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Saturday, February 02, 2008

Which Of These Men Was a Hero?

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the publication of this Eddie Adams photograph, one of two images that arguably did more than any others to turn the American public against the Vietnam War. (The other photo is here.)

Taken by the late great Adams during the 1968 Tết offensive, it shows Nguyen Ngoc Loan, South Vietnam's national police chief, shooting a prisoner who was said to be a Viet Cong captain. Adams, an Associated Press photographer, won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo.

Daniel Finkelstein of Times Online asks which of these men did Adams think was a hero.

A loaded question to be sure, but nevertheless a worthy one and all the more so in light of the latest outrage out of Iraq: The use of two mentally retarded women carrying remote-controlled explosives in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars yesterday, killing upwards of 100 people, in what some observers are saying is part of a so-called "Terrorist Tết" by Al Qaeda.

Were the women heroes?

How about the hypocritical condemnations from Secretary of State Rice and other American officials whose war without end is the underlying reason for the bombings?

Does any of this matter?
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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous11:53 AM

    Neither are heroes. They were both doing what they thought was correct I suppose.

    Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

    As you can see even the antiwar's candidate will continue with those bombs from the sky which you decry. I bet its terrible to be so antiwar and to have to contemplate voting for someone who will continue with targeted air strikes against al quaida that might kill innocents along with the guilty.

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