Making sense of war crimes, past and present

Re “Lasting Pain, Minimal Punishment,” Aug. 20

The accounts cited in this article about the actions of some during the war in Vietnam, combined with similar accounts regarding atrocities committed during the war in Iraq, cause me to say that “the truth will out” is a myth.

It appears that human denial trumps the truth in situations in which the pain of accepting reality exceeds the ability of the human mind to process it.

We even have a negative term in our lexicon -- “whistle-blowers” -- to depict those who report a truth that people do not want to accept, for whatever reason; thus, the truth-seekers, in so many instances, are the ones who become the victims. This is a puzzling human phenomenon.

KARL STRANDBERG

Long Beach

*

As a Vietnam veteran, I’m perplexed. Why, after almost 40 years, am I reading stories about “lasting pain,” “tortured pasts” and “civilian killings”?

What’s the point? Every war has experienced these realities; each side has been guilty of atrocities, big and small. Were the Viet Cong or the North Vietnamese army less guilty of war crimes? No. In war, everyone assumes the guilt.

Freedom of information is a wonderful thing, but what’s the point here?

Yes, we see this uncivilized behavior again in Iraq, but should that be a surprise? Inhumanity is not guided by who’s right or wrong. It is the nature of war. It is the nature of man’s inhumanity toward himself. Has this made the Vietnam War history more relevant?

Again, I ask you, “Why Vietnam now?” Were there fewer atrocities in World War II? Or in our Civil War? Or in our Indian wars?

I have an idea. Instead of front-page headlines about torture and death and pain, why not change the focus. As a Vietnam veteran, I do not deny the past. However, go beyond the shock headlines and dusty old files to discover something positive.

I, along with hundreds of other vets, am doing something to help the people of Vietnam.

War? Guilty as charged. But it’s what we’ve done since that matters.

MICHAEL LITTLE

Mission Viejo