|
Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Miscellaneous |
|
NOGUN-RI DOCUMENTS REVIVE KOREA CONTROVERSY |
Current rating: 0 |
by Steven Aftergood, FAS
(No verified email address) |
24 Aug 2001
|
|
Which story is the truth? The official report of the investigation of the killing of civilans, initiated by an AP article in 1999, claimed that no US Air Force witnesses could confirm that civilians were strafed. Yet newly published documents state plainly that refugees were strafed by fighter aircraft. |
Publication of declassified U.S. government documents from the Korean War has renewed controversy in Korea over U.S. Air Force aerial attacks near the village of Nogun-ri in 1950, which led to the deaths of around 100 civilians.
The official U.S. report on the Nogun-ri case earlier this year was inconclusive about whether the attacks had taken place. It stated: "No U.S. Air Force veteran that the U.S. Review Team interviewed participated in, or had any knowledge of anyone participating in, the strafing of civilians in the vicinity of.No Gun Ri in late July 1950.... Strafing may have occurred near Nogun-ri the last week of July 1950 and could have injured or killed Korean civilians but [...] any such air strikes were not deliberate attacks on Korean civilians."
Yet the newly published documents refer plainly to strafing of refugees. They were made widely available last week on the web site of Henry Holt Publishers, which will soon publish "The Bridge at No Gun Ri," a book on the Nogun-ri case written by the Associated Press team who first reported in 1999 that American troops had killed civilians in the Korean War. See:
http://www.henryholt.com/nogunri/documents.htm
The new disclosures created a stir in Korea. The Korea Herald in Seoul, which first reported on the matter August 21, also indicated that Nogun-ri survivors will file suit against U.S. agencies next week under the Freedom of Information Act, alleging non-compliance with the Act's requirements. In addition, the Committee for Unveiling Truth about the Nogun-ri Massacre will reportedly seek a congressional hearing on their concerns.
Questions about the strafing of refugees near Nogun-ri were previously discussed at a January 11, 2001 Pentagon press briefing on the incident. See:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2001/t01112001_t111cohe.html
******************************
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to <majordomo (at) fas.org> with this command in the body of the message: subscribe secrecy_news [your email address] To UNSUBSCRIBE, send email to <majordomo (at) fas.org> with this command in the body of the message: unsubscribe secrecy_news [your email address] Secrecy News is archived at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html |
See also:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
|
