snippet:
Dereliction of Duty (book)[edit]
Main article: Dereliction of Duty (1997 book)
Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam is a book written by McMaster that explores the military's role in the policies of the Vietnam War. The book was written as part of his Ph.D. dissertation at UNC. It harshly criticized high-ranking officers of that era, arguing that they inadequately challenged Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson on their Vietnam strategy. The book was widely read in Pentagon circles and included in military reading lists.
The book examines McNamara and Johnson's staff, alongside the military and particularly the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and their failure to provide a successful plan of action either to pacify a Viet Cong insurgency or to decisively defeat the North Vietnamese Army. McMaster also details why military actions intended to indicate "resolve" or to "communicate" ultimately failed when trying to accomplish sparsely detailed, confusing, and conflicting military objectives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._McMaster
| 
