US military Archives - Read Selective

50 years after the Vietnam War ended, its bombs continue to kill

US has channelled millions to clean up UXO but farmers and children continue to discover unexploded missiles.

UXO is still being discovered 50 years after the Vietnam War ended [Chris Humphrey/Al Jazeera]

Ho Sy Bay, 62, was rummaging around in his garden in central Vietnam when he struck something harder than sand or soil. Cautiously, he brushed aside the surrounding dirt and realised he was staring at an unexploded missile.

Although Sy was unsure if the fuse was still intact, he picked up the bomb and placed it carefully in a thicket on one side of his vegetable patch.

“I found it last Thursday,” Sy told Al Jazeera on a visit to his home in Quang Tri province, adding that he informed local officials right away. “Sometimes I find other objects as well. After the war, I started working as a scrap collector and found many types of explosives. Back in 1975, when I was 20, I would find bigger explosives with metal detectors and sell them.”

Behind Sy’s house lie the shattered ruins of a church where North Vietnamese Army soldiers used to hide during the Vietnam War, making the building a target for successive bombing raids by the United States military, which backed the South Vietnamese government in what was then known as Saigon and is now Ho Chi Minh City.

“Around 1979, I found a body around here,” he said, pointing to an area of his garden where he found the remains of a Vietnamese soldier, which was taken away by the authorities.

Ho Sy Bay, 62, found an unexploded missile in his garden. Behind is a ruined church where North Vietnamese Army soldiers would hide during the Vietnam War, making it a target for US bombing raids [Chris Humphrey/Al Jazeera]

The US carried out more than a million bombing raids during the 20-year conflict, dropping some 5 million tonnes of ordnance on the Southeast Asian country. About a third of the munitions, including cluster bombs, did not explode on impact.

It has now been more than 50 years since the last US soldier left Vietnam – on March 29, 1973 – but tens of thousands of explosives are still being found each year, often mere inches beneath the soil.

‘Reality of war’

In Quang Tri province, which was once divided by the demilitarised zone between North and South Vietnam and remains the most heavily-contaminated province in the country, there have been 3,500 deaths from accidents since the war ended. The last death was in 2022, when a bomb exploded in a farmer’s hands after he discovered it in a field and picked it up.

“After seeing so many accidents and doing scrap collecting work for a long time, I stopped,” Sy added. Yet despite his experiences, he is not angry: “I feel like everyone else… this is just the reality of war.”

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a United Kingdom-based NGO that has been working in Vietnam since 1999 and now employs 735 people in the country, came to remove the bomb in Sy’s garden after he called a local hotline.

Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/26/50-years-after-the-vietnam-war-ended-its-bombs-continue-to-kill

Taliban kill Islamic State leader who masterminded Kabul airport bombing that left 13 US service members dead

The blast outside the airport in 2021 took place as thousands of Afghans tried to board crowded flights to flee the country during the chaotic US-led withdrawal.

US marines at Abbey Gate before the bombing in Kabul on 26 August 2021. Pic: Department of Defense via AP

The Tailban have killed an Islamic State group leader who masterminded the Kabul airport suicide bombing that left 13 US service members dead.

The US military informed the families of the 11 marines, the sailor and the soldier killed in the blast during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

About 170 Afghans were also killed in the bombing outside Hamid Karzai International Airport on 26 August 2021.

Family members of the US personnel shared the information in a private messaging chat group, according to one marine’s mother.

The account from the families was confirmed by US officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The IS leader, whose identity has not yet been released, was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April.

The Taliban were conducting a series of operations against the Islamic State group, according to one of the officials.

At the time, the Taliban were not aware of the identity of the person they killed, the official added.

Coffin with the remains of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover is carried at Dover Air Force Based in Delaware. Pic: AP

‘It’s not going to bring Taylor back’

The attack at Abbey Gate took place as thousands of Afghans tried to board crowded flights to flee the country after the Taliban’s takeover.

At the time, the UK, the US and other nations were carrying out the evacuation of thousands of citizens.

Darin Hoover, the father of staff sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover who died in the attack, said the killing of the unidentified Islamic State group leader does nothing to help them.

He said: “Whatever happens, it’s not going to bring Taylor back and I understand that.

“About the only thing his mom and I can do now is be an advocate for him. All we want is the truth. And we’re not getting it. That’s the frustrating part.”

His son was among service members who were screening thousands of Afghans trying to board one of the flights out of the country.

Mr Hoover said he and his son’s mother, Kelly Henson, have spent the past year and a half grieving the death of the 31-year-old and praying for accountability from Joe Biden’s administration for the handling of the withdrawal.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/taliban-kill-islamic-state-leader-who-masterminded-kabul-airport-bombing-that-left-13-us-service-members-dead-12866492

U.S. spent more on military in 2022 than next 10 countries combined

Countries around the world spent a combined $2.24 trillion on their militaries last year, a 3.7% increase on last year’s previous record high when adjusted for inflation, according to an annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The big picture: Many of the biggest increases came in Europe as countries responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. continued to top the chart, spending $877 billion on defense last year. That was more than the next 10 countries combined.

U.S. spending increased only slightly over 2021, even when factoring in an estimated $20 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine. China’s military budget grew by 4% in Beijing’s 28th consecutive annual increase, according to SIPRI’s data.
Russia increased its spending by 9% to $86 billion last year. Meanwhile, Ukraine ($44 billion) increased spending by a whopping 640% to move from 36th to 11th on SIPRI’s annual list of the 40 biggest spenders.

Next came India ($81 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($75 billion), which both spent significantly more in 2022 than the previous year.

The rest of the top 15 is made up mainly of U.S. allies like the U.K. ($69 billion), Germany ($59 billion), Japan ($46 billion), South Korea ($46 billion), Australia ($32 billion) and Israel ($23 billion).
Iran ($7 billion), the only country in the top 40 after China and Russia that has adversarial relations with the U.S., sits 34th between Belgium and Switzerland.

Zoom in: Several countries in Europe including Poland (+11%), Sweden (+12%) and the Netherlands (+12%), increased spending significantly last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While European spending jumped significantly, the increases were not uniform. Military spending was flat in France and actually fell in Italy when adjusted for inflation. Most allies remain below NATO’s spending target of 2% of GDP, though many (including Italy) have plans to get there.
Military spending in Taiwan ($13 billion) increased slightly last year but remains at just 1.6% of GDP despite growing fears of a Chinese invasion.
Among the top 40 spenders, Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia (7.4%) and Qatar (7.0%) spent the highest shares of GDP on their militaries, with the exception of Ukraine (34%).

Source: https://www.axios.com/2023/04/24/global-military-spending-2022-us-china-russia-list