◆ SpookStack

“ a eer eee a vee ee tet 8 GIA ro eee ar arerreer omen wee ne ~~. ‘ When one particularly heavyp—artitfery blast occurred, a staff member remarked that this would mean more in- jured villagers (mostly women, children, and old men) at the hospital. The next day when I visited the hospi- tal’s orthopedic ward I counted fifty-two people in twen- we fiue ede fonme hede held thrae snames turn: in eqme - Bpaive OCGR SOme OfGs he Garee, SOUS IWo, sn sme mases two beds were pulled together for three patients. ‘Two little boys on a stretcher on the floor were the sole survivors of an attack that had wiped out all the rest of their family. I talked to a nurse in the orthopedic ward, to a doctor in the hospital, and to two G.I. medics assigned to the Sospital’s emergency reception center. Each told me, in answer fo my questions, that over ninety per cent of the eevee) hy U.S. hambhe were pees etrer) imitrrrsaec wr these villagers were caused cy i. or Bek ba! -| and artillery fire. Why Noncombatants Are Attached “Fhe United States is fighting in Vietnam a war in which it cannot: distincuish the enemy combatant from tte th MMR PREEAPL Sees asssgeescek S2lk Rosh aly EarGaesse Ba heed: ‘the civilian villager. Often, no doubt, there is no sharp distinction. In areas declared to be free-fire zones any- thing that moves is fired on, and in any combat area - anyone—man, woman, or child—who tries to flee is likely - to be killed. In such a situation callous attitudes toward the innocent become commonplace, and the normal rights of civilians virtually disappear. “The U.S. armed forces - and civilian employees must carry out their tasks aware’ apf the fact that whatever they do or plan is probably = eetea ee Fe e@an 25 os Awermese being observed by an elusive and resourceful enemy hid- @en among the civilian population—including even that part of the civilian population that works for the Ameri- «ans. Thus tactics of mass terror are adopted that include the obliteration of entire areas, the removal of all civil- dans who can be rounded up into concentration points called refugee camps, and the killing of those who resist. The NLF, on the other hand, move about with con- @iderable freedom over the countryside and within the - Meee Sears Se Se hekrase Fuk SEER Renta es Fatty willages, towns, and cities. There are spectacular instances sgwhere they have come and gone without being hindered tor betrayed by Vietnamese populations presumed to be irelatively “pacified” and friendly. Exchange of fire with the Americans is usually on the NLF's own initiative _<and under circumstances offering them an advantage. Only then do they emerge from among the people and idee Les i join in direct military action. Often their hit-and-dis- | appear tactics, which could not possibly work except ;£2 =ppear tactics, ‘among a population that will not betray them, operate wo swiftly that they have hit and gone before any precise ‘sounteraction can be mounted. Massive terror tactics, like the US. fire-bombing -of #he hillsides outside Quang Ngai after the NLF jailbreak, were commonplace in situations of this sort against an en- harboring within its anidst a out of military comsidlerations and morality quite similar. ridden eneiny. They arise to those in World Wear IT when the Hitler forces would execute a given wumiber of males in a town whére an attack on the Gerenan troops had been initiated from asithin she selling sonolarian Weiliilid G4d0 Qi vast poi piel. ‘ewer oe a> Vieinam chese artilery and air attacks are more indis- criminate than were tne Hitler-type executions. Both must ‘be understood as serivor tactics undertaken by an armed force that has to espe with an enemy who can hide at will within the gemera! population. It was in this anmasphere that the September elections were held in Quamy "\gai and throughout the “pacified” sections of South Vietnam. The actual casting of the hallare saan ad err Emde ee mee the Fane sha ballots seemed in Bows oruci cacepi for the fact that in some areas, at lems, there was no effort made to keep voters from crawdimg, into the voting booths five or even ten at a time. Bur the counting and the tabulating of the totals left a grease deal to be desired: There were enormous discrepancies, never satisfactorily explained; Mee ALT WHE GAeTence four of the largest mewspapers in Saigon were closed down by government ordes; and when candidates undertook to hold a joint press conference after the balloting to fee eel oli a lane ae wet ot a ey - | ¥oice their cr, iticisns tert kt qutction they WEIL dispersed by order of the mayor of Saigon. . ow Renrcibing Targets Are Chosen One little-knowm Eact bearing on the election is this; hefare a willace in femarth Vietnam can he hambhed ar frs-' SE RRA AAR RA WSR SA RT LR AE te ee ek, on the military forces must get the approval of the dis. - trict chief. It is wep co him to say whether a village if friendly or hostile. the district chiefs all are appointees of General Ky. It ts logical to suppose that when the villagers voted they wvere aware that this was an oppor- ‘tunity to get their “Hioyalry” into the record against the day when the milicary. might ask permission of the district chief to bomb them. South Vietnam's mnlli tary iunte OU Vietnam & Dmitry junta somewhat legitimatized; for it to crush any Buddhist : and student demonstrations will be easier than before. South shas dias had tte ar Anu now dl@us 549 rv Gl ‘Vietnamese who Barwe been hoping for a “non-Front”™ alternative to the waclitary junta will be brought closer to the point where tiney must face the hard choice of ac- cepting military dicectorship and U.S. power or of join- ing the NLF. - It is my opinion, “based on a wide number of con- facts with Viera aie nf wine, Al acens snes =7 Weebla VSR TTERO a uiany Giaerent typo: ages, ana |Persuasions, that die Front will continue to grow in ‘strength, since it is mow the only refuge of those who feel” ‘that the massive mWitary intervention of the United - States does gross violence to Vietnam's integrity as a nation and robs its people of the sense of their own na* tionhood. More ana more Viernamese are coming to ire area which is suspected (and with good reason) ofthis, point of view. 7 i ites Et - that in inat ain. .