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BOOK REVIEW: "Kill Anything that Moves," by Nick Turse.

Article by: STEVE WEINBERG , Special to the Star Tribune
Updated: January 19, 2013 - 2:11 PM

Nick Turse reveals his grim finding that the notorious slaughter at My Lai was not an isolated incident.

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jci942Jan. 28, 13 8:01 PM

First of all Nick Turse does not qualify as a combat journalist. He was asked on NPR why other qualified combat journalists haven't picked up on his subject matter. He really didn't know. Of course he didn't because he is not a combat seasoned journalist. Does he define in Vietnam terms the word "civilian" which he uses so loosely. No, because just like in our current conflicts the enemy are also civilians. The Viet Cong worked rice fields during the day just like a "civilian" and became the enemy at night. Interviewing 100 Vietnam Vets with chronic PTSD is not what I would call getting the facts correct. Why chronic PTSD? Because it took almost 20 years after Vietnam before PTSD was a diagnostic term. The most "hard core" Viet Cong were women. So why does he make killing women in Vietnam sound so terrible. Young children were also operational members of the Viet Cong. Did he interview any of them. No! How many American forces were killed by so called "civilians" . Plain and simple , Nick has written a stilted book based on slanted research . Were there collateral civilians killed. Yes and there continues to be in our current conflicts. Were there out and out murders of civilians? Yes, but nothing close to his numbers. Check out the compounds where the Republic of Korea [ROK] were in Vietnam and you will see that there were on "civilian" houses anywhere nearby. Find out why and you will know why they were the most feared fighting forces in Vietnam. Nick they wanted to make it home and in Vietnam that meant dealing effectively with the enemy. Go to one of our current combat sights and see for yourself how the "civilian" enemy operates or would that be too far removed from your research comfort zone.