The Lies that Led to the Vietnam War: Why the U.S. Got Involved and Why It Failed (1997)
Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam is a book written by then Major, currently Major General H.R. McMaster, that explores the militarys role in the policies of the Vietnam War. The book was written as part of McMasters Ph.D. thesis at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.\r
The book examines Robert McNamara and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnsons staff, alongside the military and particularly the Joint Chiefs of Staff, failure to provide a successful plan of ion to pacify either a Viet Cong insurgency or decisively defeat the North Vietnamese Army.\r
McMaster details why military ions intended to indicate resolve or to communicate ultimately failed when trying to accomplish sparsely detailed, confusing, and conflicting military objectives. In his opinion, the military is not a political or diplomatic tool, but force to be used appropriately to inflict massive casualties and cause maximized damage to enemy forces in order to meet objective military targets and goals.\r
\r
In a CNN report on Iraq (October 2006), the influence of the book in military circles is noted:\r
Pace said he and the other joint chiefs were debriefing commanders just back from the front lines, including one colonel recognized as a rising star and creative thinker -- Major General H.R. McMaster, the author of 1997 book Dereliction of Duty, considered the seminal work on militarys responsibility during Vietnam to confront their civilian bosses when strategy was not working.\r
\r
\r
\r
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in a secret memo to president Gerald Ford that in terms of military tics, we cannot help draw the conclusion that our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail.[352] Even Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion.[353]\r
Doubts surfaced as to the effectiveness of large-scale, sustained bombing. As Army Chief of Staff Harold Keith Johnson noted, if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldnt do the job.[354] Even General William Westmoreland admitted that the bombing had been ineffective. As he remarked, I still doubt that the North Vietnamese would have relented.[354]\r
The inability to bomb Hanoi to the bargaining table also illustrated another U.S. miscalculation. The Norths leadership was composed of hardened communists who had been fighting for thirty years. They had defeated the French, and their tenacity as both nationalists and communists was formidable. Ho Chi Minh is quoted as saying, You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours.But even at these odds you will lose and I will win.[355]\r
\r
The Vietnam War called into question the U.S. Army doctrine. Marine Corps General Victor H. Krulak heavily criticised Westmorelands attrition strategy, calling it wasteful of American lives. with small likelihood of a successful outcome.[354] In addition, doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces.\r
Between 1965 and 1975, the United States spent $111 billion on the war ($686 billion in FY2008 dollars).[356] This resulted in a large federal budget deficit.\r
More than 3 million Americans served in the Vietnam War, some 1.5 million of whom ually saw combat in Vietnam.[357] James E. Westheider wrote that At the height of American involvement in 1968, for example, there were 543,000 American military personnel in Vietnam, but only 80,000 were considered combat troops.[358] Conscription in the United States had been controlled by the president since World War II, but ended in 1973.\r
By wars end, 58,220 American soldiers had been killed,[A 2] more than 150,000 had been wounded, and at least 21,000 had been permanently disabled.[359] The average age of the U.S. troops killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years.[360] According to Dale Kueter, Of those killed in combat, 86.3 percent were white, 12.5 percent were black and the remainder from other races.[361] Approximately 830,000 Vietnam veterans suffered symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. An estimated 125,000 Americans left for Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft,[362] and approximately 50,000 American servicemen deserted.[363] In 1977, United States president Jimmy Carter granted a full and unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era draft dodgers.[364] The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, concerning the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as missing in ion, persisted for many years after the wars conclusion.\r
As of new, the U.S. government is paying Vietnam veterans and their families or survivors more than 22 billion dollars a year in
The book examines Robert McNamara and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnsons staff, alongside the military and particularly the Joint Chiefs of Staff, failure to provide a successful plan of ion to pacify either a Viet Cong insurgency or decisively defeat the North Vietnamese Army.\r
McMaster details why military ions intended to indicate resolve or to communicate ultimately failed when trying to accomplish sparsely detailed, confusing, and conflicting military objectives. In his opinion, the military is not a political or diplomatic tool, but force to be used appropriately to inflict massive casualties and cause maximized damage to enemy forces in order to meet objective military targets and goals.\r
\r
In a CNN report on Iraq (October 2006), the influence of the book in military circles is noted:\r
Pace said he and the other joint chiefs were debriefing commanders just back from the front lines, including one colonel recognized as a rising star and creative thinker -- Major General H.R. McMaster, the author of 1997 book Dereliction of Duty, considered the seminal work on militarys responsibility during Vietnam to confront their civilian bosses when strategy was not working.\r
\r
\r
\r
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in a secret memo to president Gerald Ford that in terms of military tics, we cannot help draw the conclusion that our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail.[352] Even Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion.[353]\r
Doubts surfaced as to the effectiveness of large-scale, sustained bombing. As Army Chief of Staff Harold Keith Johnson noted, if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldnt do the job.[354] Even General William Westmoreland admitted that the bombing had been ineffective. As he remarked, I still doubt that the North Vietnamese would have relented.[354]\r
The inability to bomb Hanoi to the bargaining table also illustrated another U.S. miscalculation. The Norths leadership was composed of hardened communists who had been fighting for thirty years. They had defeated the French, and their tenacity as both nationalists and communists was formidable. Ho Chi Minh is quoted as saying, You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours.But even at these odds you will lose and I will win.[355]\r
\r
The Vietnam War called into question the U.S. Army doctrine. Marine Corps General Victor H. Krulak heavily criticised Westmorelands attrition strategy, calling it wasteful of American lives. with small likelihood of a successful outcome.[354] In addition, doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces.\r
Between 1965 and 1975, the United States spent $111 billion on the war ($686 billion in FY2008 dollars).[356] This resulted in a large federal budget deficit.\r
More than 3 million Americans served in the Vietnam War, some 1.5 million of whom ually saw combat in Vietnam.[357] James E. Westheider wrote that At the height of American involvement in 1968, for example, there were 543,000 American military personnel in Vietnam, but only 80,000 were considered combat troops.[358] Conscription in the United States had been controlled by the president since World War II, but ended in 1973.\r
By wars end, 58,220 American soldiers had been killed,[A 2] more than 150,000 had been wounded, and at least 21,000 had been permanently disabled.[359] The average age of the U.S. troops killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years.[360] According to Dale Kueter, Of those killed in combat, 86.3 percent were white, 12.5 percent were black and the remainder from other races.[361] Approximately 830,000 Vietnam veterans suffered symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. An estimated 125,000 Americans left for Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft,[362] and approximately 50,000 American servicemen deserted.[363] In 1977, United States president Jimmy Carter granted a full and unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era draft dodgers.[364] The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, concerning the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as missing in ion, persisted for many years after the wars conclusion.\r
As of new, the U.S. government is paying Vietnam veterans and their families or survivors more than 22 billion dollars a year in
Category
📺
TV