Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- Declassified U.S. documents show that American air force planes strafed South Korean civilians on three occasions in and around Nogun-ri, a hamlet some 250km south of Seoul, during the early days of the Korean War (1950-53). The U.S. military documents proving the three aerial attacks were made public through the Web site of the U.S. publication firm, Henry Holt. An after-mission report, posted on the Nogun-ri home page of Henry Holt (www.henryholt.com/nogunri), showed that between "50 to 100 troops were killed or wounded by U.S. air force planes three miles south of Yongam-ri (misspelled as Yonsan-ni) July 26, 1950," when Nogun-ri survivors estimate 100 refugees were killed by strafing planes four and one half miles southeast of Yongsan-ni. "The initial attack on the refugees occurred around mid-day; this mission flew in early evening. But some survivors say they were strafed again later that day, or the next day, or both," the report said. Another after-mission report also said that U.S. planes were ordered to strafe an "unidentified object" one mile west of Hwanggan July 27, 1950. The Nogun-ri trestle, which some survivors say was strafed that day, is a mile and a half west-southwest of Hwanggan. The results of the attack on the "unidentified" target were recorded as "good." The documents show that the U.S. side omitted crucial information during a joint inquiry with South Korean officials, the outcome of which was announced in a report earlier this year. The U.S. side has consistently denied strafing by U.S. air force planes on Koreans near Nogun-ri July 26. It said there was only one air raid the following day. The report, which was released Jan. 12 after 15 months of joint probes and consultations between the two sides, ended inconclusively on the strafing case. It said: "Strafing may have been occurred near Nogun-ri the last week of July 1950 and could have injured or killed Korean civilians but that any such air strikes were not deliberate attacks on Korean civilians." The U.S. report, however, acknowledged for the first time that U.S. soldiers killed or injured an unconfirmed number of South Korean refugees at Nogun-ri. Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a written statement of regret over the civilian deaths and promised to offer a scholarship fund and build a memorial to Nogun-ri victims and other innocent Korean civilians killed during the war. But the U.S. side refused to admit its responsibility for the incident, saying their commanders did not issue oral or written orders to shoot and kill Korean civilians. Nogun-ri survivors and local civic groups claim that about 300 to 400 South Korean civilians were killed by retreating U.S. troops and U.S. air force planes at Nogun-ri. In September 1999, a team of Associated Press (AP) investigative reporters broke the story that U.S. troops had killed a large number of South Korean refugees, including women and children, early in the war. The Nogun-ri story made headlines around the world and sparked an official investigation by the Pentagon that confirmed the allegations the U.S. military had previously dismissed. Henry Holt plans to publish a book on the incident, titled "The Bridge at No Gun Ri," Sept. 6. The authors of the book are Charles J. Hanley, Choe Sang-hun and Martha Mendoza, all AP writers, who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. ([EMAIL PROTECTED] By Kang Seok-jae Staff reporter . . [Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
