Photo: My Lai Massacre Victims Taken by US Army photographer Public Domain
While the United Nations and Al Jazzera have become hysterical over the inquiry into the soldier accused of executing a Palestinian terrorist, it might be worthwhile to recall two other trials which took place during the height of the War in Viet Nam.
In short: In March of 1968 a company of about 100 American soldiers entered a village “suspected” of communist sympathies. There were no soldiers there, only about 600 or so elders, women, children and infants.
The Americans proceeded to execute and gang rape the villagers and the death count varies between 350 to 500 killed.
26 soldiers were charged with criminal offences, but ONLY one was convicted of any serious crime: Lt. William Calley was convicted of killing 22 people and sentenced to life in prison, but received a presidential pardon from Nixon and spent 2 years under house arrest and another 1 1/2 in a special detention area, but not a prison. Eventually, after 3 1/2 years the Secretary of the Army ordered his release.
Calley maintained he was “only following orders”, but the man who actually gave those orders was acquitted. How is that possible?
It was possible, because the officer in question: Captain Medina insisted he never gave orders to kill the people in the village (All this was similar to the Teapot Dome Scandal where an American Secretary of the Interior was found guilty of accepting bribes from Sinclair Oil Company, but no one from the Sinclair Oil Company was found guilty of giving bribes).
In addition, Captain Medina was tried ONLY for 1st degree murder of one Vietnamese women because, even though she clearly had her hands up in the air, Captain Medina "thought" she might have had a hand grenade (she didn't).
In conclusion: although many, many soldiers testified to seeing Captain Medina fire his rifle repeatedly, not one person could testify, or did testify, that he had actually seen Captain Medina’s bullets enter into the body of a Vietnamese, hence Captain Medina was never charged with any other murders.
In other words…without question Captain Medina fired his gun again and again, over 350 bodies were lying on the ground all around him, but no one could prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that it was one of his bullets that actually resulted in the death of any of the villagers (except of course the one Vietnamese woman who Captain Medina thought was concealing weapons of mass destruction).
So, Captain Medina went free and was never charged with anything else….
As far as Israel is concerned, there is an interesting corollary to this story:
At that time Israel’s best friend: Jimmy Carter was then governor of the state of Georgia. Governor Carter was just horrified by the events at My Lai and so he ordered the people of Georgia to drive with their lights on for a week
BUT !!!
Not to show their sympathy for the victims of mass murder and gang rape….
Oh no, Governor Carter wanted the citizens of Georgia to drive around with their lights on for a week in order to show support for the troops whose: “good name” was being besmirched by the media coverage of the massacre….
It would be interesting to hear Jimmy Carter’s opinions on the recent events in Hebron….