Thomas F. (hardtack) -
For me this was a difficult book to read in several ways. Not only because I was an USMC officer and served in Viet Nam myself, not only because it was often repetitive, but because it listed in great detail how the stupid military and government bureaucracies probably lost us the covert part of this war, and, as a result, possibly the rest of the war.
The military brass---for it own stupid reasons---did its best to avoid committing resources to the efforts of the "Studies and Observation Group" (SOG) which was created to oversee covert operations against the communist forces. Hand-in-hand, the other government agencies (Department of Defense, CIA, American ambassadors in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, etc.) also did their best to derail everything SOG attempted. In fact, at one point in the book the author states the two primary enemies of the SOG were the North Vietnamese leadership and the American leadership.
All this despite the fact, which any in-depth reader of World War II history knows, covert operations played an extremely important part in winning that war.
What was truly amazing was how senior American officials and generals downplayed the role of SOG in fighting the war at the same time they were aware of just how effective Communist covert operations were succeeding. General Westmoreland, one time "Times 'Man of the Year'," was a perfect example of "I know what I believe, don't bother me with the facts." And just to be sure people knew it, he downplayed the SOG in his autobiography.
Of course, none of this is new. Anytime military and civilian bureaucrats rise to a certain level their primary aim becomes to burnish their egos, and preserve and enlarge their power base.
Even today, when reviewing the news, I am constantly reminded of one of my favorite sayings from the comic strip "Pogo" :
"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
The military brass---for it own stupid reasons---did its best to avoid committing resources to the efforts of the "Studies and Observation Group" (SOG) which was created to oversee covert operations against the communist forces. Hand-in-hand, the other government agencies (Department of Defense, CIA, American ambassadors in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, etc.) also did their best to derail everything SOG attempted. In fact, at one point in the book the author states the two primary enemies of the SOG were the North Vietnamese leadership and the American leadership.
All this despite the fact, which any in-depth reader of World War II history knows, covert operations played an extremely important part in winning that war.
What was truly amazing was how senior American officials and generals downplayed the role of SOG in fighting the war at the same time they were aware of just how effective Communist covert operations were succeeding. General Westmoreland, one time "Times 'Man of the Year'," was a perfect example of "I know what I believe, don't bother me with the facts." And just to be sure people knew it, he downplayed the SOG in his autobiography.
Of course, none of this is new. Anytime military and civilian bureaucrats rise to a certain level their primary aim becomes to burnish their egos, and preserve and enlarge their power base.
Even today, when reviewing the news, I am constantly reminded of one of my favorite sayings from the comic strip "Pogo" :
"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
