From Vietnam to Iraq: Sen. George McGovern Discusses the Lies of War from the Gulf of Tonkin to Iraq's WMDs

The 1972 presidential candidate looks back at how the U.S. entered the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. We also play an excerpt from the new documentary "One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern." [includes rush transcript]
In the past few weeks new information has been revealed about the U.S government's deceptions during the Vietnam War. Early this month new evidence emerged about the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 that precipitated the escalation of the Vietnam War. A National Security Agency historian determined that officers at the agency knowingly falsified intelligence in order to make it look as if North Vietnam had attacked U.S. destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf. Following the alleged attack, President Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes on North Vietnamese targets and used the event to persuade Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which led to the escalation of the war.
And just last week, documents were released from the National Archives that gave fresh insight into the Nixon administration's efforts to deceive the public over its 1970 attack on Cambodia. The over 50,000 pages of declassified material include records of then-President Richard Nixon meeting with aides at a time Americans were told US forces in Cambodia were there to support South Vietnamese. Nixon told aides: "That is what we will say publicly. But now, let's talk about what we will actually do."

George McGovern was the Democratic presidential candidate in the 1972 race against Richard Nixon. McGovern was one of the leading critics of the Vietnam war in Washington. A new film that looks at his life opened in Los Angeles this past weekend. It's called "One Bright and Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern." It was produced and directed by Stephen Vittoria. I was asked to narrate it.

Sen. George McGovern, ran for president in 1972 against Richard Nixon. He served in the Senate from 1962 to 1980.