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'Withdrawal'

By VVAW

An Editorial

A recent East Coast writer began his column with: "During the last week, more Americans were killed in New York City than in Vietnam...", then went on to praise Nixon's phased withdrawal program. The writer's name and particular publication are not important for they could be any of the thousands of media barometers who react according to the prescribed administration atmosphere, in this case reflected by Nixon's recent declaration that "...the war is no longer an issue."

Washington is now orchestrating a program of concern for economic policy, as directed by Nixon's "phase I" and "phase II"; plus a statesmanship coup in the form of election year trips to the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Soviet Union.

Nixon's only concession to world concern over the ongoing Indochina war ,is his announcement of "increased troop withdrawal", and subsequent promise that by summer 1972 (national political convention time), "all but about 50,000 GI's will be home, and those remaining in Vietnam will all be professional soldiers and volunteers".

And that of course, is exactly what we are afraid of; a war being waged half-way around the world by "professional soldiers and volunteers", a war which quickly forgotten by the media and the American people (there are still 50,000 troops in Korea). But lowering the number of US troops doesn't change the immorality of the war or necessarily even lower the number of Asian casualties.

For as Al Hubbard recently pointed out while addressing a meeting of the P.C.P.J. In Chicago, "At this very moment...more than a thousand multi-million dollar machines of war are hovering in many-layered orbits over the towns and villages of Indochina. Giant computers, seismic and acoustic sensors, infrared heat seeking devices, standard and automatic radar, and starlight scopes, are all seeking out any sign of human life.

In the next hour, 200,000 lbs. Of napalm, white phosphorous, fragmentation bombs, standard and delayed-action 250, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 pounds high explosive bombs, horizontally exploding ball bearing 'pineapple' anti-personnel bombs, diagonally exploding ball bearing 'guava' anti-personnel bombs, un-X-ray-able fiberglass pellet anti-personnel bombs, and laser and teleguided missiles and bombs will rain down upon Indochina, part of the more than one quarter million tons that will fall before Christmas.

It is apparent to us that the dropping of 90,000 tons of bombs per month (average monthly tonage during the LBJ administration was 67,000) is not 'winding down the war'. When there are 130,000 civilian casualties per month, as opposed to 95,000 per month during the Johnson reign, this is not 'winding down the war'. In fact, the increased emphasis on bombing by the Nixon Administration constitutes, "the most savage and protracted warfare against civilian targets in the hist of armed conflict."

Our advanced military technology has made it possible for fewer soldiers to kill more people. The implementation of the "automated battlefield" in Indochina means that will only 50,000 or so troops, we can continue to kill Indochinese at the same, or even greater, numbers, with very few casualties of our own.

And this proposed "protective reaction force" will continue to serve as the experimental unit for testing new and even more devastating weapons of war on the Asian people. Such weapons as the laser guns and missiles now being perfected at Monzano Base in N.M. Under the code name "Black Eye"; or the terrible "Explosive Mist", an aerosol bomb that sprays a dense fog over a large area, then ignites it with explosive 'shock waves unlike any other bomb'; or the huge new 7,500 lbs. "Hamburger" bombs which kill everything for a quarter mile, even the worms in the ground.

We of the VVAW reject the concept of "Vietnamization", which encourages, supplies, and pays Asians to kill Asians. We do not want to see a residual force of any kind left in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Guam, Okinawa or on "Yankee Station" in the Tonkin Gulf, especially a force of mercenary and conscious less "professionals and volunteers" accountable only to themselves and the president and or CIA. To those of us who have fought in Indochina the war will always be an issue. We will not relegate the war to history nor can we ignore the political and humanitarian lessons we learned from it. We will never forget, and we will not let anyone ever forget. 300 MORE INDOCHINESE DEAD TODAY AMERICA!