Last Ghost of War, The 1x56

What is a chemical weapon? And who should be held accountable in the wake of what is arguably the largest chemical warfare operation in American history? A former US ambassador to Vietnam referred to Agent Orange as “the last ghost” of war and the last issue of contention yet to be addressed by the United States and Vietnam. Thirty years after the end of the Vietnam War, there are several million victims of Agent Orange. Last Ghost of War introduces viewers to four of these victims: plaintiffs in a class action suit against 32 US chemical companies who are seeking compensation and justice. Their lawyers battle in a federal court in Brooklyn against a phalanx of lawyers for the chemical companies. Retired chemical workers and American Vietnam veterans, who were exposed to the same toxic herbicides, bolster the claims of the Vietnamese victims. A letter to the American people from Vietnam explains, “the use of toxic chemicals is in brazen violation of international law and is thus a war crime”. Now the deadly dioxin has worked its way into the food chain and some argue, the gene pool, in Vietnam with tragic results. Vietnamese victims, their attorneys, scientists, social activists, and a military historian take us to a new battlefield in this startling documentary, where the absence of moral responsibility of the government who engaged in chemical warfare and corporate accountability are heavily present.

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