Myth: The US military routinely used inhumane tactics on the people, while the VC were benefactors
Fact: This is one of the most scurrillous accusations of the war. It is completely and provably false.
- No one has ever found a single document stating that it was US policy to commit atrocities.
- Numerous documents exist proving that it was official policy of the North Vietnamese government to commit atrocities.
- The worst known incident from the Vietnam War of atrocities committed by American troops was the My Lai massacre - 504 were murdered.
- The worst known incident from the Vietnam War of atrocities committed by the communists was the Tet massacre in Hue - more than 5000 were murdered.
- Critics point to US bombing as evidence of atrocities, however, the location and impact of those bombs is never discussed.
- The rules of engagement for Vietnam were so crazy that President Johnson once boasted that the Air Force "couldn't hit an outhouse without [his] permission".
Confirming Evidence
The Effects Of Restrictive Rules Of Engagement On The Rolling Thunder Air Campaign
VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST PARTY'S 50 YEARS OF CRIMES
BIASED IN VIETNAM WAR ATROCITIES' REPORTS
Aggression From the North: The Record of North Viet-Nam's Campaign to Conquer South Viet-Nam