Winter Soldier Inquiry Begins Today in Boston

The second Winter Soldier Investigation of America's war crimes in Indochina begins today in Boston's Faneuil Hall.

The three day hearings, which are open to the public, are being organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). The VVAW conducted a similar investigation into American war policy last February in Detroit.

Today's hearings will deal with the effects of American bombing on the rural population of Southeast Asia. Close to 50 American pilots, photo reconnaissance and photo damage assessment personnel are expected to testify about the results of American saturation bombing of North and South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

David Anderson, a spokesman for the VVAW in Cambridge, explained that "U.S. military policy in southeast Asia is to bomb as large an area as possible with the dual purpose of wiping out the population and destroying the ability of the land to support that population."

Fred Branfman, a reporter for Dispatch News Service International who worked for four years in Laos as a member of International Voluntary Services (IVS), is scheduled to testify this morning on the U.S. rationale for and effects of American bombing of civilian population in Laos.

Branfman will be followed at noon by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.), who is expected to deliver a brief speech followed by a question and answer period.

Daniel Ellsberg '52 is scheduled to testify this afternoon about the United States' decision-making process in the war against Southeast Asia, and about the implications of that policy.

Tomorrow morning the focus of investigation will shift to new American technology being introduced into Indochina and continuing American involvement in the war after the bulk of American combat troops have been with-drawn.

William Haseltine, a teaching fellow in Biology at Harvard and a member of the Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars, will testify about electronic battlefield sensors which are currently being installed along the South Vietnamese border to replace the withdrawing American troops.

These electronic sensors are tied into computers which then direct artillery fire into the specified area. By so doing, the human factor is diminished.

Friday afternoon will be devoted to the economic implications of America's air war, and specifically to U.S. studies analyzing various options for American and Japanese investment capital once the rural population of Indochina has been forcibly evacuated to police-controlled urban areas.

Friday evening's testimony will concern the social conditions which the rural refugees face. Branfman, returned medics, IVS personnel and an side of Kennedy's will participate in a panel discussing the present and future problems faced by these refugees.

Saturday's sessions will be devoted to the problems confronting returned American veterans, especially drug addiction and unemployment. Discussion will also focus on the conditions of VA hospitals.

The hours when testimony is scheduled are:

Thursday: 9-12 a.m., 2-5 p.m.

Friday: 9-12 a.m., 2-5 p.m., 7-11 p.m.

Saturday: 9-12 a.m., 2-5 p.m