WAR. What is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
Edwin Starr’s 1970 hit, sang in the heat of the Vietnam War, summarises why war – especially the Viet War – never brings any good.
And that was even before we knew the truth about AGENT ORANGE.
In 1962, the U.S. government proceeded to poison Vietnamese land acres, which many describe as one of the deadliest chemical warfare cases in military history.
It was meant to kill trees and foliage.
Agent Orange did its job.
But, it had consequences—dire ones.
10 /10 What Is Agent Orange?
No, it’s not some secret spy candy. It’s much worse. You know about weed-killing chemicals, yes? Now imagine that but more than ten times the concentration. That’s Agent Orange.
The U.S. military used this potent herbicide to kill trees and other crops that provided ambush cover and food to the Viet Cong forces. It was one amongst a cocktail of herbicides sprayed over parts of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Over 20 million gallons – 75 million liters – were emptied on farmlands, rivers, and jungle cover. The whole thing was codenamed Operation Ranch Hand and lasted almost a decade. It ended in 1971.
9 /10 It's Been Used Before
The U.S. used this fact to rationalize its use in Vietnam. Yes, herbicides have been used in warfare before. And quite recently too.
The British Army had aerially sprayed liters of the stuff over farmland in Malaya. All in a bid to starve the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), who bucked against Britain’s rule.
This all happened in the early 1950s and was the push the U.S. needed to go around the Geneva protocol.