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Learning to Forget US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam

Learning to Forget US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam

Learning to Forget US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam
Learning to Forget: US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam to Iraq. This book studies the impact of the lessons and legacies of the Vietnam War on the formulation of US counterinsurgency doctrine in the postVietnam years, with particular reference to the interplay of the'lessons of history' with doctrine. Learning to Forget analyzes the evolution of US counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine over the last five decades. Beginning with an extensive section on the lessons of Vietnam, it traces the decline of COIN in the 1970s, then the rebirth of low intensity conflict through the Reagan years, in the conflict in Bosnia, and finally in the campaigns of Iraq and Afghanistan. Ultimately it closes the loop by explaining how, by confronting the lessons of Vietnam, the US Army found a way out of those most recent wars.

In the process it provides an illustration of how military leaders make use of history and demonstrates the difficulties of drawing lessons from the past that can usefully be applied to contemporary circumstances. The book outlines how the construction of lessons is tied to the construction of historical memory and demonstrates how histories are constructed to serve the needs of the present.

In so doing, it creates a new theory of doctrinal development. David Fitzgerald is Lecturer in International Politics in the School of History at University College Cork, Ireland. This is another welcome addition to the spate of recent literature on counterinsurgency... The book's strong suit is Fitzgerald's use of many primary documents, particularly the many studies written during the war analyzing US efforts in Indochina...

[T]his is a fine contribution to the literature on both counterinsurgency and the Vietnam War... Fields, CHOICE An excellent study that takes a hard look at America's longest and possibly darkest military shadow.

Echevarria II, Director of Research, US Army War College Among the many notable works on the legacy of Vietnam, the decline and resurgence of counterinsurgency doctrine, and the conduct of the Iraq-Afghanistan wars, Fitzgerald's is exemplary. It is a masterful work of research, of synthesis and original analysis, and of clear and insightful writing. This is another welcome addition to the spate of recent literature on counterinsurgency. The book's strong suit is Fitzgerald's use of many primary documents, particularly the many studies written during the war analyzing US efforts in Indochina.

[T]his is a fine contribution to the literature on both counterinsurgency and the Vietnam War. Short Title LEARNING TO FORGET. Subtitle US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam to Iraq. Place of Publication Palo Alto.

Country of Publication United States. At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. This item is in the category "Books, Comics & Magazines\Textbooks, Education & Reference\Adult Learning & University".

The seller is "the_nile_uk_store" and is located in this country: GB. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom.

  • ISBN-13: 9780804785815
  • Book Title: Learning to Forget: US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practi
  • ISBN: 9780804785815
  • EAN: 9780804785815
  • Publication Year: 2013
  • Type: Textbook
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Language: English
  • Publication Name: Learning to Forget: Us Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam to Iraq
  • Item Height: 229mm
  • Author: David Fitzgerald
  • Publisher: Stanford University Press
  • Item Width: 152mm
  • Subject: Government
  • Item Weight: 499g
  • Number of Pages: 304 Pages


Learning to Forget US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam