PEERS : The My Lai inquiry (fülszöveg)
Although it has been more than ten years since the infamous My Lai incident (March 16, 1968), a comprehensive account of the operation itself and of the Army's inquiry into those events has not been available until now.
General Peers, a combat veteran of three wars, including Vietnam, headed the official inquiry and knows as much as any one person about what actually happened at My Lai. Equally important, he knows what happened – or didn't happen – afterward.
The Inquiry made its way through a jungle of contradictory testimony, genuine or feigned memory loss, and refusals to testify. What emerged was a frightening picture of much more than individual acts like those of Lieutenant Calley or General Koster. It was what General Peers – not one to mince words – calls "an illegal operation in violation of military regulations and human rights, starting with the planning and continuing through the brutal, destructive acts of many of the men who were involved, and culminating in aborted efforts to investigate and, finally, the suppression of the truth" at every level, from individual soldiers to the very top echelon of the division command.
General Peers analyzes the massive leadership failure during and after the My Lai incident, discusses the Inquiry's (and his own) recommendations for reform, and candidly reports on the Army's reactions to these suggestions.
General Peers is deeply critical, yet his respect for and belief in the American military remains steadfast: he sees the My Lai incident and cover-up not as an outgrowth of the Army's principles and regulations but as a profound disregarding of these high standards.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
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