Half a century ago the US escalated its assault on Vietnam, invading and then occupying the country for a decade with all the attendant imperial trappings: free-fire zones, strategic hamlets, body counts. US terrorism and crimes against humanity were the order of the day, and anyone who claims now that the effort was well-intentioned or naive or somehow innocent is lying. Yes, many Americans suffered and the whole country was injured, but that changes nothing in terms of the cruel intentions and the real responsibility of the war-makers—beware the popular revisionist histories being rolled out to do the dirty work of white-washing the record and brain-washing us all. The anti-war movement spread and rose up—a hopeful and generous moment—but we did not end the war. It dragged on and on with no end in sight. Six thousand people a week were murdered. Six thousand. We marched, we organized, we made art, we made sacrifices, we resisted. Six thousand murders a week. Some of us even organized a campaign of sabotage against military and government targets. And the war went on and on, until the Vietnamese themselves defeated the most powerful armed force ever assembled in history. That imperial military force is still loose in the world, still invading and occupying country after country, spreading terror in all directions, even recklessly threatening a nuclear exchange. What is to be done? We need to mobilize and build an unstoppable anti-war movement now, linked with the ongoing fight to create a just and joyful beloved community. It’s coming.
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Bill Ayers 