The possibility that Iraqi civilians were massacred at Haditha has brought back painful memories for many about the infamous My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, according to Vanderbilt University Professor of History Thomas Alan Schwartz. “Like Haditha, My Lai was revealed to the American public at a point in time when support for the Vietnam War had dropped considerably, and the majority of the public wanted troop withdrawal. In another odd similarity, there is already discussion of whether there was a deliberate cover-up of the incident. Did commanding officers seek to downplay or suppress public knowledge of the crime?”
Schwartz says that one of the real dangers is that Haditha, similar to My Lai, could become sharply politicized, and the truth about the incident become secondary to opposing political agendas. During the controversy over the My Lai massacre, opponents of the war argued that the individual soldiers like William Calley, the only man convicted for My Lai, were scapegoats, and that the real responsibility rested with the leaders in Washington. On the other hand, supporters of the war excused the massacre with a “war is hell” attitude and rejected the idea that any American soldier be punished for war crimes. “The result of this politicization was that the exceptional nature of the crimes at My Lai was lost, and a distorted view about the average behavior of American soldiers in Vietnam became widely accepted,” he said.
Schwartz is a presidential historian and U.S. foreign policy expert whose teaching and research includes the Vietnam War, trans-Atlantic politics, the Cold War and NATO. He is the author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam. He is currently working on a biography of Henry Kissinger. To arrange an interview with Schwartz, please call 615-322-2706 or email thomas.a.schwartz@vanderbilt.edu.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu