'The Changing World': The My Lai tapes

01 May, 2008 04:16:00

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Recently declassified recordings reveal the U.S. Army's investigation into the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.

On March 16, 1968, a group of U.S. soldiers killed 504 Vietnamese villagers at My Lai in Vietnam. The episode became known as the "My Lai massacre," and proved to be a turning point for public opinion in the United States about the Vietnam War.

From December 1969 until March 1970, the U.S. Army conducted an internal investigation into the My Lai massacre and its subsequent cover-up, in the basement of the Pentagon. "The Peers Inquiry" was held behind closed doors, and heard evidence from more than 400 witnesses. Hundreds of hours of testimony were tape-recorded, but after the inquiry the tapes were boxed-up and largely forgotten about. In this documentary, Robert Hodierne shares recently declassified recordings of testimony from key witnesses at the Peers Inquiry, exclusive to the BBC.

A special collaboration between BBC World Service and PRI's "The World," "The Changing World" is a series of powerful documentaries, each of which takes a long look at a single global issue, from geo-political hegemony to world health concerns.

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Comments (2 posted):

on 03 May, 2008 09:02:54

Would like to see more pictures

Richard Ranville on 04 May, 2008 12:08:12

Your sly implication right at the end that American Troops in Iraq may be directly comparable to the people involved at Mi Lai has not gone unnoticed. What's different today is that right wing statists have received the same belief as left wing statists had in the 60's. "We know what the world should look like and it's our right to use the police power of the state to make it so." You - in the left wing intelligentia - are them and they are you. And, as a bonus to those of us who were here for both passes at remaking the world, you are just as sanctimonius as they were. Vietnam was the American Liberal Left's agenda. Sorry - no pass.