Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
Quote Originally Posted by stroller View Post
None of it equates to deliberately killing civilian nationals for reasons of revenge and retribution.
Got that right, Headmaster but is doesn't make good 'copy' for the American-bashers...
A lot of it did actually. The term used now is 'the Secret war'. The main air bases used to carry out the bombing were in Ubon Ratchathani & Korat(southern Laos and Cambodia) and Udon Thani (northern Laos and Vietnam).

Whilst not directly 'supporting' the VC, the peasants did supply them with food, and allow them to go unhindered (not as if they had much choice really). In return, the VC were quite diligent about not upsetting their 'Hosts' by plundering and raping. Plus of course the Peasants were 'Commie', which means their existence didn't matter, and well beyond the reach of Western media.

So the Agent orange was not just used to defoliate forests to deprive the VC of cover, it was also used on rice paddies and orchards- a clear act of retribution against the locals. Many villages in neutral Laos and Cambodia were bombed also.

Do you realise that Laos has had more tonnage of bombs dropped on it than any country in world history? [ Maybe Iraq or Afghan will topple it soon]. The Plain of Jars in north eastern Laos is pockmarked with bomb craters, fragments and unexploded ordinance to this day. So one could hardly call it a military action directed solely at the VC, with some unfortunate collateral damage.