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The Pendulum
Thursday, February 26", i
>19
Editorials
Agent Orange Frankly Speaking
Additional issues need to be raised
With the recent release of the movie, Platoon, many Vietnam era
issues are being reexamined. Lt. Elmo Zumwalt Hi’s visit to our cam
pus on Jan. 19 raised many questions concerning the use of the con
troversial defoliant Agent Orange.
Agent Orange was one of several defoliants sprayed by the U.S.
military on Vietnam and parts of Cambodia. It was used along various
travel water routes and over land routes, including the Ho Chi Minh
Trail.
Zumwalt argued tliat “there were thousands of Vietnam veterans
who were saved by Agent Orange, compared to hundreds who will
be affected by it (negatively).” This comment raises several very im
portant issues.
First of all, the Vietnamese people who live in the area where the
defoliant was used were and continue to be affected by Agent Orange.
It is prevalent in their drinking water and it contaminates the soil in
which they grow their food. The U.S. should do everything possible
to compensate these [>eople for the suffering that they have been fac
ed with.
Secondly, the figures given by Zumwalt are at best soft. There are
many people who were affected by Agent Orange that do not get into
the statistics. We do not yet know what effects the defoliant will have
on the children of the Vietnam veterans. They, too, must be included
in the statistics.
Another issue which must be looked at concerns the effectiveness
of the military’s use of Agent Orange. Was it the best strategy?
Although it cleared off many hundreds of thousands of acres of dense
foliage so that visibilty was improved, this did not necessarily help
to expose the Viet Cong. Instead, they moved underground to elaborate
tunnel networks which they had constructed. They could see us, but
we still could not see them.
One other issue that has been raised is that the Vietnam War and
the use of Agent Orange was profitable for a large number of people.
One group that profited from the war was the army. It provided a
testing ground for many new weapons, both chemical and conven
tional. Also, the Military Industrial Complex, which is the perma
nent arms industry for the U.S., profited economically from the war.
This was the group that provided the military with weapons, including
Agent Orange.
The issue of Agent Orange, along with others that have been rais
ed concerning the Vietnam War, needs to be examined closely. This
was a time of great conflict for our country and we need to come
to an understanding of the issues involved. Looking at any war from
a soley military strategy perspective excludes a more comprehensive
and, thus, humanistic point of view.
by Michele Lashley
Dr. Tom Arcaro, assistant professor of sociology, also contributed
to this editorial.
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