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Last Sunday, a memorial was held in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. This was the 40th anniversary of a 1968 massacre during which members of Charlie Company executed more than 500 unarmed villagers. The more than 1,000 people paying their respects included not only survivors and families, but also returning U.S. veterans.

Among the speakers was Larry Colburn, one of the three-man US Army helicopter crew that landed in the midst of the massacre and intervened to stop it. Colburn’s remark: “No one wins in war, and civilians always suffer … the only way to prevent atrocities in war is to prevent war.”

Also last weekend, many brave veterans gathered near our nation’s capital to testify to the atrocities they have witnessed in Iraq. This session of Winter Soldiers Hearings (like the first, in 1971) starkly reveals that the horrors most of us hear about are only the tip of the iceberg. Like the first, it suffered a virtual black-out in the mainstream media.

Fortunately, our media landscape now includes more non-corporate outlets than it did then. We are especially indebted to local independent broadcasters like KRFP and KUOI for their substantial radio coverage of these historic events.

This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. Though the death toll does not approach that in Vietnam, the damage to Iraqis and to our own military personnel is enormous, irreparable and steadily increasing. The damage to our international standing and to our national security interests is arguably greater than in the Vietnam debacle — substantial majorities of both American and Iraqi citizens want us out now.

Please consider doing your bit to help end this disaster. Come to Moscow’s Friendship Square at noon on Saturday. Hear the speakers; show your support in whatever way you feel appropriate.

Elk being wiped out
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not adequately consider the consequences of severe winter conditions in its decision to “reintroduce” the gray wolf into Idaho. Because of the deep snow in northern Idaho this winter, wolves are wiping out entire herds of elk. The depredation is so bad that Idaho Fish and Game has closed off the Clearwater River area to snowmobiles.

This winter has resulted in very heavy snowfall in North Idaho. Because of the deep snow, the elk are trapped in less than 1 percent of their normal range along the rivers and in steep canyons. The areas’ terrain and topography coupled with the heavy snow, has trapped the elk in small confined areas in which they cannot get away from the wolves. Sportsman from North Idaho are telling me that this severe 2007-2008 winter will be a record for wolf caused depredation and will leave entire drainages void of a single elk.

Apparently, the USFW never factored this type of severe winter condition into their dynamic wolf “reintroduction” plan. However, they had the decision-making abilities and national support to force this plan on Idaho and to cause this wildlife disaster!
Please help us address this pending disaster. Log onto www.SAVEourELK.com

You can also go to YouTube and see the Elk winter range void of Elk. Search for “Flying the north Fork of the Clearwater River.”

Allan Borchardt, Moscow