Word: lai
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Over two years ago in a village called My Lai, the U.S. Army believes that some of its soldiers participated in the massacre of unarmed Vietnamese men, women and children. Last week Lieut. William L. Galley went on trial at Fort Benning, Ga., for the premeditated murder of 102 My Lai villagers. In all, the Army has charged 17 men in connection with the incident. As Galley's court-martial got under way, the first of these soldiers to come to trial, S/Sgt. David Mitchell, 30, was exonerated by a military court at Fort Hood, Texas...
...trial marked by peculiarities. The trial judge prohibited four key prosecution witnesses from testifying because a House subcommittee that had investigated My Lai had not released transcripts of the soldiers' testimony during the committee's closed hearings. The U.S. Army prosecutor rested the case against Mitchell after only six hours. Just three witnesses were called by the prosecution, although 14 had been subpoenaed and seven were at Fort Hood waiting to take the stand. At that time Prosecutor Captain Michael Swan tried to dismiss speculation that the abbreviated case was an attempt to whitewash the events...
...trying to undermine and destroy the military of this country. They'd love to gut the military because when you gut the military, you destroy a country. Every time you turned around, some liberal bird would get out and make a speech or write a book about [My Lai]. This decision will have impact on all young men who will serve their country. We need soldiers such as Sgt. Mitchell," Brown concluded. "Let's not betray...
...such simplistic arguments. Trial Judge Colonel Reid W. Kennedy indicated that he would allow defense lawyers to examine witnesses about broader areas, such as Army policy toward search-and-destroy missions and "free-fire zones," thus calling into question not only Lieut. Galley's conduct at My Lai, but the conduct of the Viet...
...after sifting a number of cases, including the events and trials relating to Song My, Taylor concludes, that the U.S. seems to be committing war crimes that violate legal precedents established by the Geneva Conventions and the 1956 Army Manual. Taylor's concern is mainly My Lai-like incidents, the killing of prisoners and destruction of villages suspected of harboring Viet Cong...