Afghanistan, Iraq & Vietnam veteran accounts of war crimes are eerily similar | Warscapes
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This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Winter Soldier Investigations, a three-day media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) featuring over 100 honorably discharged veterans testifying in regards to war crimes committed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
The intention of the Winter Soldier Investigation was to highlight the ongoing nature of war crimes as part of the U.S. military’s operating procedure. William Crandell, a first lieutenant of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade Americal Division stationed in Vietnam, delivered the opening statement of the WSI: “We intend to show that war crimes in Vietnam did not start in March 1968, or in the village of Son My or with one Lt. William Calley. We intend to indict those really responsible for My Lai, for Vietnam, for attempted genocide.”
In his opening statement, Crandell gave a short speech on the nature of war crimes:
“A war crime is more and other than war. It is an atrocity beyond the usual barbaric bounds of war…Deliberate killing or torturing of prisoners of war is a war crime. Deliberate destruction without military purpose of civilian communities is a war crime. The use of certain arms and armaments and of gas is a war crime. The forcible relocation of population for any purpose is a war crime. All of these crimes have been committed by the U.S. government over the past ten years in Indochina.”
Hart Viges, a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq, revealed stories of “kill counts” and “kill games” during the Iraq and Afghanistan Winter Soldier testimony held in 2008 by the Iraq Veterans Against the War as a follow-up to the original WSI. He also stated, “We never went on a raid where we got the right house or the right person”, and rarely found evidence of the civilians being of “enemy” relations; in one case, a single small pistol was considered enough evidence to take a whole family as prisoners.
A non-biased, independent investigation into evidence of war crimes is crucial to ensuring accountability. Without proper oversight, war crimes will continue, and the power of military personnel will go unchecked.
The International Criminal Court is a just alternative to the internal investigations that are often conducted in cases involving allegations of criminal activity during conflict. However, the U.S.’s non-participation in the ICC precludes American soldiers from trial in the Court. The danger of internal investigations lies in the skewed lens of justice and truth in institutions like the U.S. military that are built to justify certain deadly force.
The cycle of crimes without consequence continues.