Apart from his helping sell the second Iraq war, another blemish is Powell's whitewashing of the Mỹ Lai massacre. Powell was assigned to investigate a soldier's letter detailing the killing of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians (including children) in 1968 by US soldiers. Powell's report about the soldier's letter concluded " "in direct refutation of this portrayal, relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent". Powell never revisited the issue, and was continuously promoted.