On Startegy is about the best thing I have read on Vietnam

books:

	• On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War Harry G. Summers Presidio Press, 1995 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Ojective and Unity Of Command

On Strategy is a careful postmortem on the American phase of the Viet Nam War. Col. Summers analyzes why we failed in Viet Nam; as B. B. Fall did for the French. America forgot some of the basic principles of war.
Their was never a clearly stated Objective for our efforts. In Washington the President and Congress vacillated and compromised trying to judge the political ramifications instead of the military.
A second major fault was in the execution of the war. Their was no Unity of Command. The Commanding General in Viet Nam only commanded the Army. The Navy, Marines, and Air Force were consulting but not under his command.
The President and Sec. of Defense ran the war from Washington dictating tactical as well as strategic policy and targets, which could change from day to day.
Even with these crippling defects the defeat of South Viet Nam was only assured by passage of the Church Amendment, which promised North Viet Nam
that we would give the south no aid in any form no matter what. Thus North Viet Nam was able to reverse the defeat of 1972 Ester Offensive, and win in 1975 against a completely dispirited South.
I often wonder how Israel, or South Korea would have fared with a similar
Amendment.

for more information click here

Theory of Friction In War - Worth the Read Alone

A strategic examination based on the classic principals of war that provides insight into how a superpower with overwhelming conventional superiority can exhaust itself against a militarily sophisticated third world country. Clausewitz's theory and Summers explanation of "friction"in war ..."how even the simplest of tasks become difficult as countless minor incidents combine to lower the general level of performance"...is worth the read alone.

Summers makes clear there is no such thing as a "splendid little war," "a war fought on the cheap," or "a slam dunk war." Contrary to popular mythology, maintaining public support for a war is always a problem. It was problem during the American Revolutionary War, World War II and as it is now during the fifth year of the war in Iraq. The enemy always has havens, political sanctuaries and brutal responses in every war: Apache Indians skillfully used Mexican territory to avoid capture, the North Viennese used tunnels and neutral countries to move troops and supplies, the Taliban hides in remote mountain caves, Al Qaeda rules from the lawless tribal regions of Pakistan and Iraqi insurgents use IED's and suicide bombers.

Arrogance, superpower status and wishful thinking don't win wars...even winning every encounter doesn't mean you will inflict your will on the enemy or cause the enemy to beg for peace. If you want to know how to use an army wisely and understand the need to manage political expectations, On Strategy will get you started.

for more information click here

Mandatory reading for current days

I heard about this book while reading Fiasco.

This book seems near mandatory reading due to our current woes in Iraq. The author's list of what is required for victory, a "strategic offensive", should be read in the White House, or should have been several years ago.

On Startegy is about the best thing I have read on Vietnam

The title of my review was actually made by Drew Middleton, The New York Times. Coming from that source with the agenda they have, it's a pretty compelling endorsement, and it is 100% correct.

The following are quotes from the book which should give you some idea how fair and objective Colonel Summers was. So, if you're trying to understand the Vietnam War (as I am), buying this book is an absolute requirement. And, ironically, it does not matter whether you were for or against this war. It's not one of those books where the ideology driven people will get all bent out of shape trying to defend the positions they took 30 or so years ago. Read the quotes; I think you'll agree that Summers was fair.

"In failing to press their military advice they [the military leadership] allowed the US to pursue a strategic policy that was faulty from the start."

Colonel Lung, Army of the Rrepublic of Vietnam: "The Americans had designed a purely defensive strategy for Vietnam. It was a strategy that was based on the attrition of the enemy through a prolonged defense and made no allowance for decisive offensove action."

"The confusion over [our political and military] objectives detailed above had a devastating effect on our ability to conduct the war."

"Our new "strategy" of counterinsurgency blinded us to the fact that the guerrilla war was tactical and not strategic."

"And the critics were right. It was a different. All of America's previous wars were fought in the heat of passion. Vietnam was fought in cold blood, and that was intolerable to the American people."

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Summer's inspired analysis of America's war in Vietnam answers the most pressing questions remaining from that terrible conflict more than a decade before Robert McNamara's painful admissions.

hot