Customer Reviews

Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a historico-legal research and summary of the applicable treason law--as actually applied to convict and sentence other American citizens who gave aid and comfort to our enemies during armed conflict.

The author clearly shows that Jane Fonda's actions in 1972 would have brought her case to a grand jury. Based on comparison to the actions of convicted American citizens during WWII, Jane Fonda would likely have been convicted as well.

The eight-minute O'Reilly Factor in which author Professor Henry Mark Holzer confronted Fonda's former husband and comrade Tom Hayden is devastating to observe. Hayden falls back on a lame First Amendment defense, and cannot even grasp that North Vietnamese leaders themselves said Fonda had given them the strength to continue.

The American citizens who broadcast for the Nazis and Japanese propaganda radio in WWII were convicted on less evidence than is displayed concerning Fonda's July, 1972 work for the North Vietnamese.

That the U.S. Department of Justice failed to prosecute for fear of a public relations backlash seems in retrospect cowardly and badly reasoned.

The service of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines was valiant, and their betrayal by Fonda is a vile thing to behold. Her betrayal of the duties of a citizen is clear, and resonates in the cases of John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla.

Aid and Comfort is relevant for then and now.

It is now more than 30 years since the last Americans left Saigon, and while most of the embers stoked in the 1960s have cooled, the visit by anti-war activist Jane Fonda to North Vietnam still inflames many. Given the temperature of the topic, any indictment of Fonda should be documented thoroughly and analyzed rigorously. The review of Fonda's activities should be divorced from any discussion of the merit of the war itself (or whether the United States was right to have been involved.) This book fits the bill on all counts.

Unsurprisingly, since one of the authors is a law professor emeritus, this book is written as a legal brief would be: the Holzers discuss the facts in detail; then explain the law; and finally apply the law to the facts. "Aid and Comfort" starts with a discussion of Fonda's early life and her involvement as a young adult with left-leaning French friends of her then-husband Roger Vadim. None of this background is necessary for the indictment, as Fonda's motive in going to Vietnam is irrelevant -- what counts are her acts. Nonetheless, it is interesting, and provides a picture of a very insecure woman whose political opinions were formed and shaped by the men with whom she was involved.

The next chapter is a harrowing discussion of the treatment of American POWs by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. It is hard to read, but is necessary to demonstrate the effects that Fonda's words would have on these servicemen. After all, broadcasting propoganda aimed at destroying the spirit of those who were barely clinging to life is more serious than disseminating it to a well-fed population with other sources of news. (In either case, as the Holzers demonstrate, a charge of treason could be levied.) The authors then discuss Fonda's actual speeches (reproduced in full at the end of the book.) They make an eye-popping read. I was unaware, for example, that Fonda had falsely accused the POWs themselves of taking anti-war positions -- a charge which could only sap the strength and morale of these men when the broadcasts were later played to them.

The Holzers then devote two chapters to a detailed discussion of the law of treason. Although legal discussions sometimes can be dry for non-lawyers, the facts of the cases (including the prosecutions of "Axis Sally" and "Tokyo Rose") are interesting and the authors clearly explain the standards for treason. The book then demonstrates why there is enough evidence against Fonda to at least bring a case to a jury. That the government did not do so was due more to the politics of the time than any lack of proof.

Many believe that we should put the Vietnam War behind us and stop ripping scabs off festering wounds. This, in my opinion, is the wrong way to view it. As with Holocaust survivors, the POWs of Vietnam need some measure of justice, no matter how late it comes. While the US government will never actually prosecute Fonda, this book provides necessary healing by trying -- and convicting -- Fonda in the "moral" court.

This text is a superbly written and seriously scholarly product that provides the fundamental basis, based on a foundation of thorough legal analysis of documented events, for formulating what amounts to an indictment of the behaviors of a traitor. The text is fascinating but nevertheless maintains a rigorous adherence to analyses of various data bases, and provides the reader with a fine example of integrated logic and reasoning in what could easily have been be a purely emotional treatise which typically characterizes much of the published articles concerning Ms. Fonda's behaviors in time of war.

This book should be read by everyone like myself who, at one time, felt that Jane Fonda was an American idol. The revelations described here, with the irrefutable primary source evidence, will convince even the most diehard supporters that Jane Fonda committed treason as defined by the U.S. Constitution. Instead of being deified by women's groups and opponents of the Vietnam War ( of which I number myself) she should be indicted for treason. The treachery and malevolence of this woman is a revelation.

It was stupid of Jane Fonda to make a statement against the war from the seat of an anti-aircraft gun. The authors make a good case for treason, but the United States was not officially at war, which questions the validity of the charges.

I served in Vietnam from 1970-71 and can tell you that the troops would have welcomed Jane Fonda as a performer in a USO show much more than her eventual 1972 performance.

For all who now say that the events of 1972 are immaterial, what would be the consequence today of a Hollywood personality appearing in Bhagdad in support of the Baathist Party?

Never forget that after the fall of South Vietnam, over 80,000 of their people were systematically murdered by the communists that Jane Fonda supported.

For those who really care, we would love to hear Jane Fonda say that she made a mistake. Afterall, Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to thousands of draft dodgers.

This book deals with Jane Fonda and her actions when she visited North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and in authors' sense of belief, gave aid and comfort to the enemy during the time of war. On this, I have utterly no doubt that Jane Fonda, one of our most infamous liberal nazis of Hollywoodland, is guility as she stand.

However, the presentation of the book is bit questionable because the authors appears to be too overzealous in their approach. Research although pretty good, appears to be bit one sided. Not to say that on certain things, they almost sounds outright racists. A good example would be on page 33 when they referred to the term "subhuman Asian communists". Indeed, if the Asian communists were "subhuman", then their behavior would be acceptable since they are not human anyway, right?? Second example, the authors' zealous to paint traitors got them looking in the case of Iva Toguri, and they got her on the crosshair right with Jane Fonda. Unfortuately for the authors, Toguri was actually pardoned by President Ford (first time ever for a case like this). Her trial was misfire of justice as perjury tainted her actions and supporting statements by American and Australian POWs who were aided by her went unnoticed by the court of that period as well as by the authors today. (It was also left out that most of broadcasts made by Toguri were written by American and Australian POWs). It doesn't helped the authors that most American high commands regards Toguri's broadcasts as more of a morale booster for American troops who enjoyed her music and meaningless bombastic statements. Putting Toguri case in this book reflects on one sided research and utter lack of understanding on the part of the authors.

So what is the point of all this? The authors put together a nice case against Jane Fonda but the text of this book is filled with overzealous errors. Most people who read this book like me, needs no convincing that Jane Fonda should be hung, drawn and quartered for she is an out right traitor to our nation. The authors I believed, should stick to that element since every traitor got a their own different story and Jane Fonda's story is unique by itself. There isn't enough impact story on her personally and why even today, Jane Fonda should not be let off the hook. I am not aware of any statue of limitation on treason!

...A lot of US soldiers were betrayed by what Ms Fonda said and did during her trip to Vietnam. Many of her ilk (for example Bill Clinton)protested our involvement in Vietnam because it was fashionable. Unfortunately, Vietnam vets weren't allowed to be fashionable as they were dying overseas to the tune of 58 thousand over 10 years.The purpose of the book as I see it is "He who forgets history is doomed to repeat it"...

For some time, I have owned this book and would often think about reading it, even picking it up and toying with the idea of glancing through it before placing it back on the shelf opting for another book instead. I guess I was afraid that Erika and Henry Holzer might somehow tarnish my view of Jane Fonda- my pristine unveiled despising of Jane. I always liked my attitude in such matters. What if they told me things about her that I hadn't known were true or worse that I had thought I had known? Though it would be another testimonial to the mystique and unrest of the Vietnam War, I really did not want anymore knowledge of Jane in my head.
I broke down and read it recently and in fact my worst fears were true, but not in the way I expected. I did feel pangs of guilt as I read page after page. They did tell me things about Jane Fonda I had not known, though none improved my image of her. What the authors did do however, was give a very detailed accounting of the cloud surrounding Jane Fonda and her activities in the early 1970's, including trips to Vietnam and other foreign lands. I felt guilt because I had wasted so much time avoiding this book. It is a fine book. It is an incredible book actually. I found it to impressively detailed and well documented. As the scholars that they surely must be, they presented the information based on many sources that are easily verified. I cannot imagine the level of dedication and tenacity required of the authors in order for them to complete their work so thoroughly. I have read many books related to Jane Fonda and her exploits of the early 1970's and none are better. None are even close.
They presented information that was damning to say the least but were just as quick to give research that exonerated Ms. Fonda of acts that she has been accused of for years. Usually books that would seem more of a reference book than a memoir or fiction would bore me, even if they had useful information. To the contrary I was able to start from one cover and work to the other with little interruption. At the end, I was struck by the fact that this book was so well researched and written that it could also easily be used as a reference book.
Knowing what I know about the activities of some American citizens during the Vietnam War, I am quite grateful to authors/researchers such as Erika and Henry Holzer, for I credit them with great wisdom and fortitude themselves for being more objective than the person they chose to write about. I would think the authors would agree with my response to a friend not long ago who told me that Jane Fonda was vilified. "If Jane has been vilified, it has been by her own actions". The authors make clear at the conclusion of their book what they think of Jane Fonda and her actions during the Vietnam War and I completely and wholeheartedly agree and am not afraid to say so. I do not know what the authors think now with so much time that has passed both since the war and since the writing of their book. Perhaps they feel a slight pang now and then that there is a time to let things go, to forget or pretend at least that past wrongs, however vile never happened. I feel a slight pang now and then like that, but it is so small it is a little like gas, maybe it is gas. Because I know that the proof is in the pudding or the book as it were and the things Jane Fonda and her associates did were in fact treacherous and immoral and yes villainous. I recommend this book more highly than I ever recommended any book as a work for history to be truly known.

Many people protested this war, both actively and passively. Some even went to prison as a "fruit" of their protest. Some went to Canada to avoid the draft. Many took part in various public events and protests. Whether you choose to indict that large group or not, it is true that (almost) none of them went to give "aid and comfort" to the enemy. With one major exception:

Except for Jane Fonda, by actually contacting the North Vietnamese, and using her public persona and fame to visit the POWs, make defamatory statements about them and posing in front of weaponry used to fight against the US. This was an entirely new and unprecedented type of "protest."

Now that I write this, there are still South Vietnamese ex-residents who were severely damaged by the loss of the War. By this I mean they were forced to leave in tiny boats, many drowning in the process, spend years in "re-education" camps in starvation, lost all of their property, and in some cases were actively tortured by the "winners."

Pacifism always has a cost. True, it was a civil war. But when we left (after doing everything we could to try to prevent loss of the war), there were consequences.

Pacifism (or if you prefer, non-intervention) is still a very active topic of discussion and has great relevance today, as much as it did during the Vietnam War.

Fonda seemed to support the doctrine of pacifism, at least in this war. I am not familiar with any comments she has made about subsequent US conflicts. For example, as an erstwhile supporter of woman's rights, what has she done to further the rights of the women of Islam? Nothing...to my knowledge. If she would wish to be consistent, she has an obligation to defend the rights of Islamic females who remain enslaved by that religion and culture. This is not an unrelated issue. Either she stands up for the "downtrodden," or she does not.

Instead, she continues to promote herself. That is her right in the US. But according to the authors of this book, she deserved to face a jury for treason. As an over-privileged, indulged, wealthy female blessed with exceedingly good looks, she has much to be thankful for. The authors present a compelling case for their indictment.

Fonda never to my knowledge had a university level experience on Modern Communism. At the least, prior to accepting the "new left's" statements as facts, she was bereft of knowledge on this subject. What did she know about the Stalin purges? The take-over of Europe and the East by Communism? The genocides of Mao? The mass starvation of millions to a failed economic system. Instead, she swallowed the doctrine of Communism and dialectical materialism hook, line and sinker...without so much as a glance to its history. Nobody expected her, as basically an uneducated entertainer to read Hegel or Marx...or to understand their critics. But she openly accepted their doctrines as unquestioning as many who signed up for the draft to fight this very war.

Forgive me if I continue to hold her in contempt, not just for her "Vietnam" years, but all of the years subsequent. She has openly welcomed and accepted REAL capitalism with a capital C for herself. Yet, she denied that to the very people in South Vietnam who wished for the same privileges.

It's possible to write inflamed and angry posts about Jane Fonda. But none is more egregious than Fonda's personal embrace of capitalism...and her utter refusal to allow others in the Third World to share it by her open acceptance of North Vietnam's Communism. That act alone re-defines selfishness and greed.

This excellent and meticulously researched book indisputably makes the case that Jane Fonda could have and should have been indicted for treason for her unconscionable activities on behalf of our nation's enemy during the Viet Nam War. Contrary to what other reviewers have opined, this is NOT "ancient history." With our troops once again in harm's way in a shooting war, Ms. Fonda's despicable activities need to be kept clearly in mind by those who would cross the line separating robust discourse from the giving of aid and comfort to the enemy. Disagreeing with our nation's foreign policy does not give one license to commit treason. Ms. Fonda's treasonous actions, and our government's weak-kneed failure to prosecute her for her crime, also need to be kept in mind by our current leaders. When the government makes the decision to commit our armed forces to war and (for some) death, it has an obligation to prosecute those who cast in their lot with the enemy our troops have been ordered to defeat. Like it or not, time during war is different; not everything goes. And any government who, in the name of "freedom," fails or is afraid to prosecute the treasonous, itself betrays our nation and its armed forces. The tale of Jane Fonda -- and what she did, and what the government didn't do -- is indeed a timely one, and this book is important right now.