In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam
Robert S. McNamara with Brian Van DeMark
New York: Times Books. 1995.
McNamara: There were eleven major causes for our disaster in Vietnam:
...exaggerated the dangers to the United States;
...viewed the people and leaders of South Vietnam in terms of our own experience;
...underestimated the power of nationalism to motivate a people;
...our profound ignorance of the history, culture and politics of the people;
...failed to recognize the limitations of modern high-technology military equipment;
...failed the task of winning the hearts and minds of people from a totally different culture;
...failed to draw Congress and the American people into a full and frank discussion and debate;
...failed to retain popular support in part because we did not explain fully what was happening and why we were doing what we did;
...we do not have the God-given right to shape every nation in our own image;
...U.S. military actions...should be carried out only in conjunction with multinational forces supported fully...by the international community;
...recognize...there may be problems for which there are no immediate solutions;
...failed to analyze and debate our actions in Southeast Asia with the intensity and thoroughness that characterized the debates of the Executive Committee during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Robert S. McNamaara: "Military force wielded by an outside power just cannot bring order in a country that can't govern itself."
Did anyone in the Bush Administration read this book? RayS.
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1 comment:
Educator, I enjoy reading, I actually stumbled upon your blog and found it very intersesting. Lets see, have you ever read Pox Americana? Thats a pretty sad book. Do you have any reading suggestions, I need to start reading a book to escape reality...or relate.
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