[Peace-discuss] Cockburn on Vietnam POWs

[David Green]

I'll look at the evidence with an open mind. Franklin's books include M.I.A., Or, Mythmaking in America and Vietnam and Other American Fantasies. I've only read the latter. At the very least, it's hard to understand the "cover-up", since the Reagan administration was on board with the whole POW/MIA exercise, as Franklin shows. As is often true in these cases, the conspiracy shoe may end up on the foot of the accusers--those who quite successfully promoted the POW/MIA mythology that resulted in the flag that waves by law at the the post office (if it still does).




________________________________
From: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu>
To: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>
Cc: Peace Discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Sat, May 29, 2010 1:22:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Cockburn on Vietnam POWs

I admit that Schanberg has been a dutiful imperial scribe.  Here's Chomsky on him more than 15 years ago:

    "...the press wasn't reporting what it knew. Until this day, we don't know a lot about the secret bombing of Cambodia, for a very simple reason - journalists like Sidney Schanberg, who is supposed to be 'the conscience of the press,' were sitting in Phonm Penh, refusing to interview the million and half refugees who were literally across the street. That's why we don't know about the secret war. It's not because of government lying..."

I do however remind you of what we've called "The Incompleteness Principle" on News from Neptune: "No one can be wrong all the time."


On 5/29/10 1:10 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> My memory is that Franklin (an acute, leftist literary critic) analyzed
> the motives, during the Reagan years, for believing in POWs-MIAs left
> behind: he saw at as part of the attempt to reverse the pervasive
> "Vietnam Syndrome."
> 
> But it's always important to distinguish the motives for holding a
> belief from the evidence for that belief. It's better to see what
> evidence Schanberg has than to ignore it. --CGE
> 
> 
> On 5/29/10 10:46 AM, David Green wrote:
>> For the record, AC is right about the USS Liberty, very very very likely
>> wrong about Vietnam POWs. A pretty shocking support for the POW
>> conspiracy theory. H. Bruce Franklin has been all over this for years.
>> http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn05282010.html
>> http://www.thenation.com/article/powmias-amp-john-mccain
>> DG
> 



      
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