Grim's Hall

"Tiger Force":

The Toledo Blade has published a startling series on American brutality in Vietnam. The report details intentional massacres of civilians by members of the 101st Airborne's "Tiger Force" unit. American soldiers slaughtered civilians, mutilated bodies, cut off ears to make necklaces. Witnesses describe digging dozens of mass graves.

The Pentagon has said it will not investigate these charges.

THE US Defence Department has refused to reopen an investigation into suspected atrocities committed in Vietnam by a special US Army reconnaissance unit, despite new allegations of war crimes, including ghastly killings and torture of Vietnamese civilians.

"Absent new and compelling evidence, there are no plans to reopen the case," a Pentagon spokesman told AFP. "The case is more than 30 years old."

The Pentagon had damn well better reconsider. Just this weekend, Human Rights Watch issued a report on American soldiers' use of force in Iraq. They charge that our soldiers--including the 101st Airborne, who have on 5 October announced that they will be using "Tiger Force" teams to act as airborne snipers to protect pipelines--have used "indiscriminate" force, and that the Pentagon is not investigating criminal charges.

No deliberate slaughter of civilians is alleged by HRW, whose report is respectful in tone. I have no doubt that our boys are acting valiantly. However, the brass should be emphatic about enforcing military law in a transparent fashion. It is the argument of the American government that the American military can be counted upon to use force in a just way, and that the viciousness of Saddam made it right to depose him.

Now we have credible reports that members of the American army behaved in much the same fashion during Vietnam, down to the mass graves. The HRW report, with its attendant pictures, brings this history forward and ties it to Iraq. The same units are involved. The Pentagon's refusal to investigate either set of charges give the appearance of a pattern of behavior. The appearance is unfair: today's Army is a magnificent thing. To make certain that distinction is not lost, we ought to put these charges to the test. If there has been wrongdoing, let it be punished. If not, let us clear the air. The honor of the US Army must be defended. This can be done only by showing the world that it holds to its high standards with rigor.