in. No, they were never convicted – because they settled out of court like Dow and the rest of the criminals who created, sold, and made hundreds of millions of dollars creating, selling and reaping the profits from Dioxin – yes, Agent Orange. (Photo: Vietnam File Photo - circa 1965-1968)
x

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0118/americas-best-company-10-gmos-dupont-planet-versus-monsanto.html

x

This week, Forbes Magazine named Monsanto its company of the year. Can you believe it? Forbes – sure, a conservative, capitalist magazine – but nominating and approving Monsanto? A killer that was and continues to be, responsible for MILLIONS of deaths, MILLIONS of humans affected with disease as a result of being sprayed and exposed, MILLIONS of offspring whose health (and most of the time, untimely deaths), all caused by the evil poison known as Agent Orange.

x

They still produce Round-up, a watered down version of Agent Orange. However, the French Courts have found in favor of those who brought suit against them – Monsanto was accused and convicted in the French Courts about the make-up and what actually Round-up is and does – they were convicted of lying to the courts - perjury. Their sentence? A fine – a pittance, compared with the BILLIONS of dollars in revenue they achieve each year.
x
However, that recent series of court cases in France is indeed significant – Round-up sales have dropped since the court’s decision, and this might just be a start – because Monsanto did in fact earn less than their forecasted revenues in 09 as a result in a drop in sales of Round-up.

x

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm

x

Their CEO did in fact receive less in bonus compensation as a result of much of this being revealed – but he still earned millions of dollars!

x

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/mound-city-money/st-louis-companies/2009/12/monsanto-ceo-grant-sees-bonus-shrink-in-09/

x

Today, Monsanto is viewed by many, as a savior in terms of world hunger – because of its creation of genetically engineered seeds. Two very important facts:

x

   1)  GE seeds are in fact NOT better than natural seeds and are, some believe, even worse – in terms of the environment, human lives, spread of new diseases and humanity in general.
x  
2)  It has been revealed by the AP as well as other trusted sources, that Monsanto has and continues to use strong arm tactics in forcing farmers to buy and use their seeds.

x

This is a short video about the lie of what Monsanto and others preach about GE crops:

x

http://www.techblogarchives.com/2010/01/06/genetic-engineering-the-worlds-greatest-scam/
x

The GE seed issue is certainly a serious one – but brothers and sisters, let us never forget Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, Korea and other countries where Agent Orange was sprayed in both war and peacetime. Let us not forget all human tolls it has taken – and continues to take. The lives that have been devastated, the lives removed. The profits and GE seeds and eventual crops that wind up on your supermarket shelves have all been brought to you buy the profits Monsanto received as a result of the US Government paying them hundreds of millions of dollars for the poison we all despise:  Agent Orange.
x
More about Monsanto, the food industry in general, and the devastation and lies they and others like them are propagating, in this wonderful piece called “Food, Inc.”

x

http://www.theconsci​ous.com/?p=61

x

This may or may not be available free of charge, depending on what country you reside in, but it IS available to all from www.thepiratebay.org. Remember, you will need a torrent program to download it. Email me if you need further instructions.

x

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5142533/Food__Inc__%282008%29

x

I urge you all – please login to Forbes, create an account, and comment about this truly wrong winner this year. Monsanto and its executives belong behind bars – not recipients of Forbes’ Company of the Year Award!

x

Not a single word about their involvement with the US Government during the Vietnam War. Not one mention of all the death and destruction they have and continue to be responsible for. This is the true corporate world – its finest for its shareholders and executives, but its worst for all of us who were exposed to, suffer from, and pass on the devastation we know as Agent Orange. Genetic alteration to seeds? What about the genetic alteration, eventual disease, disability and death from Agent Orange?

x

www.VetSpeak.org

New Years Resolution, CHANGE, and Afghanistan...

Cracker Swamp. Fl - After giving it much thought, my New Years resolution is, to write more.  Most of my contributions to VetSpeak in recent months, have been editorial comments on others' works that I thought were in keeping with our VetSpeak mission, but that's not really writing.  We are most fortunate to have a group of contributing writers who not only have strong feelings on related issues, but as well as being writers, are Veterans activists, military family members, or related issue organizers and/or issue oriented writers.  They are a fine chorus, one with which, as we begin the 2010 campaigns for peace and justice, I feel compelled to rejoin my voice. 
x
2009 has really sucked!! In just a year's time, CHANGE has become disappointment and despair. The only relief from the pain of our current dilemma regarding CHANGE, primarily the escalation of force in Afghanistan - but also health-care and the economy, as well - is to channel my energy into the things that I know, and things that I know that we can actually do something about.  Things learned over a thirty year period of Veteran advocacy and organizing, and a few years of anti-war service with VVAW, back in the day.   The most productive use of my time, at this point in my life, would seem to be to make that  knowledge of those things learned available to others.  Others, who I would hope might somehow be motivated to become activists and/or organizers, through my writing.  
x
Selfishly,  it is therapeutic to me, in that it provides a medium for venting frustration and rage against the empire, rather than letting it build up to a boiling point, inside my head and heart. I have incorporated it into my anger management therapy.  A good thing, not only for me, but for others close around me, as well.  My VA shrink suggests that I quit watching the news, if it makes me so angry.  He figures increased Xanax, and less TV, and I'll be on the road to recovery, and all that Iraq n' Aghanistan stuff will just quit being a stressor for me, Vietnam aside.  He indicates that the bonus is that the same thing happens regarding politics...take your meds and turn off the TV, and it will all go away.  On paper, maybe!  If you don't know what they are sayin', then you don't know what game they're playin', I allus say.
x
Truth is; reality dictates, at least for me, a different path, than that preferred by my VA shrink.  My family motto, "Persistance brings down even the strongest walls", 10 years Marine Corps service, and 4 years of back-in-the-day VVAW activism, all have me conditioned to another kind of  lifestyle...that, of direct involvement in things that directly impact my life, and the lives of those that I love, respect, and otherwise care about, or am associated with. 
x
That is, to me, how CHANGE is brought about...outreach, issue orientation, education, and direct action out in the grass-roots.  That's how it worked so well for VVAW, back in the day...one chapter or campaign at a time, unified around a mutually agreed upon set of principles (then 11 Objectives), democratically organized around issues of mutual concern that are in relationship to the ugly side of US Imperialism, whether military, political, or corporate in nature, as practiced right here at home, as well as abroad.  I believe that it can happen that way again.  It is to that I end that I make this New Years resolution to write more, in 2010.
x
Veterans' issues are the same as others' issues, when you stop and think about it.  Our current national profile is not truly indicative of us as Americans.  It is, in objective reality, more indicative of the type of people that are in control of our government, and how, and for what purposes they use their power, at any given time, than us, as a people. In my opinion, we have once again allowed the tyrants to re-frame the argument. The argument that I'm referring to, is the one regarding our national identity and international policies being manipulated through government and/or corporate control of the media.  It is now time to seize the initiative and change the national debate, rather than to simply keep reacting to events, often too late .
x
The most powerful weapon that we have at our disposal is objective truth, spoken by those who have lived it, rather than those who make it an art form to design truth to their political, economic, or personal and/or corporate power grabbing ends.  We should speak for ourselves and not allow others with hidden agendas to speak for us, if we hope to succeed in bringing about our vision of CHANGE...just as VVAW, united with many others did, re Vietnam and Nixon, back in the day. 
x
So my resolution is to write more in 2010, and to share those hard earned lessons that I mentioned earlier with as many folks as I possibly can, in the mission to help empower folks with information, and win hearts and minds and activists to the cause...even if it's just one heart and mind at a time.  Especially considering the current Afghanistan escalation, and the work that we all now have ahead of us, as a result.
x
I hope many of you will join me in my resolution, and resolve to write more, too. We're gonna need all hands, to turn things around at this point.  Our voices linked together voicing one message of CHANGE, especially regarding our policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a very powerful weapon in the cause of peace and social justice.  To that end, your voice is welcome here at VetSpeak.org.  I will be happy to post any articles that reflect our mission statement.  You are welcome to share your stories and organizational event information (with citation and attributions, when appropriate) in Word.doc, with ARTICLE in the Subject field, and e-mail it to me, willie.hager@vetspeak.org, with a short bio...not required...it's just in the spirit of getting to know you.  And as always, your comments on our postings are always welcome. 
x
Best New Year Wishes to All...
x
Willie Hager
On-line Editor
x
www.VetSpeak.org

Obama & Afghanistan: One year later, it's Obama's war...

The Great Disappointment of Obama’s First Year

by 

Scott Camil

Last year on the pages of www.afgn.org, I wrote about the optimism due to the election of President Barack Obama.
x
After a year, that optimism has turned to disappointment as President Obama continues many of Bush’s policies. We strongly disagree with President Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan and his expansion of war into Pakistan and Yemen.
x
The war in Afghanistan is unlawful under international law and still makes no sense.
x
The US is a signatory of the UN Charter. The US Senate ratified that signature. This makes those obligations we have signed on to lawful and Constitutional. Under the UN Charter, a nation can only go to war, use armed force against another nation, under two conditions. Those conditions are (1) if a nation is attacked it may use force to defend itself and (2) if the UN votes the right to use force against a nation. These are the only two legal reasons to go to war, period.
x
The UN has not authorized us to use force against Iraq or Afghanistan and neither of those nations attacked us. This clearly makes these wars illegal.  Obama’s escalation actually started in February when he sent 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
x
This escalation shows that Obama is not the leader of Hope and Change, he is just another tool in the pocket of the “Military- Industrial-Congressional Complex.”
x
This war is now Obama’s War. It is his legacy. Last year when Obama was elected we had 32,000 troops in Afghanistan. We now have 68,000 troops there with another 30,000 on the way. Last year when Obama was elected we had 150,000 troops in Iraq. We now have 120,000 troops in Iraq: our build-up in Afghanistan is moving along much more quickly than our drawdown in Iraq. 30% of all U.S. casualties in the eight-year war in Afghanistan have occurred during the 11 months of his presidency.
x
The Congressional Research Service reports the number of contractors in Afghanistan will likely jump by 16,000 to 56,000, adding up to a total of 120,000-160,000 contractors in Afghanistan.
x
According to the Department of Defense there are only about 100 Al Qaeda fighters in the entire country of Afghanistan. On September 23rd, it was reported that in General Stanley McChrystal’s classified assessment of the war in Afghanistan, his conclusion was that a successful counterinsurgency strategy would require 500,000 troops over five years. If this is true, what good will only 100,000 troops after the new escalation do? 
x
These numbers  don’t add up.

x
We are told that Gen. McChrystal needs these troops to accomplish his mission in Afghanistan. The question here is, can we trust Gen. McChrystal’s judgment?
x
On April 22nd, 2004 Army Corporal Pat Tillman, a former NFL star, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. In an effort to hype the war, the friendly fire incident was covered up and Corporal Tillman was awarded the Silver Star, the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. 
x
Within 24 hours of  Corporal Tillman’s death, Gen. McChrystal was recommending a Silver Star for him and lying  about the circumstances to the nation and to Corporal Tillman’s parents.  Can we trust this guy?

c
Obama has expanded the war in Pakistan and into Yemen. We would not call this very Nobel.
x
Obama has rejected comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam. We ask how could he possibly not see the analogy to Vietnam, which led to the collapse of Johnson’s Great Society programs, and the threat of his own domestic agenda collapsing under the pressure of funding the escalation in his war.

x
Just as the Viet Cong were Vietnamese citizens opposed to the foreign occupation of their country, the Taliban are Afghan citizens opposed to the foreign occupation of their country.
x
Just as the Viet Cong weren’t going to pack up and leave, the Taliban are not going to pack up and leave.
x
Soon after taking office, President Richard Nixon introduced his policy of “vietnamization.” The plan was to encourage the South Vietnamese to take more responsibility for fighting the war. It was hoped that this policy would eventually enable the United States to withdraw gradually all their soldiers from Vietnam.
x
From President Obama’s West Point speech: “After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. These are the resources that we need to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan.”
x
This is the same plan – and if you remember, right after we left, those Vietnamese forces that we trained folded.
x
Nationalism trumps politics when dealing with a foreign occupation.  The Obama claim of a draw-down in July of 2011, is his “light at the end of the tunnel” propaganda. No one, including Obama, really believes that in July of 2011 we will actually start ending the war.
x
When you look at Robert McNamara’s book, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, it is not hard to see the parallels.
x

• We misjudged...the… intentions of our adversaries... and we exaggerated the dangers to the United States of their actions.
• We viewed the people and leaders of South Vietnam in terms of our own experience… we totally misjudged the political forces within the country.
• We underestimated the power of nationalism to motivate a people... we continue to do so today…
• Our misjudgments of friend and foe alike reflected our profound ignorance of history, culture, and politics of the people… and the personalities and habits of their leaders...
• We failed then — as we have since — to recognize the limitations of modern high technology, military equipment, forces, and doctrine in confronting unconventional, highly motivated people’s movements. We failed as well to adapt our military tactics to the task of winning the hearts and minds of people from a totally different culture.
• We did not recognize that neither our people nor our leaders are omniscient...We do not have the God-given right to shape every nation in our own image or as we choose.                 

Afghanistan is known as The Burial Ground of Empires...a place where empires go to die.
x
We are taught in the military that it is our Duty and Obligation to disobey an unlawful order.
x
We are not taught how to distinguish between a lawful order and an unlawful order.  We are not taught a process for disobeying an unlawful order.
x
Years ago I wrote the Pentagon to find out the definition of an unlawful order. Their response blew me away:  “All orders are considered lawful.”

x

So this duty and obligation to disobey an unlawful order is used only to protect the asses of those up the chain of command, not to keep the troops from using unlawful behavior.

x

Logically speaking, any order to deploy to an unlawful war has to be an unlawful order.

x

It is the Duty and Obligation of those in the military to disobey unlawful orders.

x

Other Obama disappointments
x

• His refusal to prosecute those responsible for torture and his protection of them.
• His refusal to join the international ban on land mines.
• Universal Single Payer Health Insurance is the only real solution to the monopoly that the insurance industry has on our health care system. From the beginning Obama refused to allow single payer to be part of the health care reform debate. This stance runs counter to Obama's statement that he believes health care is a right.
• The continuation of renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that use torture
• His acceptance of the military coup in Honduras
•  The Wall Street bailout and placing those responsible for our economic collapse in charge of our economy.
• Obama has broadened the government’s legal argument for immunizing his administration, government agencies, & telephone companies from lawsuits surrounding the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping.
• Although Obama has condemned the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, Israel continues the theft of Palestinian land and the expansion of settlements with no worry of loss of US aid.                                                                      

After 8 years of a president who was not very articulate, many liberals have been fooled President Obama’s articulate speeches; they have lost sight of the Orwellian nature of his  speeches - he does not walk the walk.  This should shatter the illusion that just by electing Democrats we will have meaningful change.

x
All of this suggests to us that the corporate takeover of our government is about complete and that the two major political parties are there to serve corporate interests, not the public interest.
x
What we have learned from the election of Obama and a Democratic majority in Congress is that we need to commit ourselves to stepping outside of these two parties if we want real change.

x

As we said last year, “Putting a new person in the White House will not dampen our commitment or activities”.

x
www.VetSpeak.org

Afghanistan: Are the Impacts of Vietnam Fading, is it Possible?

Looking forward into the past:  Vietnam & Afghanistan
By
Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Editor
www.VetSpeak.org

Da Nang, Vietnam - How can the U.S. decry human rights violations as it fails to be responsible for a war that should never have been waged in the first place?  As a VVAW member and correspondant living in Vietnam I receive a great amount of feedback as a result of my efforts to help people affected by the chemical Agent Orange, a defoiliant manufactured by Monsanto.  This contribution is an interchange of dialog on some key points of the Vietnam War. The following comment which began this dialog is from a source that we are choosing not to name:  

"Let it go, Brother. Your attention to figures can scramble your brain. And don't think 58,000 Americans died in vain in Viet Nam. There were lessons to learn and a need for this for the U.S. to realize the limits of its power. Viet Nam didn't matter in the scheme of things and it wouldn't have made any difference to the vast majority of us, regardless of the outcome."

But I responded and told him I would publicize our dialog. He was writing to me in response to my asking for stats re: how many of us are left, how many disabled, etc. This was my reply:

"I appreciate what you have said, and I agree with you to an extent. But to never let anyone believe our brothers and sisters have died in vain? I for one, cannot ever let it go. Yes, I have let many things go - including the fact that I was an 18 year old kid thrust into a war that I had no idea was about - except I came from an era and was told, by my dad, friends, and of course the US Government that we had to fight the spread of communism. What crap, I am sure you would agree.

You see, in my opinion, Vietnam does matter in the scheme of things, especially when it comes to facts and figures - and more important, what continues to occur in Iraq and the current escalation in Afghanistan. You cannot fix what you cannot measure. 


It might be easy for some to forget what the US did in Vietnam, the loss of the 58,000 plus, the daily deaths as a result of the collateral damage known as Agent Orange, even now, 40 years later - but unless we remind each other, and continue to educate other people as well, we as humanity are destined to make the same mistakes, commit the same war crimes, and foster the same money making schemes we did back then. Yes, perhaps we have learned some lessons, but Monsanto continues to be a multi-billion dollar company and the US refuses to admit its war crimes.  Will the US government opt for chemical defoliants as a weapon in their war on the poppy trade, in Afghanistan?  If so, who you gonna call?

Look at our sons and daughters, our friends, and our allies, who are dying daily in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who knows how many years, how many generations, how many innocents as well as warriors will be affected - and for how long? We haven’t learned a thing as a nation, brother. My opinion - and perhaps many others' as well.

I do appreciate your feedback, and thanks.

Semper Peace!

Chuck"

The fact that light is still being shed on this topic is extremely important. The story has to keep on being told, and while war is war - how can the U.S. government decry human rights violations as it fails to stand up and take responsibility for the lives that have been torn apart because of a war that should never have been waged in the first place - along with the chemicals used to fight it?

www.VetSpeak.org