CNN’s Offer to Settle in Nerve Gas Story Is Rejected

Eugene McCarley, the ground commander of the military unit that was the focus of a CNN story alleging the use of nerve gas by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, says that he has rejected a $250,000 settlement offer from the cable outlet and is readying a lawsuit on behalf of himself and other soldiers who were part of the Operation Tailwind mission.

McCarley, a retired lieutenant colonel who lives in Wilmington, N.C., said he is not satisfied that CNN and Time magazine retracted the story and apologized on July 2, because he feels they stopped short of saying the incident never happened. The news outlets said that CNN did not have sufficient evidence for the story alleging that U.S. troops used deadly nerve gas to kill American defectors in Laos in 1970.

“They called us war criminals; they said we used nerve gas on our own people,” McCarley, 63, said in an interview about the original report. “If people see it on the news, they believe it’s true. I’ve had friends of 40 years come up to me and ask me if I did this.”

McCarley said that the monetary offer from CNN came during recent talks at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters between his representative and the cable channel’s attorneys.

“They offered me the money for myself, but I wanted money for all the 16 men in my unit,” McCarley said.

He said that other members of his unit would be joining him in a libel suit over the story, which was aired on CNN’s “NewsStand” newsmagazine June 7 and published in Time magazine that same week.

CNN officials would not comment on any discussions with McCarley. The network recently confirmed that it had reached a monetary settlement over the story with retired Adm. Thomas Moorer, who was chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974. Moorer was cited by the CNN producers as a major source in confirming the use of nerve gas, but he later said that his statements had been mischaracterized.

McCarley, who was interviewed for the CNN story over the phone and on camera by producer April Oliver, maintained that he had told her that nerve gas was not used during the Laos mission.

“I told her repeatedly that the story was not true, but she did not want to hear it,” said McCarley, adding that he was seen in the telecast “for about 45 seconds” from an interview that lasted several hours. “Other men in the unit said the same thing.”

Oliver disputed McCarley’s account. “We included his denial, despite the fact that, earlier, he had said that very possibly something like nerve gas was used,” Oliver said.

During the broadcast, correspondent Peter Arnett said that McCarley had said off-camera that the use of nerve gas was “very possible,” while on-camera he was seen saying he “never considered the use of lethal gas” in any of his operations.

Time Warner, which owns CNN and Time magazine, is facing the possibility of other lawsuits that, if they went to trial, could lead to requests for video outtakes and further inquiry into the decisions by executives that led CNN and Time to go public with the story.

Retired Col. John Sadler Jr. and some other members of the Army’s Special Forces who were involved in Operation Tailwind have retained attorneys and say they are planning to sue over the story. “We’ll be filing a lawsuit over the conduct of CNN and Time,” Robert M. Friedman, the attorney for Sadler, said Friday.

And Oliver and Jack Smith, the two CNN producers who prepared the report and were fired after an internal investigation concluded that the evidence didn’t support their conclusion, also are thinking about taking their former employer to court.

“We’re considering our legal options,” Oliver said Friday. “Our story was approved by the top executives at CNN, and every word was vetted by CNN attorneys.”

The two producers continue to maintain that their story is accurate.

The Pentagon has said an investigation conducted after the CNN/Time report found “absolutely no evidence” to support the allegations.