The Phoenix Program is historical fact. Those wanting to know more can Google it for a variety of perspectives or, for a more all-encompassing (and somewhat negative) account, can look to Douglas Valentine’s scrupulously researched book The Phoenix Program. It’s also historically accurate that the Pentagon turned to the Phoenix Program as one source when cobbling together recommendations to the president in the days following September 11, 2001.
The bloodshed in the south of Thailand is, I’m sorry to say, ongoing and has claimed more than 5,000 lives to date.