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THIS PHOTOGRAPH CHANGED EVERYTHING:

For those of you too young to remember, this is a picture of the My Lai massacre. Americans viewed many horrible images from the Vietnam War but this picture, this massacre, was the final straw.

In 1968 the war-weary Americal, 11th Brigade, Charlie Company had been given orders by their Captain -Ernest Medina- to conduct a "search and destroy" mission in the southern district of Son My at the village of My Lai. The soldiers were led by Lieutenetant William Calley. When the men got to My Lai they expected to confront the Vietcong. Calley ordered the group to enter the village with weapons firing. After it was all over there were at least 300 dead although some reports claim it was more like 500. Of the dead, not one was Vietcong, just women, children and old men. The victims had been shot and stabbed and some were raped and tortured. Witnesses say Calley himself led a group of villagers into a pit and opened fire.

Fortunately, an Army helecopter spotted the slaughter from the air. They quickly landed and then drew arms against their fellow soldiers, and forced them to stand down.

While some members of Charlie Company refused to take part in the massacre, none of them reported the incident. Later Tom Glen of the 11th Light Infantry wrote a letter of complaint about the horrible atrocities committed by several Army units. The letter did not mention My Lai by name but nevertheless was graphic and specific in detail.

The officer who was given the task of investigating the crimes mentioned in the letter was a young Major named Colin Powell. You read it right. Colin Powell.

Instead of investigating the complaints, Powell chose to investigate the soldier who had written the letter. Powell's official conclusion was: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent."

The inquiry into the My Lai massacre would have ended with Powell's report had it not been for the actions of others. One ex-soldier (Ron Ridenhour) wrote a letter similar to Glen's and wisely sent copies to US congressmen. Seymour Hersh investigated and broke the story of My Lai. Photographs of the massacre -taken by Ronald Haeberle were printed in Australia's Sunday Observer.

The American public was disgusted by the massacre but were incensed by it's cover-up. They were already exposed to a daily onslaught of violence due to press coverage in the trenches. They had watched too many young men and women come home in body bags and draped coffins. Perhaps more than any other factor, it was the images of the war that brought about it's end.

Thirty five years later the powers that be have learned a lot about how to "package" war. They've figured out that they can get away with it as long as they censor the images. This is why the American public doesn't see pictures of the dead in Iraq. This is why photographers are banned from Dover Air Force Base. This is why journalists are "embedded" in Iraq instead of being allowed to follow the truth. Our current administration is well practiced in the art of deception. Colin Powell is just one of the experts.