Evil consequences of American Belligerent Aggression in Vietnam

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) published an article on 'tree spiking'. 

Tree spiking involves nails, bolts or other metal spikes or objects being hammered or drilled into trees to disrupt logging and milling.

A ruler is held up to a mark in a log showing where a spike was discovered

(Facebook: Karanja Timbers) 

Two sawmills in Tasmania's south have reported finding bolts in logs delivered to them by Sustainable Timber Tasmania from the Wentworth Hills area this week, and Tasmania Police and Workplace Standards are now both investigating.

Wayne Booth from Karanja Timbers in the Derwent Valley said he received the logs on Tuesday and discovered the bolts.

"I put one of the logs through the mill, and on the first cut, I hit a spike," Mr Booth said. "When we investigated further, it was a deliberately-placed spike. The hole had been drilled in the log, the spike had been put in the log, and then it had been siliconed over."

Production stopped at the sawmill, and staff found a further five bolts in logs using metal detectors.

"The saw can't cut steel, so the saw either shatters, teeth fly off the saw, or the bolt spike itself will get thrown out.

"That travels at about 5000 feet a minute, and if someone's standing in front of that it becomes a bullet."

Mr Booth wants those responsible held to account.

"This is a whole new low, the Government has to come out now, they have to stop it and the judiciary has to do something, no more smack on the wrists," Mr Booth said.

For more of above, see my post Evil Acts in Australia and Vietnam over at my other blog BolehTalk.

Wayne Booth from Karanja Timbers in the Derwent Valley said he received the logs on Tuesday and discovered the bolts

(ABC News: Alexandra Humphries) 

'Spiking trees' while deliberate in Tasmania to foil timber cutting is a danger akin to that faced by Vietnamese loggers who came unexpectedly on US bomb shrapnel embedded in trees, which happened during the Vietnam War when USAF bombers dropped their deadly arsenals. Shrapnel pierced into many trees which continued growing to, putting it fatefully, await Vietnamese loggers after the war, with deadly consequences.

Another ill effect of the USAF massive bombing were increased diseases to Vietnamese caused by mosquitoes flourishing in the water filled bomb craters caused by American bombing.

A third deadly sin of the American war machine in Vietnam has been the criminal use of the notorious Agent Orange herbicide.

Wikipedia informs us:

Agent Orange is a herbicide and defoliant chemical, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It is widely known for its use by the U.S. military as part of its chemical warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.

It is a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. In addition to its damaging environmental effects, traces of dioxin (mainly TCDD, the most toxic of its type) found in the mixture have caused major health problems for many individuals who were exposed.

Up to four million people in Vietnam were exposed to the defoliant. The government of Vietnam says as many as 3 million people have suffered illnesses because of Agent Orange. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems as a result of Agent Orange contamination. The United States government has challenged these figures as being unreliable.

The U.S. government has documented higher cases of leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and various kinds of cancer in exposed veterans. An epidemiological study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that there was an impact of birth defects of the children of veterans as a result of Agent Orange, although there was no overall rise in the total number of births with defects of Vietnam Veterans. Agent Orange also caused enormous environmental damage in Vietnam. Over 3,100,000 hectares (31,000 km2 or 11,969 mi2) of forest were defoliated. Defoliants eroded tree cover and seedling forest stock, making reforestation difficult in numerous areas. Animal species diversity sharply reduced in contrast with unsprayed areas.

The use of Agent Orange in Vietnam resulted in numerous legal actions. The United Nations ratified United Nations General Assembly Resolution 31/72 and the Environmental Modification Convention. Lawsuits filed on behalf of both U.S. and Vietnamese veterans sought compensation for damages.

Agent Orange was to a lesser extent used outside Vietnam. It was first used by British Armed Forces in Malaysia during the Malayan Emergency. It was also used in neighbouring Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War because forests on the border with Vietnam were used by the Viet Cong. 

Such have been the evil consequences of the belligerent aggression America displayed in the Vietnam War. The sins of the USA have been too many even for God to forgive, let alone the Vietnamese who have quietly harboured in their saddened hearts the wickedness they suffered from the American imperialists.