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Volume 1 Number 4 Fall 2015 Donations Accepted Peace in Our Times A Veterans For Peace publication exposing the root causes and enormous costs of war Capt. Mena Sandoval: A Different Kind of Soldier By John Lamperti The Salvadoran army was carrying out a major counterinsurgency operation they called “Hammer and Anvil,” using scorched-earth tactics, banned in the 1977 Geneva Conventions, to clear northern Morazán of “subversion.” Capt. Francisco Emilio Mena Sandoval’s unit was respon- sible for capturing Villa El Rosario, a vil- lage of about 1000 people which at the time Capt. Francisco Emilio Mena Sandoval (left). also harbored many refugees from army operations further north; a captured teen- they were going capture the town without ager told the soldiers that all the guerrillas using any artillery or bombing. “It was a were gone. “I began to think,” Mena wrote big responsibility, so I went in first,” he South Korean authorities carry the author (with yellow umbrella) away from protest in later, “and I remembered that lieutenant wrote. Two sons of the village civil guard Ganjeong Village, Jeju, South Korea [Lt. William Calley] who had been tried commander appeared, then their father. for committing a massacre in Vietnam. “Orejas” (informers) with the soldiers The next morning I told the commanding denounced these three as guerrillas and officer that the information we had about they were taken prisoner. Mena and his Peace Movement Must that village was contradictory, and I asked men then entered El Rosario without fir- permission to clarify it with him. But he ing a shot. He reported by radio that he said my orders were clear: attack at 10:00. had captured his objective without any ‘Pivot’ into Asia-Pacific That meant to call in air strikes and bom- casualties and was told he had a new mis- By Bruce K. Gagnon which form some of the most spectacu- bard the town with artillery.” sion: “All that village is a guerrilla base. lar temperate Octocoral forests on earth, Instead of making that call, Captain Destroy it, and don’t leave anyone alive.” Unexpectedly on Sept. 16 the first are being destroyed, as dredging is under Mena traveled by helicopter to Perquín to Mena looked around in Villa El Rosario Navy Aegis destroyer (outfitted with so- way to make it possible for U.S. warships confront the colonel in person. The dis- as his men forced the people to assemble called “missile defense” systems aimed at to port there. The U.S. Navy handed base cussion went nowhere; he was again or- in the town square. The population was China) pulled into the new Navy base in specifications to the Korean government dered to attack. He talked it over with his swollen to several times its normal size Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, South some years ago. The villagers’ eight-year four subordinate officers, and told them continued on page 18 … Korea. The base, which will port Penta- campaign against the base has resulted in gon aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, 700 people being arrested and more than and Aegis destroyers, is rumored to be 50 jailed (one as long as 15 months, just heading toward an early December offi- for blocking cement trucks). cial opening. While I was in Gangjeong On my last day on Jeju Island, I was village in late August, the Navy was be- taken to Jeju City to do a radio interview ginning to work on construction of a new about my experiences there. As my trans- front gate—in the process taking even lator and I sat in the station lobby waiting more precious farming land from the to go on the air, we heard a news broad- small village. cast that said the South Korean Navy was As the Aegis arrived at the new Jeju planning to file a court action against Navy base, activists slid kayaks off the Gangjeong villagers for $20 million on rocks into the sea. (Their universal ac- behalf of Samsung Corporation (the lead cess to the public port is being increas- Navy base construction contractor). The ingly blocked by the South Korean Coast claim is that their eight-year nonviolent Guard.) They paddled out toward what protest in the village has “obstructed turned out to be five ships entering port business operations” and resulted in de- on this occasion. Other activists stood lays and profit loss. Upon hearing about along the rocks with signs and banners as this plan to demand $20 million from this they tried to defend the sacred memory small village (fewer than 2,000 citizens) of the beloved Gureombi coastline—now I was told village elders cried out “The blasted and covered in concrete. Navy is trying to kill our village!” Names of families murdered in El Mozote massacre in 1981, El Salvador, when members of The 500-year-old fishing and farming When the Global Network Against the Salvadoran Army’s specialized Atlacatl Battalion entered the village on their way to a guerrilla stronghold in northern Morazán. Although the village was known for its neutrality community is being torn apart to host Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space in the conflict between leftist guerrillas and repressive government forces, members of the base. Just offshore, the UNESCO- first got involved helping to support the battalion—trained by the U.S. military—raped and massacred the entire population, recognized endangered soft coral forests, continued on page 14 … estimated to be between 200 and 700 men, women, and children.. 2 V1N4—Fall 2015 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org Letters A Note from the Editors The Asia Pivot, U.S. Militarism, and Agent Orange Relief In each issue of Peace in Our States. And while Russia supplies and covertly, attempting to bring Times, we invite one of our editors most of Viet Nam’s military hard- Viet Nam into its orbit. Many Viet- to contribute an essay reflecting her ware, the Vietnamese are not averse namese are well aware of such U.S. or his point of view on a topic im- to obtaining sophisticated U.S. mili- machinations and watch closely such portant to VFP. Below are Tarak tary technology as well. At the same organizations as the National En- Kauff’s reflections on the current time, since Viet Nam has long been dowment for Democracy (NED) and political scene in Viet Nam. able to get whatever it needed from U.S. Agency for International De- its closest ally, Russia, it is doubt- velopment (USAID), both of which In 1954 the fiercely independent ful that they will endanger that rela- have a long history of less than be- Vietnamese crushed the U.S. backed tionship by getting too cozy with the nign covert operations. French Colonial Army at Dien Bien United States. In December 2014, police in Ho Phu and then in 1975, after some 15 Viet Nam also has a relationship Chi Minh City arrested two blog- years of brutal fighting and millions with China to weigh in the balance, gers for alleged anti-government of casualties, North Viet Nam and the and there is concern among the Viet- postings. It turns out many dissident National Liberation Front of South namese about how China will react bloggers, and probably those two as Viet Nam defeated the U.S. military to U.S.-Viet Nam military dealings. well, are not simply critical of the ‘I’m just hoping we can keep this whole thing under control and its proxy South Vietnamese army. The Vietnamese have not forgot- Vietnamese government; they are after the police find out we’re stealing their pensions!’ funded by NED and represent U.S.- backed agents of sedition. The United States, with such Finding the Courage with VFP agencies as NED and USAID often I just want to thank you for all the work you put into working closely with the CIA, has VFP over the years. Just the existence of VFP has made wreaked havoc in many countries. my life a little easier. The convention was an amazing Quite often, however, they are ex- experience. I learned so much in a brief period of time posed and by this time most politi- and am thankful for every bit of it, even though some of cally sophisticated people are watch- it was difficult to handle. The convention gave me the ful of them. courage to speak up. Tonight I went to my local school The Vietnamese no less so. board meeting and proposed that they remove JROTC That being the case, USAID, in from the school. I wouldn’t have had the courage to do particular, although still watched that if it weren’t for VFP. To my surprise, my presenta- carefully by the Vietnamese, has tion went over well and I was thanked by many of the been on somewhat good behavior in school board members for raising such an important is- Viet Nam since the end of the Amer- sue. So, I just wanted to say thanks. You have helped me May 7, 1954: A Vietnamese soldier waves flag after capturing the French ican war there. find the courage to try to make the world a better place. command post in Dien Bien Phu. The fighting began March 13, 1954, and 56 days The Vietnamese, as well as U.S. Mike Peterman later, shell-shocked survivors of the French garrison hoisted the white flag to government operatives, recognize signal the end of one of the greatest battles of the 20th century. U.S. Army, 2002-06 that if the organization pursued ne- farious ends in all its “international But the U.S.

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