The Ithacan, 1972-04-14
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Ithaca College Digital Commons @ IC The thI acan, 1971-72 The thI acan: 1970/71 to 1979/80 4-14-1972 The thI acan, 1972-04-14 The thI acan Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ithacan_1971-72 Recommended Citation The thI acan, "The thI acan, 1972-04-14" (1972). The Ithacan, 1971-72. 25. http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ithacan_1971-72/25 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the The thI acan: 1970/71 to 1979/80 at Digital Commons @ IC. It has been accepted for inclusion in The thI acan, 1971-72 by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ IC. ... ., ..... ' ...... ' ... ·1 I 'If you want to IMIP otti. people you flaw• ,ot to make up · your mind to wrtte tftlnp tllat so111• man wlll colNleffln." Tllomaa M•rton / e 1- -acan Ithaca, New York, April 14. 1972 POX AMERICANA the air• war local action "One friend of mine went to the through instant communications and "American dollars cannot buy the Porter as being well timed because the village to get rice for his mother and the almost instant application of highly Vietnamese people. and American 6000 active U.S. troops that remain in father to eat ... He crossed the field to lethal firepower.·· bombs cannot scare the Vietnamese • Vietnam arc not enough to sway the the hill and the airplanes saw him· and General William Westmoreland people." balance of fighting. He also stated that shot and killed him so that you couldn't These are the words of Nguyen Thi the South Vietnamese government's even find his body. It was scattered all Banh, a Vietnamese student. describing army is extremely corrupt and That monster known as automated over the field." her feelings about the war in Asia. She d1scourJgt•d, mainly because so many of Lao Child warfare comprised of aircraft, oversized spoke at a Teach-In on the Vietnam its troops have been forced 11110 service air bases and aircraft carriers has War. held Tuesday night at Ithaca by press gangs. Coupled with that 1s the Vietnam. Remember Vietnam'? become the main manifestation of College, af which the principal speaker fact that the years between 1970-72 Well, it's the springtime again and American involvement in Southeast was Gary Porter, recently ro.:turned from have been very bad cconom1cally for that old war just keeps on coming. This Asia. When Kennedy and Johnson chose Vietnam. The main topic of discussion South Vietnam, with inflallon raising year, however, there are some new to escalate, their preferred method was was making the people of Vietnamese prices to four or five times their developments that may or may not be to dispatch further ground troops. When Revolution less of a faceless ahstrJction previous level. All I his is felt by Porter considered improvements. Nixon escalates he does it by further use to the American people. to be important in the timing of the Begun last week, a ground offensive of B-52's and aircraft carriers. By so "The most important thing," offensive. on three fronts by North Vietnamese doing, he is able to replace American e xplaincd Proter. "is to he able to Both Porter and Nguyen Thi Banh Troops has overrun the provinces below personnel with machines so as to identify with the repressed and believe that the anti-war movement in the demilitarized zone and brought decrease expenses, reduce dissension at exploited poor peasant in Vietnam." the United States has played a .very Nat ion al Liber.ttion Front forces to home, increase combat efficiency, and The peasants whom he termed the important role in the Revolution, within 25 miles of Saigon earlier this remove the war from the eye of the "backbone and the motor of the although many anti-war activists arc too .week. The Viet Cong's Chief Delegate to public or of the media and so make it Vietnam Revolution" arc seeking two close to the problem to sect heir effect. the Paris Peace talks explained that the secret and unsusceptible to· things: liberation from foreign The importance of contmuing the overall purpose of these actions is to congressional or public pressure. domination, and from rich landlords. He expression of public rage al government establish '!I coalition government in The air war destroys everything traced I he history of the Vietnam war tactics was cmpha~ized. Nixon they Saigon. Overcast skies have forced below it: homes, schools, and of course Revolution in terms of these peasants: insisted testing the American public to limitation .of United States air strikes any people caught out in the open. The emphasizing that it was the great sec to what extent increased bombing , into North Vietnam, but heavy Air only strictly military targets noticeable pressure of their subjugation that led or, perhaps even a re-entry of American action was reported in the South. The from the air are roads and bridges and a them to struggle for the overthrow of troops into new combat, will be South is operating without reserve few factories in North Vietnam that the elitist Saigon government. tolerated. The people must display their strength as all troops have been were destroyed by 1965. The Air Force · The Vietnam Revolution was solidarity with the fight of the committed to action. While United and the Navy have introduced presented at the Teach-In as a class Vietnamese peasants by any necessary thousands of· aircraft into the States ground forces are supposedly not struggle in which the landlords who arc action. Mass civil disobedience is involved in combat, as many as seven lndoChinese skies with orders not to su pportcd by I he Unit cd S !ates planned as an emergency tadic this American Air Craft Carriers off the return to their b~scs without dropping , government have already lost power, weekend in front of the White House, coast of Vietnam as well as air bases in their bombs. As a result, pilots financially, politically, and socially. The followed by a demonstration next Guam, lndoChina·and the Phillipines arc systematically destroy the; civilian and· Revolution and the National Liberation weekend in New York lo show that preparing the most massive air assault in social structures miles below their Front arc not synonomous with Americans arc vehemently opposed to the. history of mankind. Official U.S. bombsights. Communism in Vietnam: but intensified bombing in Asia. sources said that the raids on North Communism was the only ideology that Another part of the Teach In was the Vietnam ordered by President Nixon "H oneywells production of appe~d to the rural poor who have presentation of the Ni\ RMIC" slide show were aimed at nearly every imaginable fragmentation weapons has greatly been f' oppressed for- so long. It was through Tuesday afternoon. This is a target. The New York Times reported increased since Nixon took office and brought ·'gut that land reform is one of : moving compilation of pictures and text that "tens of thousands of South began "winding down" the war. In the chief ·aims of the Revolution, and ·whh:h demonstrates the extent and Vietnamese who lived in the conquered 1968 the Army bought 41,987,278 Communism provided the best means ferocity of the U.S. air war in Asia. The area are moving out because when the fragmentation weapons. In 1970, it for the people to ob_tain that reform. slides include picture!. of young bombing starts in earnest it will bought 101,001,700-more than twice Until 1968 the United Stales Vietnamese c.:hildrcn and other civilians probably be heavily destructive." as many. As measured by corporate government opposed land reform in who have been maimed by In a confused parliamentary session production of killing machinery, the Vietnam siding with the wealthy ant i-pcrsonncl bombs. This typt: of on Tuesday, the United States Congress war is winding up, not down." landowners. Porter related that, al that bomb is not meant to destroy military voted against declaring war in Honeywell Project, "Honeywell: time the U.S. was engaged in a "drain targets, but instead is aimed at the lndoChina at this time. One Senator Controller of Power, Masters the rural sea" campaign to force the destruction of individuals: and the __ C:..XJ?.lained -~~at_jt wa~l!.i!. tQ. expect_ of WAR," 1971_ NLF out of the countryside. S nee the computers whic.:h control these devices Senators to vote either yea or nay on Tct Offensive however, the United do not discriminate between children the issue. The Automated Air War is dependent States has become more sophisticated and soldiers. That same day, the Pentagon upon weapons manufacturing and and attempts to buy off the peasants by Gary Porter urged everyone not lo announced that they were not going to research in this country and therefore bringing in farm tools and agriculturnl loose faith in the Vil'tnamcsc release any mote information the war business is a very profitable one. techniques to raise production and to Revolution. although he !.CC!. it as a long concerning their activities in the air war Congress was not informed until get the people to consider themselves as and continuing struggle. Nguyen Thi they are currently waging. November 1970 of the military small scale capitalists. Banh also stressed that the Vietnamese expenditures necessary for tht: Porter further explained that the people arc not fighting the American automatic battlefield. Those expenses Vietnamese Revolution must rely on the people, but the Nixon controlled "I see battlefields or combat areas began with the creation of the Defense ideological appeal of nationalism and American government.