tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132520298120231193.post8258374169496404709..comments2023-12-23T02:10:09.875-05:00Comments on howl at pluto: It's nice that they're reading about Vietnam but...LFChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13551197682770555147noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132520298120231193.post-78124909321299882902009-10-11T11:36:43.625-04:002009-10-11T11:36:43.625-04:00OK. Keep in mind, however, the practical considera...OK. Keep in mind, however, the practical consideration that policymakers are inundated with reading and have a limited amount of time.<br />------<br />Somewhat though not entirely off-topic: Yesterday I took out of the library Alexander Downes's <i>Targeting Civilians in War</i> (Cornell Univ. Press, 2008) and have started to look at it. (He was a student of Mearsheimer's.)LFChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551197682770555147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132520298120231193.post-19270480794085935102009-10-10T18:21:25.671-04:002009-10-10T18:21:25.671-04:00LFC
Viet Nam is a sample of one. And something o...LFC<br /><br />Viet Nam is a sample of one. And something of an outlier in that the “guerillas” won. They should perhaps read a cross section. Then they would have something to apply to their mandatory Afghanistan reading.<br /><br />Both <i>Lessons in Disaster</i> and <i> An Better War</i> should not be read in isolation, together would be better, but also with others. <br /><br />If they are going to read one book about Viet Nam Harry G Summers <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Critical-Analysis-Vietnam-War/dp/0891415637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255212623&sr=1-1" rel="nofollow">A Critical Analysis of the Viet Nam War</a> would probably be much better. This was originally a sudent text at the Army War Collage and if it is not still on the required reading list it was the our senior military leadership was. I think if nothing else it would be a good look at the lessons the military sees from Viet Nam. The long discussion on <i>objective</i> or rather the lack of it would probably apply directly to Afghanistan.hank_F_Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09851295792702162861noreply@blogger.com