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Letters to the Editor:

Phoenix arising

Recent Israeli incursions into Gaza with deaths of a dozen 
"Palestinian militants" continuing two years of targeting 
"terrorist leaders", reminds me of the now forgotten US Operation 
Phoenix in Vietnam.

I recall standing on the deck of the USS BENAWA on the Mekong-
Cambodia border in mid-1970, looking for a good dawn photo. In my 
viewfinder a half dozen armed men emerged from the bush. I 
snapped a few shots as they approached the gangway. As they 
passed me I noticed their unusual machine guns, issued only to 
special forces, their black pajama uniforms, hair tied back with 
muddy sweat rags, a look of fatigue, indifference to the civilian 
with the camera.

Later in the officers' mess, a freshly washed US SEAL joined me 
at my table. I recognised him as one of the men I had 
photographed — a first lieutenant with a curious medallion 
hanging from his dog tags. It was shaped into the outline of a B-
52 bomber with the word, "KILL" engraved in the polished silver.

He leaned over the table, asked me who I was and what I was going 
to do with the photos I'd taken of his team. I assured him I was 
on the BENAWA as a guest of the US Navy; that I had agreed to 
send my photos to Saigon for clearance. He was not satisfied with 
my answer. "I want those photos destroyed", he said. "It's DOD 
policy not to identify our personnel." I agreed to pull the film. 
It was no big deal.

Still later, as I watched the night war from the ship's 
helicopter flight deck, I was joined by another officer who was 
my "minder" as I covered the Brown Water Navy. "Sorry about the 
trouble with that SEAL officer", he said. "But he is correct. We 
can't acknowledge these Phoenix incursions our teams are making 
here and into Cambodia, Laos and even into North Vietnam. So 
forget about it, enjoy the war from here."

When I returned to Washington I heard more about Phoenix. 
Launched after the disastrous Tet offensive under CIA direction, 
the goal was to target persons sympathetic to the NVA (North 
Vietnamese Army) and Viet Cong and in discrete operations by 
small teams to eliminate them on their home turf. I had stumbled 
on one such incursion.

Apparently there had been scores of similar operations by SEALS 
during the ill-fated Vietnam war. US Democratic candidate Senator 
John Kerry could probably attest to their heroism and to the many 
medals they won taking the war to individual "terrorists" 
wherever they could be found. Among veteran journalists they were 
called the Navy's "paid killers".

Operation Phoenix is now history. But in Palestine are we seeing 
it again rising?

Rasjad Moore
Muchea, WA

Thank you for Andrew Jackson's review of The Passion of the 
Christ and letting us know of Mel Gibson's affiliation with 
the unsavoury Opus Dei. I would never go to see such a disgusting 
production.

But I was pleased to see The Melbourne Anglican this week printed 
mainly negative reactions to the film — on the front page.

The only positive one was — no surprise — from Billy Graham: "I 
was moved to tears. I doubt of there has ever been a more graphic 
and moving presentation of Jesus' death and Resurrection".

We all know the "Hot Gospeller" is a lunatic.

Gwen Goedecke
Melbourne

Terrorist massacres produce much talk of "counter-terrorism" 
but no mention of "counter-war" and yet who would deny that war 
is terrorism? William Blum reflects this when he says that a 
terrorist "is someone with a bomb but who does not have an 
airforce".

The governments of Australia, Britain and Spain enthusiastically 
enlisted in the Coalition of the Willing against popular opinion. 
They used every trick in the book to justify the unjustifiable 
and the people saw through their lies, half truths and 
dissimulations.

The Aznar Government sensed that if al-Qaida was behind the 
Madrid bombing then it would bear the brunt of popular anger. 
Blaming the Basque separatist movement ETA for the bombing, only 
compounded the disgust and anger of the people who took their 
revenge at the ballot box.

Unsurprisingly, John Howard is running scared that he too will be 
ousted for his uncritical, even blind support, for US adventurism 
in Iraq.

This is why he denies al-Qaida involvement in Madrid and denies 
that his policies continue to place Australians in jeopardy.

The end is coming soon for him and for all the other participants 
in the Coalition of the Willing.

President Mubarek remarked at the commencement of the war that 
for Arab nations it would mean "the opening of the gates of Hell" 
but events have drawn us all into this awful prospect. The only 
good that can result from acts of bloody terrorism is the 
realisation that Clauswitz was wrong. War/terrorism is not 
"nothing but the continuation of politics by other means".

Gareth Smith
Byron Bay, NSW

If Eddie Clynes were to re-read Yechury's speech, it must be 
obvious that it's a rehash of the same revisionist nonsense that 
led to the demise of the CPSU as well as the old CPA.

After the destruction of the Soviet Union at the hands of such 
people, I cannot believe you are still debating the value of 
their ideas, not to mention agreeing with them.

They called it the distortions of bureaucracy, totalitarian rule, 
Stalinism, the dead hand of centralism etc, etc. In fact it was 
Soviet Power; the rule of the most advanced sections of the 
working class in the world.

So that this power will rule in Australia, I think the Central 
Committee of the CPA has a responsibility to debate and discard 
the never-ending appearance of revisionist ideas. They should not 
just appear in The Guardian without official comment, 
otherwise many others of good intent, like Eddie, will be misled.

Rick Hendry
Helensburgh, NSW