Friday, April 26, 2013

Phoenix Program

"In Vietnam, what became known as the Phoenix Program began in 1965 as a CIA-led operation. The purpose was to neutralize the National Liberation Front, the political arm of the Viet Cong, and was directed against civilian suspects not soldiers." "Phoenix operatives were a mix of CIA, U.S. and Australian Special Forces and South Vietnamese personnel and mercenaries. Until it ended in 1972, Phoenix "neutralized" some 80,000 NLF and Viet Cong of which about 30,000 were killed. In many cases, assassination was too kind a term and torture and barbaric interrogation practices were part of the standard operating procedure." (thanks Amir)