By Ed Koch
“The Camden 28”
This documentary is about a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters in Camden, New Jersey, in the 1970s who broke into a government building and destroyed draft-board records. They were apprehended after an FBI operative, who had infiltrated the group, turned them in. The informant, who had misgivings about his actions, became a witness for the defense. While the Berrigan brothers, both Catholic priests, were part of the group, they are not prominent in the film and indeed have very little presence.
The movie points out that this trial was an unusual situation where the defense of jury nullification was raised. It would not, however, have been sufficient to overcome the fact that the defendants freely admitted destroying the records. The defense showed that the FBI had facilitated the plot and provided the money and tools to carry it out. The judge instructed the jury that if they found the government “overreached,” they could acquit, which they did for all 28 defendants.
As a member of Congress, I opposed the Vietnam War, because I believed it was a civil war from beginning to end. I did not believe either side was worthy of U.S. support in terms of casualties and financial burden. In my judgment, the situation in Iraq is different. There is no doubt that a civil war exists between Shia and Sunni in Iraq. About a year ago, however, I concluded that if our NATO and Muslim allies will not join us in the fight against international Islamic terrorism in Iraq, which has since become the center of international terrorism for Al-Qaeda and other Jihadists, we should get out.
The evening I saw the movie, Anthony Giacchino, the director, was present along with a half-dozen of the defendants, now 35 years older.
The engaging group took questions from the audience and impacted positively on it. Many wondered why the same activism shown against the Vietnam War is not currently taking place against the war in Iraq. One answer given was that the Vietnam War entailed a draft, and the Iraq war is fought with a volunteer army. I enjoyed this film very much.
HS said: “These were about the gentlest sort of revolutionaries I had ever seen on the screen. By the time the case went to trial, the country had soured on the war, and the jury verdict reflected that disillusionment. There was an allegation that J. Edgar Hoover and President Nixon had personally decided to prosecute the case at a meeting at the California White House. Hoover died suddenly on May 2, 1972. The trial was held in the spring of 1973.”
After the movie, I had dinner at Hill Country, a barbecue restaurant located at 30 West 26th Street, where I had the best beef ribs I have ever tasted. The restaurant attracts a young, friendly crowd, and the food is served on butcher’s paper rather than plates. You can eat in or take out, and the meat is sold by the pound at modest prices. The prices per pound are Brisket Moist, $18.50, Beef Ribs, $9.00, and Pork Spare Ribs, $11.00.
