The United States had never lost a war--that is, until 1975, when it was forced to flee Saigon in humiliation after losing to what Lyndon Johnson called a "raggedy-ass little fourth-rate country." The legacy of this first defeat has haunted every president since, especially on the decision of whether to put "boots on the ground" and commit troops to war. In Haunting Legacy , the father-daughter journalist team of Marvin Kalb and Deborah Kalb presents a compelling, accessible, and hugely important history of presidential ...
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The United States had never lost a war--that is, until 1975, when it was forced to flee Saigon in humiliation after losing to what Lyndon Johnson called a "raggedy-ass little fourth-rate country." The legacy of this first defeat has haunted every president since, especially on the decision of whether to put "boots on the ground" and commit troops to war. In Haunting Legacy , the father-daughter journalist team of Marvin Kalb and Deborah Kalb presents a compelling, accessible, and hugely important history of presidential decisionmaking on one crucial issue: in light of the Vietnam debacle, under what circumstances should the United States go to war? The sobering lesson of Vietnam is that the United States is not invincible--it can lose a war--and thus it must be more discriminating about the use of American power. Every president has faced the ghosts of Vietnam in his own way, though each has been wary of being sucked into another unpopular war. Ford (during the Mayaguez crisis) and both Bushes (Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan) deployed massive force, as if to say, "Vietnam, be damned." On the other hand, Carter, Clinton, and Reagan (to the surprise of many) acted with extreme caution, mindful of the Vietnam experience. Obama has also wrestled with the Vietnam legacy, using doses of American firepower in Libya while still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors spent five years interviewing hundreds of officials from every post war administration and conducting extensive research in presidential libraries and archives, and they've produced insight and information never before published. Equal parts taut history, revealing biography, and cautionary tale, Haunting Legacy is must reading for anyone trying to understand the power of the past to influence war-and-peace decisions of the present, and of the future.
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Very good in Very good jacket. xi, [1], 355, [1] pages. Notes. Index to quotations. Index. Printed on acid-free paper. Haunting Legacy is must reading for anyone trying to understand the power of the past to influence war-and-peace decisions of the present, and of the future. In Haunting Legacy, the father-daughter journalist team of Marvin Kalb and Deborah Kalb presents a compelling, accessible, and hugely important history of presidential decisionmaking on one crucial issue: in light of the Vietnam debacle, under what circumstances should the United States go to war? Might America again be sucked into an unwinnable conflict, for example? Does a president always need congressional approval, or can the White House act on its own? Marvin L. Kalb (born June 9, 1930) is a journalist. Kalb was the founding director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy from 1987 to 1999. He is currently a Fellow at George Washington University. Kalb spent 30 years as an award-winning reporter for CBS News and NBC News. Kalb was the last newsman recruited by Edward R. Murrow to join CBS News, becoming part of the later generation of the "Murrow's Boys." His work at CBS landed him on Richard Nixon's "enemies list". At NBC, he served as chief Diplomatic Correspondent and host of Meet the Press. Kalb has authored or coauthored nine nonfiction books and two best-selling novels. His most recent book is about the haunting legacy of Vietnam, co-authored with his daughter. Deborah Kalb is a freelance writer and editor. She spent about two decades working as a journalist for news organizations including Gannett News Service, Congressional Quarterly, U.S. News & World Report, and The Hill, covering Congress and politics.
Vietnam has been a little more than a peripheral interest for me. I got to spend a year(late 1968 to late 1969) at US Army expense in what was at that time a war-torn country. Like many Vietnam veterans I have mixed feelings about it. I have read some books about it and, for my job before I retired, I got to read some papers drawing analogies from it. This book by the Kalbs discusses how the war affected decisions of Presidents and touches on possible affect on decisions of other groups and governments.
After America withdrew from Vietnam many terrorist organizations and dictators thought America was a 'paper tiger.' But the Kalbs posit an interesting theory with; "Ironically, the American defeat in Vietnam encouraged a procession of Kremlin leaders to make decisions that led ultimately to the collapse of the communist system and the end of the cold war." They too, drew the wrong lessons from Vietnam and entered Afghanistan to help their puppet.
Using semi-biographical passages the authors provide an idea of how the war affected the people playing a part in the decision making process. In 1971, a young veteran, John Kerry recounted the Winter Soldier Investigation in front of a Senate Committee. The Detroit investigation had told of atrocities committed by US personnel in Vietnam. One statement of his: "The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence." is also applicable for today.
Kerry's statements about the war came back to haunt in during his 2004 Presidential bid. A group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) questioned his actions in Vietnam. Navy records and other witnesses have since shown their claims to be lies and fabrications, it was enough to derail his bid for President. The group also succeeded in adding a new word to the political lexicon, swift boat - "To smear somebody with lies," and a preponderance of swift boat veterans are angry with SBVT for smearing their good name.
Among the points the authors bring out is while Vietnam might not be the only reason the US might or might not act in a crisis,each President has been forced to consider its lessons in considering war. That is to say it has always been there when the use of military power is being considered.
This book is an interesting study of the effect Vietnam has had on Presidential decisions and the American political process.
