| By Jim Garamone American Forces Press
Service WASHINGTON -- DoD's senior spokesman said July
2 he welcomed CNN's retraction of its recent story
alleging the U.S. use of sarin nerve agent in Laos in
1970 and the network's apology to veterans of the
military action in question. "We believed those
charges were wrong, and that's what our review so far
shows," Ken Bacon said during a news briefing. The
DoD review of what was known as Operation Tailwind will
continue, he said. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen
ordered the review right after CNN aired the report on
June 7. CNN President Tom Johnson said a report written
by media attorney Floyd Abrams, whom CNN called in for
its in-house review, concluded the CNN NewsStand
broadcast of "Valley of Death" cannot be
supported. "There is insufficient evidence that
sarin or any other deadly gas was used," Johnson
said. "Furthermore, CNN cannot confirm that American
defectors were targeted or at the camp as NewsStand
reported." Bacon said he was particularly glad the
news organization apologized to the men involved in the
action. "[The Special Forces team] felt, I think,
personally betrayed and hurt by the report," he
said. He said the men performed valiantly, with all being
wounded. The 16-man team with its Montagnard allies
collected valuable information on logistical procedures
of the North Vietnamese army, Bacon said. "The story
of this mission is really a story of incredible bravery
and heroism by all 16 of the Americans who participated
in it." Bacon said the DoD review shows no sign of
sarin or any other nerve agent being used during
Operation Tailwind. The Air Force did drop tear gas on
North Vietnamese positions in order to allow Marine
helicopters to evacuate the Army team. Of defectors,
Bacon said, "There were rumors throughout the war
that there were many more [U.S.] defectors, but we
believe there were only two. One of those died in
Cambodia in the mid-'70s. The other is now back in the
United States." He said the original story does not
help U.S. credibility. "Iraq made some statements
after this report came out alleging, falsely, our use of
chemical weapons," Bacon said. "We have worked
very hard in this department, led by Secretary Cohen, to
focus worldwide attention on the risks posed by weapons
such as VX and sarin, and biological weapons such as
anthrax. They are a threat to civil and stable countries
and we're trying to address that threat."
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