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Numerous accounts of Iraqi prison abuse scandals began emerging just a few months following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the best known of which took place at the Abu Ghraib prison. The abuse became public knowledge in April 2004 when 60 Minutes II TV news and The New Yorker magazine reported on the story complete with graphic images depicting torture, sodomy, homicide and various forms of humiliation of Iraqi inmates by US military personnel. Subequent criminal investigation led to the removal of seventeen soldiers and officers from duty, a majority of whom, most notably Specialist Charles Graner and his former fiancée Specialist Lynndie England, were found guilty in courts marshall, sentenced to prison and/or dishonorably discharged from the army.

Somalia Affair

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In 1993, gruesome photographs of a 16-year-old Somali boy Shidane Arone being beaten to his death shocked the Canadian public and the world in what became known as the Somalia Affair. The crime, which was committed by two Canadian soldiers participating in the United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Somalia, revealed serious problems in discipline and leadership among the ranks of the Canadian Airborne regiment that went beyond the pair involved. The government decision to cut short its inquiry and persistent allegations of cover-up to protect senior officers resulted in the dissolution of the regiment, extensively damaging the morale and international reputation of Canadian Armed Forces.

Dreyfus Affair

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The Dreyfus Affair was a scandal that deeply divided French society at the end of the 19th century. It involved a Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, who in 1894 was convicted of treason for selling military secrets to Germany and sentenced to life imprisonment in Devil’s Island, a penal colony off French Guiana. Four years later, the military courts acquitted French Major Ferdinand Esterhazy despite new evidences proving that he had carried out the crime for which Dreyfus was imprisoned. In a campaign to sway public opinion in Dreyfus’ favor, Emile Zola published an open letter entitled “J’accuse,” accusing the highest levels of the French Army of obstruction of justice and anti-Semitism. The case against Dreyfus collapsed when Esterhazy eventually confessed to falsifying the evidence against him. Dreyfus was pardoned by President of the Republic but it was not until 1906 that he was fully exonerated of all charges and reinstated in the army.

The Holocaust

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In his quest for a racially pure nation populated by his idea of blond blue-eyed master race, German leader Adolf Hitler, who took power in 1933 under the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, set about to systematically exterminate the Jewish population, first in Germany and then across Europe. Other groups that who did not fit his vision were also eliminated: the disabled, homosexuals, political opponents, various religious groups, and so called “racial aliens”-Blacks, Gypsies and Slavs. Concentration camps brutally ran by the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi elite paramilitary force, were set up for this very purpose, in what came to be called the Holocaust. By the end of the World War II (1939 – 1945), it was estimated that at least 11 million perished, including 6 million Jews and 2 million Gentile Poles.

My Lai Massacre

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My Lai Massacre was a mass murder incident that occurred on March 16, 1968 at the height of Vietnam War (1960 – 1975). On orders, US Army forces executed around 500 unarmed citizens of My Lai and My Khe hamlets in South Vietnam, including women and children, suspecting them to be Viet Cong members or sympathizers. Some victims were raped and tortured, while some bodies were discovered to be badly disfigured. All charges subsequently brought against 26 US soldiers for their crimes at My Lai were dropped except for Lieutenant William Calley who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but would serve only 4 ½ months in a military prison upon the controversial intervention of President Nixon to have his sentence adjusted. The scandal did much to foment anti-war sentiments that demanded immediate withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam.

Iran-Contra Affair

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The Iran-Contra affair was an American political scandal in the 1980s that somehow threatened Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It was revealed in 1986 that the administration entered into illegal negotiations for arms sales to Iran in return for American hostages being held by Islamic groups in Beirut, with profits being channeled to fund anti-Sandinista and Anti-Marxist forces or Contras in Nicaragua. President Reagan and his vice-president George H. W. Bush denied all knowledge of the affair. As a result of the exposé, Reagan fired Oliver North, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Marines who conjured up the plan, while some members of his staff were forced to resign.

Beslan School Hostage Crisis

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On September 1, 2004, a group of about 30 armed, camouflaged and masked multinational terrorists, demanding full withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya and recognition of its independence, broke into School Number One (SNO) in the Russian town of Beslan in North Ossetia and took more than 1,200 hostages, including some 800 children, gathering them in the school’s gymnasium, where they mined with wire explosives. On the third day, following the breakdown of negotiations and a series of explosions that set the building ablaze, the Russian security forces, in a contentious move, stormed the facilities with tanks, rockets and heavy weaponry, leading to a chaotic battle with the hostage takers. The siege ended with at least 370 deaths, half were children, and a couple of hundreds reported wounded or missing. The attack was met with condemnation in the strongest possible terms from the international community.

More “Scandals” Articles:

• Scandals in the Corporate World
• Corporate Accounting Scandals
• Political Sex Scandals in History
• Scandals: Five Misbehaving Scientists
• Notable Medical Scandals

US Presidential Trivia series:

• 1^st to the 15^th President
• 16^th to the 30^th President
• 31^st to the new President-elect

Other articles:

• Warrior Women
• Mighty Women
• Man-made Environmental Disasters
• Rocks and Stones with Historical, Cultural and Religious Significance
• Famous Teen Deaths
• Birthday Deaths
• Famous Holocaust Survivors
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 1
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 2
• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History

During the late 19th to World War II, Vietnam was governed by France as part of French Indochina. In 1940, during World War II, the Japanese forces invaded and captured French Indochina. The Vietnamese saw World War II as an opportunity to gain independence and in 1941, the Vietnamese nationalists established Viet Minh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam. Based mainly on communist ideologies, the Viet Minh gained support for its independence movement as well social and political reforms. When Japan declared formal surrender on September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Viet Minh, used the opportunity to declare independence for Vietnam, calling the nation the democratic republic of Vietnam. France, however, refused to acknowledge the independence of Vietnam and drove the Viet Minh to the north of the country.

Ho Chi Minh immediately implored American President Harry Truman to recognize Vietnamese independence and assist the Vietnamese. However, the American foreign policy during the Cold War was the containment of communism, therefore making President Truman reluctant to help. Although Ho Chi Minh was not a puppet of communist Soviet Union, he was a communist nonetheless and as a result, the United States condemned Ho Chi Minh and provided assistance to France instead. Although with American help, the Viet Minh grew larger and larger everyday and soon, the French were fighting them to a draw. After the humiliating Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French government wanted to settle for peace at the Geneva Conference. From the 8th of May to the 21st of July, 1954, diplomats form the World’s major nations met at Geneva and made an agreement for the future of Vietnam. The agreement, known as the Geneva Accords, agrees to temporarily divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel.

France would occupy the South of Vietnam and the Viet Minh would occupy the North. In July 1956, both South and North Vietnam would hold elections and the form of government chosen by popular vote would reunify Vietnam. The United States, however, did not want the possibility of a communist takeover of Vietnam and had Diem appointed as the prime minister of South Vietnam because of Diem’s anti-communist sentiment. Along with American support, Diem refused to sign the Geneva Accords. Immediately following that, the United States founded the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, a treaty that protected several Indochina nations from communism, a justification used to support South Vietnam.

At the same time, Diem announced that he would not take part in the elections in July 1956 because he was bound to lose and declared South Vietnam as an independent nation, the Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh immediately saw this as an American attempt to interfere with Vietnamese reunification and began the long fight with America and South Vietnam. This was the background to the Vietnam War.

When the expected elections in July did not take place, the Viet Minh planned the overthrow of the government of Diem. Because of the strong anti-Diem sentiment present throughout Vietnam during the 1960s, the Viet Cong (as the Viet Minh later became known) established the National Liberation Front, a typical Communist-front organization and began training troops for guerilla warfare. The fighting began in 1957 and although US advisors were sent early on by President Eisenhower, American troops were not active until 1965. Unlike most other wars fought in American history, the American president at the time sent troops without an official declaration of war from Congress. I asked Mr. Grant on his opinion as to whether he approved this action, he said, “It is the order of the president. He must have a reason for doing so.”

However, not everyone felt that way. Protest against the Vietnam War stated as early as 1963 with the first protest taking place at the University of Wisconsin. However, at the time, protests were small, but it grew slowly. The Vietnam War was already becoming unpopular even at the time. Mr. Johnson is an example of the people who were against the war. When asked the same question, he stated, “He is after all the president, but that is an interesting question… I do not think, however, that the war should have been fought.” This is an early example of the unpopularity of the war.

Another example of the early unpopularity was because of the military draft at the time. Generally speaking, conscription remained at a very low level during the Cold war, but increased greatly during the Vietnam War to provide more troops for the conflict. Protests against the draft began as early as October 15, 1965, when the student ran National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam staged the first public burning of draft cards in the history of America. Soon, protest against the draft system was common and famous lines against the system became heard everywhere. These lines included, “Draft beer, not boys” and “Hell no, we won’t go” as well as many others. When I asked Mr. Johnson whether he was opposed to the draft or not, he stated, “Well, I don’t know too many people at the time who did support the draft mainly because it was such an unpopular war… I was hoping I wouldn’t get picked for the draft.”

This was indeed the typical American feeling at the time. Many protests directed at the draft claimed that it was unfair as at the time, only a number of men of draft age were actually conscripted. Those who were exempt were the lucky ones as there was no guidelines as to who would be exempt and who would not be. However, because of the protests, in 1970, the draft system was changed to the lottery system and people became drafted because of their birthday. When I asked for Mr. Grant’s opinion on the draft, he stated that it was not a matter of liking it or not, it was that he had to go. Apparently, he came from a very military family and he was expected to enter the military.

In addition to protesting the draft, many young Americans found methods to evade the military draft. Thousands of Americans went into exile to Canada or Sweden and others gained exemption. The Japanese anti-war group known as Beheiren helped Americans hide from the Japanese military. Others attended college and some got married, which was always an exemption. Others found sympathetic doctors who claimed that they were unfit and others joined the Peace Corps as a means of avoiding the war. Some even went on to claim that they were homosexual, which was an exemption from the war, though not too many did it because of the stigma involved. As Mr. Johnson told me, “I knew a friend who was about to flee to Canada if he ever got conscripted. Fortunately, he did not, but he would have fled if he was.” The military draft was another reason why the Vietnam War became so unpopular.

A third reason why the war was so unpopular was because of Johnson’s second term. Although Johnson did not like the war that he inherited from Kennedy, he also did not want America to look weak in the eyes of its allies and other foreign nations. As a result, he escalated the war, causing thousands of American deaths. In two weeks of May, 1968, alone, American deaths numbered at 1,800. “No,” stated Mr. Johnson when asked whether supported Johnson’s escalation of the war, “not at all.” This was the typical American feeling at the time. Common anti-war slogans directed at Johnson at the time were, “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?” and “One, two, three, four! We don’t want your f***ing war!”. Although Mr. Grant held rather mixed opinions on this matter, he too did not like all the “excess” casualties going on. The sudden escalation of the war was simply another reason that made the war so unpopular.

One of the most infamous reasons as to why the war was so unpopular was the My Lai Massacre. Committed by the Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, it was the massacre of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. In January, 1968, the 11th Brigade was informed from military intelligence that the 48th Battalion of the National Liberation front had retreated to My Lai village. A number of hamlets within the village were suspected of harboring members of the 48th Battalion and offensives were planned to get rid of them. On the eve of the attack, the Charlie Company was convinced that villagers who did not leave to go to the market by 7 a.m. are either members of the Viet Cong or sympathizers of them. They were ordered to destroy the entire village and when the captain was asked whether to include women and children, there were different accounts of his briefing.

As a result, Lieutenant Calley ordered the murder and rape the civilians there. “I was shocked at this,” said Mr. Johnson in the interview, “it was really horrifying that such a thong would happen.” Like most other Americans, Mr. Johnson was incredibly shocked at the massacre. This massacre fueled the anger of the American peace movement and they demanded that troops be removed from Vietnam and that there would be better volunteers to provide better leadership. More importantly, it changed the attitude of the American public towards a more anti-war attitude. The horrific stories of the soldiers were taken more seriously and more atrocities came to light. This is one of the main reasons why the Vietnam War was so unpopular.

Another reason the war was so unpopular were the large number of protests involved. While I interviewed him, Mr. Johnson told me about his experiences from the protests of the Vietnam War. He told me that although he never participated in any protests against the war, he had quite a few friends who did. Despite that protests were small and slow at first, it quickly grew and can be credited for removing the troops from Vietnam. By 1973, due to the escalating number of casualties and success of the Viet Cong, most people felt that the war could no longer be won.

Many anti-war supporters argued that the war was immoral, that there was no clear objective, and that South Vietnam lacked political legitimacy. Mr. Grant, being a veteran, was unlikely to participate in protests against the war and did not. However, he told me, “At the time, I felt angry at the protestors for protesting while we where fighting for our lives in Vietnam… I later realized that had there not been protests, then the war would have been longer and there would have been more deaths.” There were quite a few veterans that protested against the war and on June 1st, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War was founded. Protests were a major reason as to why the war was so unpopular.

Possibly the last major reason as to why the war became so unpopular was the American lose, the only war lost in the history of America. On April 30, 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was captured by the North Vietnamese army, thus marking the end of the war. “It really saddens me that we came thinking we were fighting for the right thing, but in the end, we ended losing.” Mr. Grant was not the only one saddened by the end of the war. Although it finally brought an end to the killing, it was the first lose in American history and an embarrassment as well.

After interviewing both Mr. Johnson, a music teacher, and Mr. Grant, a Vietnam War veteran, I was able to learn many fascinating ideas and experiences from them. However, after the to interviews, I noticed something in common from both interviews, that they were both rather negative about the war. Though Mr. Grant had a more positive feeling about the war than Mr. Johnson, it was, nevertheless, quite negative. Through the research, I learned many fascinating facts about the Vietnam War and the many examples of anti-war sentiment. Indeed, Vietnam was very unpopular but like all wars, in the words of someone else, no body truly wins. In the end, everyone loses something.