"...According to the Cluster Munitions Monitor 2010, the U.S. dropped a total of 4.1 million kilograms of sub-munitions over Vietnam between 1965 and 1973, striking 55 of the country’s 64 provinces and cities...
Located on the both sides of the former DMZ, Quang Tri Province was one of the most bombed and shelled areas in the war, resulting in 83.8% of its land area being contaminated with unexploded ordnance according to survey data.
Such deadly war explosives still kill and maim civilians 35 years later...
Making Vietnam free of the danger of war explosives, including cluster bombs, is a huge task requiring extensive financial and human resources, and more assistance from the international community.
Today’s cleanup tasks completed by the RENEW EOD team, similar to the tasks they do every other day, reflect the on-going commitment of Project RENEW staff and others of today’s younger generation, born long after the war ended, to clean up the deadly legacy left behind when the fighting stopped almost four decades ago..."
". . .Despite extensive clearance efforts by military and international NGOs, thousands of UXO still remain on and under the ground, posing an imminent threat to the daily activities of local people, especially children..."
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM PROJECT RENEW
December 2010
It's our pleasure to share with you the final issue of Project RENEW's 2010 quarterly newsletter.
This issue includes the following features:
Accident prevention: RENEW teaches local students how to be safe from cluster bombs, landmines, other ordnance
Cam Lo, Quang Tri (Dec. 13, 2010): Primary students at the Ho Chon Nhon Primary School in Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, a total of 250 of children ages 6 to 10, started their new week of learning today with an information session on the dangers of bombs and mines left over from the war that ended more than 35 years ago.
Another day in Quang Tri: Cluster bombs safely removed from rice fields
Today was another busy working day, but not an unusual one, for Project RENEW’s mobile EOD Quick Response Team. During the first hours of the morning, they traveled some 150 kilometers among three communes in Trieu Phong District of Quang Tri Province to respond to UXO sightings reported by local people.
Micro-credit program helps women of victim families earn additional income
A landmine explosion in 2002 took the life of Hoang Thi Thang's husband and threw her family into extreme circumstances. Ms. Thang had to work hard every day to carry on, and to keep her son in school. Thang's neighbor, Ms. Hoang Thi Hoa is not widowed as is Ms. Thang, however she also has been the breadwinner in a family of five since she got married in 1994. Her husband has not been able to work since a U.S. bombing attack in 1972 which killed his entire family. He was the only one who survived, but he is permanently disabled.
Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh often wishes her day were longer because she has such a pile of work awaiting her every morning. In the summer, when EOD clearance teams depart at 6:30 a.m. for their field work, she has to get up at five to get dressed and have breakfast because she eats slowly.
About Project RENEW Established in 2001 as a cooperative effort between the Quang Tri Province People’s Committee and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), Project RENEW is dedicated to the goal of Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War.
With authorization and support from the Government of Vietnam, Project RENEW has grown into an international effort under VVMF's sponsorship, with participation from many partners including Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Trauma Care Foundation (TMC), Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI), and UNICEF.
Project RENEW is grateful for funding and technical assistance from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, Norwegian Foreign Ministry, the Government of Taiwan, foundations and other institutions, and many individual veterans and donors.
What can you do to help?
Project RENEW currently operates in three of ten districts of Quang Tri Province. With more funding support, Project RENEW could expand its successful integrated model into all of the remaining districts and extend services to more people. You can join hands with Project RENEW in our efforts to clean up deadly explosive remnants of war and to assist affected families to rebuild better livelihoods and opportunities for the future.
Saturday, March 19, 2011: Day of Action to Resist the War Machine!
8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq Scores of organizations coming together for worldwide protests
Message from Iraq War Veteran and March Forward! co-founder, Mike Prysner "A week ago I was arrested along with 130 others taking a stand against these criminal wars at the White House gates. As veterans we have learned first hand the vicious truths of the U.S. war drive and have pledged to resist. We stand with our Muslim and Arab sisters and brothers who are under attack. Will you stand with us on March 19 when we take the next steps?"
Veterans and other anti-war activists line the fence in front of the White House on Dec. 16 prior to being arrested.
March 19 is the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Iraq today remains occupied by 50,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of foreign mercenaries.
The war in Afghanistan is raging. The U.S. is invading and bombing Pakistan. The U.S. is financing endless atrocities against the people of Palestine, relentlessly threatening Iran and bringing Korea to the brink of a new war.
While the United States will spend $1 trillion for war, occupation and weapons in 2011, 30 million people in the United States remain unemployed or severely underemployed, and cuts in education, housing and healthcare are imposing a huge toll on the people.
Actions of civil resistance are spreading.
On Dec. 16, 2010, a veterans-led civil resistance at the White House played an important role in bringing the anti-war movement from protest to resistance. Enduring hours of heavy snow, 131 veterans and other anti-war activists lined the White House fence and were arrested. Some of those arrested will be going to trial, which will be scheduled soon in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, will be an international day of action against the war machine.
Protest and resistance actions will take place in cities and towns across the United States. Scores of organizations are coming together. Demonstrations are scheduled for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more.
In San Francisco, the theme of the March 19 march and rally will be “No to War & Colonial Occupation – Fund Jobs, Healthcare & Education – Solidarity with SF Hotel Workers!” 12,000 SF hotel workers, members of UNITE-HERE Local 2, have been fighting for a new contract that protects their healthcare, wages and working conditions. The SF action will include a march to boycotted hotels in solidarity with the Lo. 2 workers. The first organizing meeting for the SF March 19 march and rally will be on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 2pm at the Local 2 union hall, 209 Golden Gate Ave.
In Los Angeles, the March 19 rally and march will gather at 12 noon at Hollywood and Vine.
Let us know if you are going to be protesting locally. Events taking place around the country will be listed at www.AnswerCoalition.org.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition http://www.AnswerCoalition.org/ info@AnswerCoalition.org National Office in Washington DC: 202-265-1948 Boston: 857-334-5084 | New York City: 212-694-8720 | Chicago: 773-463-0311 San Francisco: 415-821-6545| Los Angeles: 213-251-1025 | Albuquerque: 505-268-2488
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"We journalists... have to be brave enough to defy those who seek our collusion in selling their latest bloody adventure in someone else's country... That means always challenging the official story, however patriotic that story may appear, however seductive and insidious it is. For propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far away country but at you at home... In this age of endless imperial war, the lives of countless men, women and children depend on the truth or their blood is on us... Those whose job it is to keep the record straight ought to be the voice of people, not power."
By Eric Margolis The government and media have colluded to paint the picture of a noble, heroic, flag-waving American enterprise in Afghanistan that is, alas, very far from reality. . .
After nine years of war in Afghanistan, costing over $100 billion in taxpayer money and 700 American lives, the full truth about this murky conflict remains elusive.
The government and media have colluded to paint the picture of a noble, heroic, flag-waving American enterprise in Afghanistan that is, alas, very far from reality. As the cynic Ambrose Bierce pointedly observed of patriots -- "the dupe of statesmen; the tool of conquerors."
Three interesting reports about Afghanistan emerged in Washington last week.
First, a political whitewash issued by the Obama White House claiming the war was going well and some US troops might be withdrawn next year. This 'don't worry be happy' summary was trumpeted by the pro-war New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other members of the government-friendly US media.
US generals spoke of "progress" in Afghanistan, whatever that means, as US forces were conducted a brutal campaign around Kandahar to crush resistance to the occupation and punish communities that supported Taliban.
Second, the Red Cross issued a grim report showing that Afghans were suffering widespread malnutrition and serious health problems after nearly a decade of Western occupation. So much for US-led nation-building.
Third, there were leaks about a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), the combined findings of all 16 US intelligence agencies. This key intelligence report is explosive and may not be fully revealed. The NIE reportedly asserts that the Afghan War, now costing over $13 billion monthly, is at best stalemated; at worse, Western occupation forces are on the defensive and their vulnerable supply lines increasingly threatened. Taliban is expanding its sphere of control, particularly in northern Afghanistan.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who was installed into power by CIA, put it bluntly last year, saying the US-led war was "ineffective apart from causing civilian casualties."
The new NIE may also restate a 2007 report that found Iran had no nuclear weapons program. The pro-war party in Washington is desperately trying to prevent its release or get the report altered.
Frustrated American generals and politicians, facing a failing war and the prospect of ruined careers, are blaming Pakistan for the war they cannot win.
There is not an iota of concern in Washington for Pakistan's national interests, well being, sovereignty, or the explosive problems in its Pashtun and Baluchi tribal regions. Washington wants Pakistan to follow orders, pure and simple. That's why the US is paying Islamabad $2 billion per annum. Sepoys of the Raj are supposed to obey.
There seems almost no understanding in Washington that the US put a gun to Pakistan's head in 2001 and has since been forcing it to follow policies inimical to Pakistan's national interest and popular will.
It's amusing watching Washington blast poor old Hamid Karzai in Kabul for corruption while the US is furiously bribing many top officials and generals in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Not to mention US collaboration with Afghanistan's top heroin kingpins and communist war criminals. Pretty sordid stuff that will one day come out and cause a furor, just as CIA's involvement in the Laotian and Central American drug trade did.
Last week came news that US air, land, and mercenary forces would penetrate ever deeper into Pakistan. WikiLeaks show that Pakistan's feeble, US-sustained government is quietly backing deeper US military involvement and targeted killings of Pakistanis.
The Pentagon is gripped by the misconception that "safe havens" in Pakistan are fueling resistance to western occupation. During the Vietnam War, the Pentagon was similarly convinced that eradicating communist safe havens in Cambodia and Laos were the key to victory. They were not. Invading them spreads the war while weakening the US military position.
The so-called Pakistani safe havens are really all part of Pashtun tribal homelands that were sundered by the British imperialists in the 19th Century. Pashtun don't recognize today's Afghan-Pakistan artificial border. Taliban is not an invading army; it is mostly composed of local farmers and herdsmen who straddle the border.
Most Americans know less than nothing about Afghanistan or South Asia and have absolutely no comprehension of its complexities, size, or politics.The few that do, like experts in the State Department and CIA, are not listened to.
CIA, whose role is to supply the president with unbiased information, has become deeply politicized and biased. Thank President Ronald Reagan for this. The yes-men he installed at CIA told him and subsequent presidents what they wanted to hear.
This process culminated during the Bush administration when the CIA's sycophantic Director, George Tenet, validated all the lies about Iraq to please the president and vice president - culminating in Tenet's shameful 'slam-dunk' assurances that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Today, CIA has become an active participant in the Afghan War, with its own little army of mercenaries and renegades, and an air force of Predator and Reaper drones.
The over-militarization of US foreign policy continues. What next? Will the Department of Agriculture get its own little army and air force? The State Department is already edging into a combat role in Iraq.
CIA's reporting on the war has become seriously tainted by institutional bias and career concerns.
Wars are wonderful for career advancement. But you can't fight a war and remain objective. As a result, Obama is getting a lot of bad information from people with axes to grind. He certainly is not listening to the people who know.
President Obama declared last week that the US would continue fighting al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He is clearly not telling Americans the truth. Other administration officials now say that Yemen is the new center of al-Qaeda operations.
Instead, we got a ludicrous scare campaign from the Obama administration about nuclear threats to US cities that was as dishonest and shameless as the mushroom cloud alarms of Condoleeza Rice. President Obama's advisors on Afghanistan should be hiding in their cellars, not us.
CIA director Leon Panetta recently said there were no more than 50 al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan. What, then, are 150,000 US and NATO troops doing there? The oil and gas of the nearby Caspian Basin and a desire to exclude China from the resource-rich region seems a likely answer.
The war's brutality and destruction are growing. US forces around Kandahar are blowing up or bulldozing houses, assassinating suspected Taliban sympathizers and using mass reprisals against the civilian population. Death squads are hard at work murdering those suspected of backing Taliban and opposing western occupation.
Similar "pacification" tactics were used to break the resistance of the Iraqi city of Fallujah, a third of which was razed by US Marines. The Soviets employed similar tactics during their ten-year occupation of Afghanistan.
The same tactics were developed by Israel during its occupation of the West Bank, including giant security walls chopping up the landscape, blowing up houses, and night raids against suspects.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is in something of a panic over America's longest war. How can a bunch of lightly-armed mountain tribesmen in turbans fighting only part-time battle the world's most powerful armed forces to a standstill?
If the making of peace today means prison, that’s where we need to be. It is time to accept our responsibility to do ALL we can to stop the violence of wars waged in our name. Continue
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Ex-Intelligence Officers, Others See Plusses in WikiLeaks Disclosures
WASHINGTON – December 7 – The following statement was released today, signed by Daniel Ellsberg, Frank Grevil, Katharine Gun, David MacMichael, Ray McGovern, Craig Murray, Coleen Rowley and Larry Wilkerson; all are associated with Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence.
WikiLeaks has teased the genie of transparency out of a very opaque bottle, and powerful forces in America, who thrive on secrecy, are trying desperately to stuff the genie back in.
The people listed below this release would be pleased to shed light on these exciting new developments.
How far down the U.S. has slid can be seen, ironically enough, in a recent commentary in Pravda (that’s right, Russia’s Pravda):
“What WikiLeaks has done is make people understand why so many Americans are politically apathetic … After all, the evils committed by those in power can be suffocating, and the sense of powerlessness that erupts can be paralyzing, especially when … government evildoers almost always get away with their crimes. …”
So shame on Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and all those who spew platitudes about integrity, justice and accountability while allowing war criminals and torturers to walk freely upon the earth. … the American people should be outraged that their government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.
Odd, isn’t it, that it takes a Pravda commentator to drive home the point that the Obama administration is on the wrong side of history. Most of our own media are demanding that WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange be hunted down — with some of the more bloodthirsty politicians calling for his murder.
The corporate-and-government dominated media are apprehensive over the challenge that WikiLeaks presents. Perhaps deep down they know, as Dickens put it, “There is nothing so strong … as the simple truth.”
As part of their attempt to blacken WikiLeaks and Assange, pundit commentary over the weekend has tried to portray Assange’s exposure of classified materials as very different from — and far less laudable than — what Daniel Ellsberg did in releasing the Pentagon Papers in 1971.
Ellsberg strongly rejects the mantra “Pentagon Papers good; WikiLeaks material bad.”
He continues: “That’s just a cover for people who don’t want to admit that they oppose any and all exposure of even the most misguided, secretive foreign policy. The truth is that EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time.”
Motivation? WikiLeaks’ reported source, Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, having watched Iraqi police abuses, and having read of similar and worse incidents in official messages, reportedly concluded, “I was actively involved in something that I was completely against.” Rather than simply go with the flow, Manning wrote: “I want people to see the truth … because without information you cannot make informed decisions as a public,” adding that he hoped to provoke worldwide discussion, debates, and reform.
There is nothing to suggest that WikiLeaks/Assange’s motives were any different. Granted, mothers are not the most impartial observers. Yet, given what we have seen of Assange’s behavior, there was the ring of truth in Assange’s mother’s recent remarks in an interview with an Australian newspaper. She put it this way: “Living by what you believe in and standing up for something is a good thing. … He sees what he is doing as a good thing in the world, fighting baddies, if you like.”
That may sound a bit quixotic, but Assange and his associates appear the opposite of benighted. Still, with the Pentagon PR man Geoff Morrell and even Attorney General Eric Holder making thinly disguised threats of extrajudicial steps, Assange may be in personal danger.
The media: again, the media is key. No one has said it better than Monseñor Romero of El Salvador, who just before he was assassinated 25 years ago warned, “The corruption of the press is part of our sad reality, and it reveals the complicity of the oligarchy.” Sadly, that is also true of the media situation in America today.
The big question is not whether Americans can “handle the truth.” We believe they can. The challenge is to make the truth available to them in a straightforward way so they can draw their own conclusions — an uphill battle given the dominance of the mainstream media, most of which have mounted a hateful campaign to discredit Assange and WikiLeaks.
So far, the question of whether Americans can “handle the truth” has been an academic rather than an experience-based one, because Americans have had very little access to the truth. Now, however, with the WikiLeaks disclosures, they do. Indeed, the classified messages from the Army and the State Department released by WikiLeaks are, quite literally, “ground truth.”
How to inform American citizens? As a step in that direction, on October 23 we “Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence” (see below) presented our annual award for integrity to Julian Assange. He accepted the honor “on behalf of our sources, without which WikiLeaks’ contributions are of no significance.” In presenting the award, we noted that many around the world are deeply indebted to truth-tellers like WikiLeaks and its sources.
Here is a brief footnote: Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence (SAAII) is a group of former CIA colleagues and other admirers of former intelligence analyst Sam Adams, who hold up his example as a model for those who would aspire to the courage to speak truth to power. (For more, please see here.)
Sam did speak truth to power on Vietnam, and in honoring his memory, SAAII confers an award each year to a truth-teller exemplifying Sam Adams’ courage, persistence, and devotion to truth — no matter the consequences.
Previous recipients include:
-Coleen Rowley of the FBI -Katharine Gun of British Intelligence -Sibel Edmonds of the FBI -Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan -Sam Provance, former Sgt., US Army -Frank Grevil, Maj., Danish Army Intelligence -Larry Wilkerson, Col., US Army (ret.) -Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nothing hidden that will not be made known. Everything you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight; what you have whispered in locked rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops.” – Luke 12:2-3
The following former awardees and other associates have signed the above statement; some are available for interviews:
DANIEL ELLSBERG A former government analyst, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret government history of the Vietnam War to the New York Times and other newspapers in 1971. He was an admirer of Sam Adams when they were both working on Vietnam and in March 1968 disclosed to the New York Times some of Adams’ accurate analysis, helping head off reinforcement of 206,000 additional troops into South Vietnam and a widening of the war at that time to neighboring countries.
FRANK GREVIL Grevil, a former Danish intelligence analyst, was imprisoned for giving the Danish press documents showing that Denmark’s Prime Minister (now NATO Secretary General) disregarded warnings that there was no authentic evidence of WMD in Iraq; in Copenhagen, Denmark.
KATHARINE GUN Gun is a former British government employee who faced two years imprisonment in England for leaking a U.S. intelligence memo before the invasion of Iraq. The memo indicated that the U.S. had mounted a spying “surge” against U.N. Security Council delegations in early 2003 in an effort to win approval for an Iraq war resolution. The leaked memo — published by the British newspaper The Observer on March 2, 2003 — was big news in parts of the world, but almost ignored in the United States. The U.S. government then failed to obtain a U.N. resolution approving war, but still proceeded with the invasion.
DAVID MacMICHAEL MacMichael is a former CIA analyst. He resigned in the 1980s when he came to the conclusion that the CIA was slanting intelligence on Central America for political reasons. He is a member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.
RAY McGOVERN McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years, whose duties included preparing and briefing the President’s Daily Brief and chairing National Intelligence Estimates. He is on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.
CRAIG MURRAY Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, was fired from his job when he objected to Uzbeks being tortured to gain “intelligence” on “terrorists.” Upon receiving his Sam Adams award, Murray said, “I would rather die than let someone be tortured in an attempt to give me some increment of security.” Observers have noted that Murray was subjected to similar character assassination techniques as Julian Assange is now encountering to discredit him.
LARRY WILKERSON Wilkerson, Col., U.S. Army (ret.), former chief of staff to Secretary Colin Powell at the State Department, who criticized what he called the “Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal.” See recent interviews
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
For much more, click on DANIEL ELLSBERG'S WEBSITE:
Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months -- and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait -- under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture.
Pilger’s latest film, "The War You Don’t See", includes interviews with Assange. Pilger says that WikiLeaks is revolutionizing journalism and galvanizing public opinion to stand up to global elites.
The chilling intimidation campaign against WikiLeaks (when they have broken no laws) is an attack on freedom of the press and democracy. We urgently need a massive public outcry to stop the crackdown -- let's get to 1 million voices and take out full page ads in US newspapers this week!
The massive campaign of intimidation against WikiLeaks is sending a chill through free press advocates everywhere.
Legal experts say WikiLeaks has likely broken no laws. Yet top US politicians have called it a terrorist group and commentators have urged assassination of its staff. The organization has come under massive government and corporate attack, but WikiLeaks is only publishing information provided by a whistleblower. And it has partnered with the world's leading newspapers (NYT, Guardian, Spiegel etc) to carefully vet the information it publishes.
The massive extra-judicial intimidation of WikiLeaks is an attack on democracy. We urgently need a public outcry for freedom of the press and expression. Sign the petition to stop the crackdown and forward this email to everyone -- let's get to 1 million voices and take out full page ads in US newspapers this week!
WikiLeaks isn't acting alone -- it's partnered with the top newspapers in the world (New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, etc) to carefully review 250,000 US diplomatic cables and remove any information that it is irresponsible to publish. Only 800 cables have been published so far. Past WikiLeaks publications have exposed government-backed torture, the murder of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, and corporate corruption.
The US government is currently pursuing all legal avenues to stop WikiLeaks from publishing more cables, but the laws of democracies protect freedom of the press. The US and other governments may not like the laws that protect our freedom of expression, but that's exactly why it's so important that we have them, and why only a democratic process can change them.
Reasonable people can disagree on whether WikiLeaks and the leading newspapers it's partnered with are releasing more information than the public should see. Whether the releases undermine diplomatic confidentiality and whether that's a good thing. Whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has the personal character of a hero or a villain. But none of this justifies a vicious campaign of intimidation to silence a legal media outlet by governments and corporations. Click below to join the call to stop the crackdown:
Ever wonder why the media so rarely gives the full story of what happens behind the scenes? This is why - because when they do, governments can be vicious in their response. And when that happens, it's up to the public to stand up for our democratic rights to a free press and freedom of expression. Never has there been a more vital time for us to do so.
With hope, Ricken, Emma, Alex, Alice, Maria Paz and the rest of the Avaaz team.
Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.
Avaaz.org is a 6.4-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
The Obama administration is moving closer to a war with North Korea. Propaganda fliers have been spread across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some of them reaching as far north as Pyongyang. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily an official from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said "the South is prepared to broadcast propaganda along the DMZ and that the ministry is “weighing the timing.”...Loudspeakers are already installed in 11 areas along the DMZ for further propaganda attacks." ("Propaganda war escalates; use of loudspeakers mulled", Korea JoongAng Daily)
The proximate cause of the flareup is North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, which lies off the North's coast in disputed territory. Journalist Gregory Elich explains the details surrounding the incident in an article titled "Menacing North Korea"
"In response to the South Korean announcement of an impending artillery drill, North Korea telephoned the South Korean military on the morning of November 23, urging them to cancel plans to fire shells into what the North regarded as its territorial waters. The North warned that if the drill proceeded, they would respond with a "resolute physical counter-strike."
Nevertheless, the artillery drill proceeded and four hours later, North Korean artillery fired on the island. In the first round, 150 shells were shot, of which 60 hit the island. Then 20 more shells were fired in a second round. In all, four people on the island were killed and 18 wounded." ("Menacing North Korea", Gregory Elich, counterpunch.org)
In other words, the North was provoked. The United States and South Korea have been staging war games in the Yellow Sea with the clear intention of provoking the North.
US diplomats are using the shelling of Yeonpyeong to pressure China to coerce the North into acceding to US diktats. So far, China has played a constructive role by calling for 6 party talks, but that's not enough for Washington. What Washington wants is regime change, and it's tightened sanctions and increased its saber rattling to achieve its goal.
Here's more from the Korea JoongAng Daily which lays out the US plan for escalation:
"The heads of the U.S. and South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to change defenses against North Korean attacks yesterday, with South Korea getting a leading role in immediate retaliations and the Americans pledging support.
The agreement was made as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an unexpected visit to Seoul yesterday to reaffirm America’s commitment to its alliance with South Korea. Mullen spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo, about North Korea early yesterday.
“North Korea’s attacks are getting bolder and bolder,” said Han. “If they choose to strike again they will be punished severely, and North Korea will pay a big price.” ("U.S. top brass discusses new retaliation strategy",Korea JoongAng Daily)
It's a dangerous game the administration is playing in the Yellow Sea, although little has been reported in the Western media.
The US wants China to show that it is a "responsible stakeholder" in the region, which means that it will comply with US foreign policy objectives. The administration wants to put a wedge between the two long-time allies so it can better contain China and precipitate a collapse of the DPRK. Here's how Admiral Mullen sums it up:
"The Chinese have enormous influence over the North, influence that no other nation on Earth enjoys....And yet, despite a shared interest in reducing tensions, they appear unwilling to use it."
Washington expects China to help it achieve its imperial ambitions and gain a stronger foothold in the region. The administration has no interest in diplomacy or negotiations. It relies on cunning, intimidation, and brute force--the same as the Bush administration.
More US/South Korea maneuvers are planned before the end of December, ostensibly to provoke a hostile response from the North. The US believes it can control the conflict in a way that serves its own interests, but that might not be the case.
After all, North Korea's leaders have no illusions about what a war with the US would mean. They haven't forgotten the 3 million Koreans who died during the war or the atrocities that were perpetrated by the invading American army.
Here's a refresher for those readers who may be sketchy on the details.
This is from an article titled "A NEW LOOK AT THE KOREAN WAR" by John H. Kim, Veterans For Peace:
"Massacre of Korean Civilians
The U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy were directly involved in the killing of about three million Koran civilians—both South Koreans and North Koreans—at many locations throughout Korea, including Masan, Sachon, Tanyang, Iksan, Changyong, Wegwan, Ducksung, Sinchun, Wonsan, Pyongyang, etc. Several hundreds of civilians refugees were blown apart when the U.S. Army blew up Wegwan and Ducksung bridges in S. Korea..... Among the several branches of the U.S. military, the U.S. Air Force was probably more responsible than any other branches for the huge number of civilian killings because of its indiscriminate shootings and bombings of civilian refugees, villages, towns, and cities in violation of Hague Conventions.
At the end of the war, almost all the North Korean cities were leveled to the ground by carpet bombing, including Pyonyang, Najin, Shiniju, Wonsan, Hungnam, etc. It is reported that the U.S. dropped some 650,000 tons of bombs, including 43,000 tons of napalm bombs, during the Korean War. (See Cumings, the Origins of the Korean War, Vol. II; Hart-Landsberg, Korea; and The Korea Herald, 10/9/1999)
Additionally, major dams and water supplies were blown up, hydroelectric power plants were destroyed, oil refineries, factories, bridges, hospitals, food storage units were all reduced to rubble.
The North faced a decade of grinding poverty and starvation due to US attacks on vital infrastructure and supplies. Also--similar to Falluja--"American war planes dropped chemical bombs on the North Korean military positions as well as on villages, resulting hundreds of North Korean civilian deaths. The U.S. also experimented with biological weapons in the North, with the active assistance of the Japanese war criminals who were involved in human experiments during WWII."
Sound familiar?
North Korea knows how the US fights and may not be persuaded that "limited engagement" is the way to go. It may just pull-out-all-the-stops and use the tools it has at its disposal (including nukes) to protect itself from an irrational and ruthless bully. The risks are just too great to act otherwise. Just ask Saddam.
I was born in Melbourne, Australia. In my youth, I was a draft resister and anti-war activist against the American War in Viet Nam, and Australia's participation in it. I 'dropped out' of a teacher training course to work full-time against the war and for peace, a life-changing decision. Later, I lived for 19 years in Cassilis, East Gippsland for an alternative country lifestyle. In 1996, I came to Viet Nam on an adventure holiday with Intrepid Travel, which became another life-changing event. I found my new home here in Viet Nam, and worked as a tour group leader for nearly 27 years, travelling up and down this amazing and beautiful country. In Viet Nam, even my name changed to "Lemon Juice" Bruce, but really I am still the same Bruce McPhie. What an inspiring country this is. The anti-Vietnam propaganda and misinformation of the past sometimes continues today. It's not easy to clear the mind of a lifetime of this, but when you discover the true magic of Viet Nam you are richly rewarded, enlightened, and understand the world in a whole new way. "Come to Viet Nam, and visit the world!"
Cam Lo, Quang Tri (Dec. 13, 2010): Primary students at the Ho Chon Nhon Primary School in Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, a total of 250 of children ages 6 to 10, started their new week of learning today with an information session on the dangers of bombs and mines left over from the war that ended more than 35 years ago.
Today was another busy working day, but not an unusual one, for Project RENEW’s mobile EOD Quick Response Team. During the first hours of the morning, they traveled some 150 kilometers among three communes in Trieu Phong District of Quang Tri Province to respond to UXO sightings reported by local people.
A landmine explosion in 2002 took the life of Hoang Thi Thang's husband and threw her family into extreme circumstances. Ms. Thang had to work hard every day to carry on, and to keep her son in school. Thang's neighbor, Ms. Hoang Thi Hoa is not widowed as is Ms. Thang, however she also has been the breadwinner in a family of five since she got married in 1994. Her husband has not been able to work since a U.S. bombing attack in 1972 which killed his entire family. He was the only one who survived, but he is permanently disabled.
Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh often wishes her day were longer because she has such a pile of work awaiting her every morning. In the summer, when EOD clearance teams depart at 6:30 a.m. for their field work, she has to get up at five to get dressed and have breakfast because she eats slowly. 
