Dereliction of Duty by H.R. McMaster
Brigadier General H.R. McMaster's 1998 book "Dereliction of Duty" addresses a series of inconsistencies concerning the Vietnam War and the Johnson Administration's indifference regarding the most probable outcome that the conflict would have. McMaster harshly criticizes Robert McNamara as a result of his role in the war and because he is primarily responsible for having brought the U.S. In this particular clash. The book describes the Vietnam War and the events preceding it, most probably with the purpose of presenting readers with the set of events that paved the road to the conflict. In addition to expressing his perspective about McNamara's influence in the war, McMaster also focuses on the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations and on their involvement in the war.
Judging from historical facts and from their tendency to put across their regret as regards their failure to prevent the Vietnam War from turning into an unwinnable conflict, it is only natural for McNamara and Johnson to be considered largely responsible for the men and resources that the U.S. has lost as a result of its participation in the war. McMaster emphasizes the fact that the technical experts in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations can be categorized as conceited individuals who believed that they were able to conduct...
The Joint Chiefs of Staff were thus limited in their control over the conflict and were only allowed to intervene in minor situations - when their interference would not have a decisive effect on the war.
McNamara and Johnson appeared to be more interested in political affairs than they were in the Vietnam War. Johnson constantly related to how he wanted the war to be short-lasting and to how he was unwilling to support an unjust conflict. His behavior was defined by his determination to be seen as one of the most significant politicians in the U.S. And by his interest in having the American public know as little as possible in regard to the war. McMaster coolly deals with historical data, as he apparently wants his readers to understand more in regard to the Johnson Administration and its relationship with the Secretary of Defense. Johnson's diplomatic abilities and his capacity to influence others in providing him with what he wanted were essential in having his advisors perform incorrect acts.
McMaster's concentration on the Vietnam War does not just deal with the fact that it was badly managed or with how the U.S. military was unsuccessful in completing its mission. The book also deals with how Kennedy and Johnson failed to focus on the core elements of the problem,…
Vietnam War Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945-1995 In Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945-1995, James S. Olson and Randy Roberts provide a compact history of the war and its resulting aftermath. The authors work to explain one of the most important and difficult issues in war history - the U.S. And its involvement in the Vietnam War. Throughout the years since the war ended, people have said
Vietnam -- Rules of Engagement There are many reasons given for the fact that the United States lost the war in Vietnam, and that America was basically pushed out of the country by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army even though the U.S. had far more firepower. Among the more credible reasons America lost the war was the failure on the part of the political leaders back in Washington
To that end, the northern Vietnamese forces and the Viet Cong in the south were looking to actually unify with the southern portion of this country -- which is evinced by the fact that shortly after the end of the war Vietnam was indeed united once again. Although this conception of the significance of the war is primarily political in nature, U.S. military forces could have used a more
South Vietnam, it believed, could be a base for the desired ability to mount military and economic operations throughout the globe and regardless of the insidious presence of communist influence, a premise which stood in direct contrast to Ho Chi Minh's dream. Indeed, as an official policy, leaders in Washington considered that the fall of South Vietnam to communism would be a pathway to the prevalence of communism in other
Minorities tended to live in more impoverished and less urban areas. The Hoa and ethnic Chinese were the exception to the rule however, typically living in more urban areas, and isolated from mainstream Vietnamese culture for some time. However, despite these seemingly unsolvable problems, there is ample evidence suggesting the government has continuously worked to help end discrimination and support a unified front. In recent years policies have been developed
S. mission in Vietnam. Whenever he had the chance, he restated the nation's moral commitment. His morally-grounded idealistic rhetoric gained him definite advantages. His arguments made him sound tough and pleased those with an equally hard-line position against communism in Southeast Asia. He could also use these arguments to justify and support his policies, such as when Congress threatened to reduce foreign aid. He insisted that foreign aid was an