Operation Linebacker II saw more than 200 American B-52 bombers fly 730 sorties and drop over 20,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam over a period of 12 days in December 1972.

By Brad Lendon, CNN

Published 7:09 PM EST, Sat December 17, 2022

CNN — It was one of the heaviest bombardments in history. A shock-and-awe campaign of overwhelming air power aimed at bombing into submission a determined opponent that, despite being vastly outgunned, had withstood everything the world’s most formidable war machine could throw at it.

Operation Linebacker II saw more than 200 American B-52 bombers fly 730 sorties and drop over 20,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam over a period of 12 days in December 1972, in a brutal assault aimed at shaking the Vietnamese “to their core,” in the words of then US national security adviser Henry Kissinger.

Afghanistan – A war of deception | Vantage Point

Al Jazeera English – 15 thg 8, 2022

Last year’s withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan marked the end of the US’ longest war.

Would the war have even started if US leaders had told the truth from the beginning? #AJVantagePoint looks at the history of the fog of war and military deception.

The long history of the Sultanate of Sulu & why Malaysia ‘owes’ it US$15 billion

That’s a lot.

By Danial Martinus  July 18, 2022 sea.mashable.com/

When we dive into the colonial history of Southeast Asia, things can get rather messy in terms of the way important events and the stories of significant figures are retold.

Looking at Malaysia, for example, brings about a whole library’s worth of history that simply can’t be told in one sitting. However, one such remnant of Malaysia’s past has come back to haunt the Southeast Asian nation.

More specifically, arbitration awards allegedly owed to the heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu, who in the 19th century reigned over parts of what is today the Philippines, the state of Sabah (Malaysia), as well as North and East Kalimantan (Indonesia).

Mikhail Gorbachev will be remembered in the West for laying the basis for more constructive relations to ease the end of the Cold War, but vilified in Russia for speeding the Soviet Union’s demise.

Article by Thomas Graham

August 31, 2022 10:45 am (EST) Council on Foreign Relations

The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in 1985 determined to transform a stagnant Soviet Union into a dynamic, prosperous, and powerful socialist country; he never developed a coherent, concrete plan to do that. Rather, he improvised as the political and economic ground shifted around him. That rattled the hard-liners who thought he was destroying the Soviet Union and dismayed the reformers who feared he was moving too slowly to save the country. After six years, the hard-liners had enough: They failed to oust him in an ill-conceived coup attempt in August 1991, but wounded him sufficiently so that the reformers could ease him out of power at the end of that year—as the country he sought to revive collapsed, and a new Russia emerged. Continue reading Gorbachev: Conflicted Catalyst of Cold War’s End →

40 Years of solitude

Al Jazeera English – 5-2-2014

Filmmaker: Sana El Younoussi

What will become of families stranded in Vietnam since their Moroccan fathers defected from the French army in 1953?

In the 1940s, young Moroccans joined the French army to earn a living and support their families.

In 1953, many were serving in Indo-China when they learned of the exile of King Mohamed V and deserted to join the forces of Ho Chi Minh. Continue reading 40 Years of solitude →

China forgets who was the real aggressor in Korean War

Voice of America – 9-8-2022

July 27 marked the 69th anniversary of the signing the Korean War armistice between military commanders from the U.S.-led United Nations forces, North Korea and China.

During the 1950-1953 war on the peninsula, the People’s Republic of China backed North Korea with help from the Soviet Union, while U.S.-led U.N. forces defended South Korea. Continue reading China forgets who was the real aggressor in Korean War →

Wednesday, 23 February 2022. Written by Saigoneer.

Saigoneer.com

A century ago, the colonial government was active in inoculating Vietnamese citizens against a variety of diseases.

While Vietnam’s recent massive COVID-19 vaccine efforts have proven a great success in reducing deaths and returning the country to some semblance of normalcy, it is hardly the first time a government here has stepped in to inoculate the population against dangerous contagions. About 100 years ago, the French managed a vigorous campaign to inoculate indigenous Vietnamese against a variety of diseases such as smallpox, cholera and tuberculosis as part of larger health and sanitation initiatives. 

Continue reading Inside a Vaccination Point in Vietnam Nearly 100 Years Ago →

People’s Tribunal on War Crimes by South Korean Troops during the Vietnam War to hold by Minbyun and the Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation. IMAGE BY JJW ON WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

newmandala.com

ANDRE KWOK AND NATHANEAL KWON – 13 MAY, 2022

In 2018, two survivors of massacre perpetrated by South Korean troops in Vietnam during the Vietnamese-American war, instigated the People’s Tribunal on War Crimes by South Korean Troops during the Vietnam War. This signalled a watershed moment in the history of civil activism and transitional justice in South Korea; yet, there is still much to be done.

Following the outbreak of conflict in Vietnam (1955-1975), U.S. President Lyndon Johnson initiated the Many Flags campaign to consolidate a united front against communism in Indochina. While several countries, including Thailand, Australia and New Zealand participated, South Korea contributed by far the largest number of troops after the U.S.: around 300,000 rotating troops by the end of the war.

Dictator Park Chung-hee sought to build a stable South Korean government, and so he agreed to take a leading role in the war in exchange for American military support in the Korean peninsula and economic support for Park’s ambitious development plans. The estimated $1 billion USD worth of American aid and other war-related income was a vital lifeline for the crumbling Korean economy.

Continue reading Politics of denial: South Korean war crimes in Vietnam →

Văn hóa

PHẠM HOÀNG QUÂN 8/5/2022 6:00 GMT+7

TTCT – Đối với một di sản rất quan trọng về lịch sử Đàng Trong như Phủ biên tạp lục thì nội dung có vài điều sai trật cũng là điều bình thường, nhưng phải thấy rằng có những câu trong đó mà người đời nay càng dẫn thì càng làm giảm giá trị tổng thể sách ấy, như trường hợp huyền thoại “một ăn ba trăm”. Cái lỗi lớn của học giới đương thời là thay vì chú giải những điểm bất hợp trong tư liệu cổ thì lại tin theo rồi trích dẫn tán tụng nhơn rộng thêm ra

Continue reading Huyền thoại “một ăn ba trăm” hay ảo giác về năng suất lúa ở đất phương Nam →