Lessons 34 - 45

Review Slides

Lesson 34

Cold War: Berlin & Korea

The Cold War

Cold War:

A bipolar world, stabilized by a nuclear balance between two superpowers

"The post-post Cold War"Thomas FriedmanNew York Times, May 10, 2006

The Cold WarClass Definition

A prolonged armed confrontation

East

West

Communism Totalitarian Socialism

Democracy Free Market Capitalism

characterized by intense competition:Military Economic DiplomaticScientific Cultural

with local wars fought by proxies

between

Yalta Conference4-11 February 1945

Each leader had their priorities:

Roosevelt: Gain Soviet assistance in war with Japan

Obtain Soviet participation in United Nations

Churchill: Restore democratic institutions to Eastern Europe

Stalin: Extend sphere of influence to Eastern Europe as buffer

Yalta Conference4-11 February 1945

Results:• Pursue unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany

• Germany to be divided into four occupation zones

• Berlin to be subject to four-power occupation

• Germany to be demilitarized and purged of Nazis

• Reparations to USSR (forced labor & industrial capacity)

• Recognition of provisional government and elections in Poland

• Poland would cede territory to USSR but gain from Germany

• USSR would join UN provided it had veto in Security Council

• USSR to declare war on Japan within 90 days of German defeat

Defined the post-war world

Yalta Conference4-11 February 1945

• Soviets would take Berlin

• Four Power Partition of Germany, Berlin

• Soviets would get parts of Poland

• Soviets would receive Japanese territory

• Korea divided at 38th parallel

Concerns:

Considered by many the beginning of the Cold War

Potsdam AgreementAugust 1, 1945

Key Points:

Political: Democratization, Disarmament, Demilitarization, Elimination of all Nazi influence.

Economic: Destruction of all war-making industryFocus of economy to be agriculture and light industry

Reparations to USSR from Soviet zone plus 10% of industrial capability from Western zone

Dispersal of German navy and merchant marine

War crimes: Established mechanism for Nuremberg Trials

Provisions for governments of Austria and Poland

Provisions for peace treaties and admission to United Nations

Transfer of populationsSource: PBS

Roots of the Cold WarThe Three Conferences

Tehran ConferenceNovember 28 - 1 December 1, 1943

First meeting of “Big 3”Allies agree to coordinate war activities

Yalta Conference4-11 February 1945

Defined post-war world

Potsdam ConferenceJuly 17 - August 2, 1945

Discussed issues in transition from war to peace

Defined post-war world

Root of the Cold War

Yalta Conference4-11 February 1945

Cold War Timeline

4-11 Feb 45

12 Apr 45

8 May 45

17 Jul - 2 Aug 45

6, 9 Aug 45

8 Aug 45

15 Aug 45

11 Jan 46

22 Feb 46

Yalta Conference

FDR dies, succeeded by Harry Truman

VE Day

Potsdam Conference

Atomic bombings of Japan

USSR declares war on Japan

VJ Day

Communist regime declared in Albania

George Kennan “Long Telegram” from Moscow

Mar 46 Civil war erupts in Greece - Communists vs. conservatives

Truman DoctrineMarch 12, 1947

US foreign policy designed to stop spread of Communism

Pledged to provide economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey

US foreign policy transitioned from détent to containment

Some sources cite this as the beginning of the Cold War

Marshall PlanApril 3, 1948

Foreign Assistance Act of 1948(Also referred to as the Economic Cooperation Act and the European Recovery Act)

• Grew from realization that slow recovery from war devastation in Western Europe would leave the region weak and subject to Communist incursion

• US leadership did not want a repeat of post- World War One conditions that contributed to the Great Depression and rise of Fascism.

• Marshall publicly presented idea in Harvard commencement address (June 5, 1947)

• Provided $12 B in recovery aid (Value in 2005 $: $555 B per GDP share)

• Major factor in Western European resistance to Communism

Cold War Timeline

5 Mar 46

8 Sep 46

19 Jan 47

12 Mar 47

Churchill “Iron Curtain” speech

Bulgaria deposes king, establishes People’s Republic

Referendum in Poland brings Communist government

Truman Doctrine announced

5 Jun 47

25 Feb 48

3 Apr 48

10 May 48

24 Jun 48

Sec State George Marshall outlines European aid plan

Communist Party takes control of Czechoslovakia

Truman signs Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan)

Republic of Korea proclaimed, Syngman Rhee president

Stalin orders blockade of Berlin; allies respond with airlift

Berlin Blockade

Soviets wanted Western Allies out of Berlin

June 24, 1948:

Blocked all ground access to Berlin

Ground access rights never formally guaranteed

Berlin AirliftJune 24, 1948 - May 11, 1949

Western response:

Air corridors guaranteed by Four Power agreement on Berlin

supply city by air

First significant confrontation of the Cold War

North Atlantic TreatyApril 4, 1949

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Formed

• Military alliance to protect Western Europe

• Original members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States

• Greece, Turkey joined in 1952

• West Germany joined following ratification of Paris Peace Treaties (May 1955)

USSR responded with Warsaw Pact (May 14, 1955)

• Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Soviet Union

Soviet A-bomb

Soviet Nuclear Test (US code name “Joe 1”)

August 29, 1949

NSC-68April 14, 1950

Classified National Security Council document

Full analysis of US-USSR relationship

Defined initial US Cold War strategy:

ContainmentImplemented the Truman Doctrine

Cold War: Living on the Brink

Nuclear Targeting Theories

Counterforce

Countervalue

: target warfighting capability

: target cities and industry

Nuclear Targeting Strategies

Truman: Countervalue

• US had nuclear monopoly, then preeminence

• Believed nuclear weapons most valuable against cities

Colonel John Osgood, USA, RetiredUnited States Nuclear Strategy 1945-1995

Eisenhower: Counterforce

• Soviet nuclear weapons became a concern

• Massive retaliation was public doctrine

Kennedy/Johnson: Flexible Response

• Public face: assured destruction (countervalue)

• Counterforce (war fighting) retained as an option

Nuclear Targeting Strategies

Nixon: Counterforce

• Publicly promoted position

• Developed warfighting weapons (MIRV, ABM)

Colonel John Osgood, USA, RetiredUnited States Nuclear Strategy 1945-1995

Carter: Counterforce

• Pursued decapitation strategy (targeted C3, leadership)

Regan/Bush: Counterforce

• Combined counterforce and strategic defense

• Blended arms negotiations (SALT) with SDI

Nuclear Triad

Manned Bombers

ICBM SLBM

Can launch on warningAccurateFlexible

Vulnerable inflight Slow

Quick responseInvulnerable inflight

AccurateEconomical

Vulnerable to first strike SurvivableQuick response

Invulnerable inflightUnpredictable

Expensive system

Defense Options

Deter the Threat:

Defeat the Threat:

Mitigate the Threat:

Effective, secure nuclear forces

Active Defenses (aircraft, missiles)

Passive Defenses (civil defense, dispersal, continuity of government)

Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis

Cold War Timeline

31 Jan 50 Truman announces US intent to develop hydrogen bomb

Nuclear War Branch

14 Apr 50

1 Nov 52

NSC-68: Blueprint for containment strategy

First thermonuclear device detonated, Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands

• Sparks space race US effort in scientific research & education

USSR launches first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik4 Oct 57

Oct 62 Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes of the Cuban Crisis

Soviet Union threaten by US strategic missiles in Europe• Felt they were falling behind in arms race

Castro feared an invasion of Cuba by U.S.• Approved deployment of Soviet missiles to Cuba as a safeguard

Crisis ResolutionOctober 28, 1962

After exchange of messages, Kennedy & Khrushchev reached a confidential agreement:

• US will remove IRBMs from Turkey, Italy

• USSR will remove missiles from Cuba

• US pledged not to invade Cuba

• USSR agreed not to publicly reveal removal of IRBMs

Significance of Cuban Crisis

Kennedy gained prestige for having defused the crisis but widen trans-Atlantic gulf for not consulting with NATO allies

USSR lost some stature in Third World to China

Superpowers learned valuable crisis management lessons

Nuclear disarmament received increased emphasis

US Flexible Response doctrine validated

Vietnam: Into the Abyss (to 1963)

First Indochina War1945 - 1954

Viet Minh France

vs.

Ho Chi Minh1890 - 1969

Democratic Republic of Vietnam declared September 2, 1945

Viet Minh began a long, bitter war with French• US supported France• Chinese Communists, USSR supported Viet Minh

Was fought as a guerilla war …

A war of national liberation

Viet Minh Strategy

Strategy of Revolutionary War

Objective: The seizure of power in a nation-state …

Characteristics:• Integrated military conflict and political conflict

• War on multiple fronts• Geographical• Programmatic

… by any means possible

Strategy of Revolutionary War

Phase I: Targeted state stronger militarily

Phase II: Rough military parity

Phase III: Revolution stronger than targeted state

• Revolutionaries avoid combat• Guerrilla war: raids, ambushes, sabotage, terrorism• Political conflict predominant

• Combined guerrilla and conventional war• Military and political conflict equally important

• Revolutionary forces go to totally conventional war• “General Offensive” linked to political “Great Uprising”

Truman DoctrineMarch 12, 1947

US foreign policy designed to stop spread of CommunismPledged to provide economic and military aid to Greece and TurkeyUS foreign policy transitioned from détent to

(2:30)

containment

Domino Theory

Term coined by President Dwight D. Eisenhower (April 7, 1954)

Described how, if one country in Asia fell to Communism, others would follow in succession.

• Munich

Roots of U.S. Strategic MindsetFor Vietnam War

• Truman Doctrine (Containment)

• Chinese Intervention in Korea• Domino Theory• Cuban Missile Crisis

What were the U.S. objectives in Vietnam?

Stated: Preserve a non-Communist government in South Vietnam

Why Vietnam?

Understood: Containment

U.S. Attitude Toward Vietnam

Eisenhower (1954-1961): US Military Assistance • Trained ARVN to resist cross-border invasion

Kennedy (1961-1963): Counterinsurgency • Resisted by US military leaders

Johnson (1963-1969): Limited War • Attempted to force North Vietnam to negotiate

Nixon (1969-1973): Vietnamization • Increased pressure on North Vietnam to negotiate

Timeline

Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam

US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam

USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft

Battle of Ap Bac: VC inflicted major defeat on RVN force

1961

11 Dec 61

Mar 62

RVN initiated Strategic Hamlet Relocation Program

May 62 VC began battalion-sized operations (Central Highlands)

1 Aug 62

Kennedy signed Foreign Assistance Act of 1962

Mar 62

• Provided assistance to countries under Communist attack

3 Jan 63 • Significant setback for US faith in Diem government

NVA troops begin moving into South Vietnam 1960

Timeline

Buddhist unrest, repression in South Vietnam

Kennedy Administration discusses options for Diem

CIA-supported ARVN coup overthrows Diem

May- Aug 63

Aug-Oct 63

1 Nov 63• Diem and this brother killed by ARVN

22 Nov 63 President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas

US Locked In

General William C. Westmoreland, who seven months after Diem's assassination replaced General Paul Harkins as commander of MACV, summed up the consequences of President Kennedy's involvement. “In his zeal, the young president made a grievous mistake in assenting to the overthrow of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963,” Westmoreland said. “In my view that action morally locked us in Vietnam. If it had not been for our involvement in the overthrow of President Diem, we could perhaps have gracefully withdrawn our support when South Vietnam's lack of unity and leadership became apparent.”

Why It Was Impossible for the U.S. to Stay UninvolvedCol. William Wilson, USA (Retired)Vietnam Magazine, April 1997

Vietnam: Into the Abyss (The Johnson Years)

Timeline

Mar 64 Secret CIA bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos began• Civilian pilots (Air America) flying old U.S. aircraft

May 64 LBJ staff begins drafting Congressional support resolution• Temporarily shelved due to lack of support in Senate

Summer 64 Guerilla warfare spreading throughout South Vietnam• Now supported by NVA regulars

2-4 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Incident

7 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress• Authorizes president to use force to protect U.S. forces

• President orders retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam14 Dec 64 US military begins secret bombing of HCMT in Laos

Tonkin Gulf IncidentAugust 2-4, 1964

Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionKey Passages

Joint ResolutionTo promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia…

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.…

The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and security in Southeast Asia.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

What was the significance of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

Attacks on US Airfields

I Nov 64 VC attack Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigom• First attack on Americans; five Gis killed

6 Feb 65 VC attack US base at Pleiku (central Highlands)• Eight Americans killed, ten aircraft destroyed

7 Feb 65 President orders air strikes against North Vietnam• Operation Flaming Dart continues to 24 Feb 65

7 Mar 65 President authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder

8 Mar 65 Marines land to protect air base at Da Nang

LBJ’s Dilemma

“In later years [Johnson] lamented:

Source

... But if I left that war and let the communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser, and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere on the entire globe.’”

Joshua Zeitz"1964 - The Year the Sixties Began"American Heritage, October 2006

If I left the woman I really loved, the Great Society, in order to get involved in that bitch of a war on the other side of the world, I would lose everything at home. All my programs.

'I knew from the start that I was bound to be crucified either way I moved.

LBJ’s Dilemma

“In later years [Johnson] lamented: 'I knew from the start that I was bound to be crucified either way I moved. If I left the woman I really loved, the Great Society, in order to get involved in that bitch of a war on the other side of the world, I would lose everything at home. All my programs.

Source

... But if I left that war and let the communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser, and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere on the entire globe.'"

Joshua Zeitz"1964 - The Year the Sixties Began"American Heritage, October 2006

Vietnam: Great Society to Great Quagmire

Strategy of Revolutionary War

Phase I: Targeted state stronger militarily

Phase II: Rough military parity

Phase III: Revolution stronger than targeted state

• Revolutionaries avoid combat• Guerrilla war: raids, ambushes, sabotage, terrorism• Political conflict predominant

• Combined guerrilla and conventional war• Military and political conflict equally important

• Revolutionary forces go to totally conventional war• “General Offensive” linked to political “Great Uprising”

Review

Timeline

Mar 64 Secret CIA bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos began

• Civilian pilots (Air America) flying old U.S. aircraft

May 64 LBJ staff begins drafting Congressional support resolution

• Temporarily shelved due to lack of support in Senate

Summer 64 Guerilla warfare spreading throughout South Vietnam

• Now supported by NVA regulars

2-4 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Incident

7 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress

• Authorizes president to use force to protect U.S. forces

• President orders retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam

Review

Attacks on US Airfields

I Nov 64 VC attack Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigom• First direct attack on Americans; five Gis killed

6 Feb 65 VC attack US base at Pleiku (central Highlands)• Eight Americans killed, ten aircraft destroyed

7 Feb 65 President orders air strikes against North Vietnam• Operation Flaming Dart continues to 24 Feb 65

7 Mar 65 President authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder• Progressively escalating air attack against North Vietnam

• Dual military and political objectives

• Ran until 2 Nov 68

=> “send a message”

8 Mar 65

At LBJ’s order, Marines land at Da Nang• To protect airfield

Marines land at Da NangMarch 8, 1965

Buildup In Vietnam

Why was our buildup in Vietnam so slow?

Gradual escalation?

Vietnam: 1964 - 1968

Lack of infrastructure?

Probably a little of each!

Fear of Soviet or Chinese intervention?

(536,100 troops)

Gulf War: Aug 1990 - Jan-Mar 1991 (533,600 troops)

Timeline

7 Aug 64 Tonkin Gulf Resolution

2 Mar 65 8 Mar 65

14-18 Nov 65

Early 1960’s NVA troops begin moving into South Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder (bombing of North) begins

Marines land at Da Nang

Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

1967

Spring 67

North Vietnamese Army (NVA) increases pressure on South

Siege of Khe Sanh Begins

Tet Offensive begins31 Jan 68

Battlefield Mobility

Battle of Ia Drang ValleyNovember 14–18, 1965

Significance of Ia Drang

First employment of Airmobile concept

First major combat between US and NVA units

Communist shift from Phase I to Phase II in Strategy of Revolutionary War

November 14–18, 1965

Strategy of Revolutionary War

Timeline

1954-1965: Phase I (guerilla warfare) • 1961-1965: Heated Politburo debate on transition

1965-1967: Phase II (combined guerilla & conventional warfare) • Increased large unit actions (Ia Drang, Khe Sanh)

Significance of Ia Drang

First employment of Airmobile concept

First major combat between US and NVA units

Communist shift from Phase I to Phase II in Strategy of Revolutionary War

US adopts Search & Destroy strategy(attrition warfare)

November 14–18, 1965

Timeline

7 Aug 64 Tonkin Gulf Resolution

2 Mar 65 8 Mar 65

1966-67

Spring 67

Early 1960’s NVA troops begin moving into South Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder (bombing of North) begins

Marines land at Da Nang

North Vietnamese Army (NVA) increases pressure on South

Siege of Khe Sanh Begins

14-18 Nov 65 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

Siege of Khe SanhSpring 1967 - March 1968

Timeline

7 Aug 64 Tonkin Gulf Resolution

2 Mar 65 8 Mar 65

1967

Spring 67

Early 1960’s NVA troops begin moving into South Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder (bombing of North) begins

Marines land at Da Nang

North Vietnamese Army (NVA) increases pressure on South

Siege of Khe Sanh Begins

Tet Offensive begins31 Jan 68

14-18 Nov 65 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

Strategy of Revolutionary War

Timeline1954-1965: Phase I (guerilla warfare) • 1961-1965: Heated Politburo debate on transition

1965-1967: Phase II (combined guerilla & conventional warfare) • Increased large unit actions (Ia Drang, Khe Sanh)

1968 (early): Phase III (Tet Offensive) (conventional warfare)

Tet Offensive 1968

Country-wide combined VC & NVA offensive intended to inspire popular uprising

Began January 31, 1968

Attack on Khe Sanh began earlier as a diversion

Vietnam: The Home Front

Post-Tet

Walter Cronkite

Upon his return to the US, Cronkite delivered an unprecedented editorial comment on this trip (February 27, 1968)

“To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion.”

LBJ’s reply on hearing this: “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.”

On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced he would not seek re-election.Source

Kent State ShootingMay 4, 1970

The Draft

One of the most contentious issuesin a contentious war

Could we have fought the war without a draft?

The Draft

The draft ended in 1973

The registration requirement was suspended in 1975 but was reinstated in 1980 in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Lesson 44

Vietnam: Peace With Honor

Vietnamization

During 1968 presidential campaign, Nixon pledged to have a secret plan for ending the Vietnam War

Initiated a plan to increase the size and effectiveness of South Vietnamese forces while drawing down size of US military role in that country.

Transfer the war to the South Vietnamese

Cambodian Incursion29 April - 22 July 1970

Cambodian Incursion29 April - 22 July 1970

Results:Casualties: US: 338 KIA ARVN: 809 KIA

NVA: 12,000+ KIA (estimated)

Huge stocks of NVA weapons, ammo, food captured

US Domestic:Widespread protest in US, particularly on college campuses

Congress took first action to limit US involvement in SEA

• Cooper-Church Amendment

Congress and the WarUse of Budget to Restrict Operations in SEA

Cooper-Church Amendment (1970)• Sponsored by Sen. John Cooper (R-KY) & Sen. Frank Church (S-ID)

• Reaction to US-led invasion of Cambodia (April 1970)

• Prohibited use of US troops in Cambodia after June 30, 1970

• Approved by Senate 58-37 on June 30, 1970, after troops US withdrew

• House approved watered-down version December 1970

Significance:

First time Congress had restricted the deployment of US troops in wartime

Easter (Spring) OffensiveMarch 30 - October 22, 1972

ARVN performed reasonably well with US air support

DRV gained valuable space inside RVN for future offensives

Major conventional invasion on three fronts:• Across DMZ • Central Highlands

• West of Saigon

• Also gained bargaining chip in negotiations

Nixon began planning for Linebacker II

Nixon initiated Operation Linebacker• Bombing of North Vietnamese logistics targets

• Sustained bombing of North Vietnamese strategic targets

• Delay in starting due to need to return airpower to SEA

(May 9 - October 23, 1972)

Congress and the WarUse of Budget to Restrict Operations in SEA

Case-Church Amendment (1973)• After Paris Peace Accords (Jan 1973), Nixon hinted at US intervention if North Vietnam attacked South

• Introduced by Senators Clifford Case (R‐NJ) & Frank Church (D‐ID)

• Prohibited U.S. military activity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia after August 15, 1973 without Congressional approval.

• Passed by Senate 64-26, House 278-124 (June 1973)

Significance:

Essentially ended US military activity in Southeast Asia

US Evacuation of Saigon

Early plans had identified:• 8,000 US and third country citizens for evacuation• Number of potential South Vietnamese evacuees never determined

• • Estimate: 17,000 US employee + 6 family members = > ~120,000 evacuees

Late March 1975: Evacuations by commercial aircraft began• Last fixed-wing transport (C-130) left Tan San Nhut airport 29 April

• • Later estimates went as high as 200,000!

Contingency plans always existed for evacuation of US citizens• Also included “At risk” Vietnamese citizens

• • “At Risk” = US employees and agents

Major Issues

What was the impact of the Cambodian Incursion on the US domestic situation?

What was Vietnamization?

What was Lam Son 719?• How did Lam Son 719 reflect on the Vietnamization effort?

• Specifically, how did Congress react to the Cambodian incursion?

What were the results of the Easter (Spring) Offensive of 1972?

What action did the US take as a result of the Easter (Spring) Offensive of 1972?

What was Linebacker II and what was its objective?

Vietnam War in Retrospect

Strategy of Revolutionary War

1954-1965: Phase I (guerrilla warfare) • 1961-1965: Heated Politburo debate on transition

1965-1967: Phase II (guerrilla & conventional warfare) • Increased large unit actions (Ia Drang, Khe Sanh)

1968 (early): Phase III (Tet Offensive) (conventional warfare)• Military disaster (VC destroyed)

• “General Uprising” did not occur• Strategic victory for the Communists none the less

1954-1965: Phase I (guerrilla warfare) • 1961-1965: Heated Politburo debate on transition

1965-1967: Phase II (guerrilla & conventional warfare) • Increased large unit actions (Ia Drang, Khe Sanh)

Tactical Victory

1968 (early): Phase III (Tet Offensive) (conventional warfare)• Military disaster (VC destroyed)

• “General Uprising” did not occur• Strategic victory for the Communists none the less

, Strategic Defeat

Tet 68 for U.S

What Went Wrong?

US had no clear strategy in Vietnam• Never mobilized the American people

• Never committed sufficient force to win

• Never defined what “win” meant

Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat

What Went Wrong?

• Interviewed senior officials, military and civilian:

After Tet offensive, LBJ “removed” McNamara• February 29, 1968; became president of World Bank

Clark Clifford new SecDef

Summers

• none of them could tell him what constituted victory in Vietnam• found that US had no military plan to win war

• The United States should not commit forces to combat overseas unless the particular engagement or occasion is deemed vital to our national interest or that of our allies . . . .

Weinberger Doctrine

• If we decide it is necessary to put combat troops into a given situation, we should do so wholeheartedly and with the clear intention of winning . . . .

• If we do decide to commit forces to combat overseas, we should have clearly defined political and military objectives . . . .

• The relationship between our objectives and the forces we have committed -- their size, composition, and disposition -- must be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary . . . .

• Before the United States commits combat forces abroad, there must be some reasonable assurance we will have the support of the American people and their elected representatives in Congress . . . .

• The commitment of US forces to combat should be a last resort.

What Would Weinberger Do?How would US decision to fight in Vietnam have stood up against the test of the Weinberger Doctrine?

Vital to our national interest?

Clear intent to win?

Clearly defined political & military objectives?

Objectives, forces committed continuously reassessed?

Support of the American people?

Last resort?