Dereliction of duty : Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the lies that led to Vietnam

From respected Lieutenant General and Trump Administration National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, an authoritative, highly critical analysis of the arrogance, deception, and controversial decisions at the highest level of government that led to America's involvement in the Vietnam War. "The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C." ?H. R. McMaster (from the Conclusion) Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants. A page-turning narrative, Dereliction Of Duty focuses on a fascinating cast of characters: President Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, McGeorge Bundy and other top aides who deliberately deceived the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Congress and the American public. McMaster's only book, Dereliction of Duty is an explosive and authoritative new look at the controversy concerning the United States involvement in Vietnam Dereliction Of Duty Makes A Unique, Groundbreaking Contribution Toward Clarifying What Happened, Why, And Who Was Responsible For The Decisions That Led To Direct U.s. Military Intervention In The Vietnam War. Based On More Than Five Years Of Painstaking Research, It Includes Startling Revelations From Previously Classified Transcripts Of Crucial Meetings, Many Of Which Were Obtained By The Author Through The Freedom Of Information Act; Tapes Of Private Telephone Conversations; Exclusive Access To Personal Diaries; Interviews With Participants; And Oral Histories. The Result Is An Inescapable Correction To The Prevailing View That An American War In Vietnam Was Inevitable. The Book Follows Step-by-step The Series Of Developments And Secret Decisions Made In Washington Between November 1963 And July 1965 To Intensify The American Military Commitment In Southeast Asia. And It Reveals That The Disaster That Followed Was Not Caused By Impersonal Forces But By Uniquely Human Failures At The Highest Levels Of The U.s. Government: Arrogance, Weakness, Lying In The Pursuit Of Self-interest, And Above All, The Abdication Of Responsibility To The American People. The Roles Played By The President's Closest Advisers - Mcgeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, George Ball, Maxwell Taylor, And Especially Robert Mcnamara - In The Decisions To Escalate American Involvement Are Central To The Story. And The Reasons Behind Those Decisions - Now Exposed - Challenge Mcnamara's Claim That American Policy Makers Were Prisoners Of The Ideology Of The Containment Of Communism And Therefore Should Be Absolved Of Responsibility For The Final Outcome. The Book Also Reveals For The First Time How The Virtual Exclusion Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff From The Decision-making Process Exacerbated The Problem. The New Frontiersmen And The Old Guard : 1961-october 1962 -- Havana And Hanoi : October 1962-november 1963 -- New War New Leader November : 1963-january 1964 -- Graduated Pressure : January-march 1964 -- From Distrust To Deceit : March-july 1964 -- Across The Threshold : July-august 1964 -- Contriving Consensus : August-september 1964 -- Prophecies Rejected And The Path Of Least Resistance : September-november 1964 -- Planning For Failure : November-december 1964 -- A Fork In The Road : December 1964-february 1965 -- The Foot In The Door : February-march 1965 -- A Quicksand Of Lies : March-april 1965 -- The Coach And His Team : April-june 1965 -- War Without Direction : April-june 1965 -- Five Silent Men : July 1965. H.r. Mcmaster. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C." - H. R. McMaster (from the Conclusion) Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning new analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on recently released transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. It also pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants. Dereliction Of Duty covers the story in strong narrative fashion, focusing on a fascinating cast of characters: President Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, McGeorge Bundy and other top aides who deliberately deceived the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Congress and the American public. Sure to generate controversy, Dereliction Of Duty is an explosive and authoritative new look at the controversy concerning the United States involvement in Vietnam. The roles played by the president's closest advisers - McGeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, George Ball, Maxwell Taylor, and especially Robert McNamara - in the decisions to escalate American involvement are central to the story. And the reasons behind those decisions - now exposed - challenge McNamara's claim that American policy makers were prisoners of the ideology of the containment of Communism and therefore should be absolved of responsibility for the final outcome. The book also reveals for the first time how the virtual exclusion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the decision-making process exacerbated the problem.--Book jacket Dereliction of Duty is a groundbreaking analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Meticulously researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations, and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants. -- Provided by publisher From a Desert Storm hero comes a brilliant, thoroughly documented, and devastating account telling how LBJ and his principal advisors turned the problem of Vietnam into a full-scale American war H.r. Mcmaster. Originally Published: New York: Harpercollins, 1997. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 419-434) And Index.