5 Comments
User's avatar
⭠ Return to thread
John Cougar Misanthrope's avatar

‘We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”

Expand full comment
Freedomisnotfree's avatar

John,

Did the Brits say that? And what is the meaning?

Was it a plague? Sorry, History not my strong point.

Expand full comment
John Cougar Misanthrope's avatar

It's a Vietnam War-era quote attributed by then Associated Press reporter Peter Arnett to an unnamed U.S. Army officer at the Battle of Ben Tre during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Historian Victor David Hansen, among others, could find no evidence to support Arnett's claim of an officer making such a statement. It became famous as a way to encapsulate the absurdity of modern warfare. It was resurrected more recently after the Battle of Falluja.

Expand full comment
Freedomisnotfree's avatar

Ok, got it. Thank you.

Expand full comment
Politico Phil's avatar

References an event in the Vietnam War

Expand full comment