HERRINGTON : Peace with honor? (fülszöveg)
A moving and revealing report of the reality of the "peace with honor" that supposedly came to Vietnam after the Paris Agreements.
As a military intelligence officer the author was assigned to the Defense Attache Office in Saigon and then transferred to a Joint Military Team for investigation of the MIAs (Missing in Action).
In frustrating pursuit of his objectives, he found no peace and far more anger and corruption than honor. Under the cloak of the cease-fire, the North Vietnamese were rebuilding for their final victory – and the war went on.
Morale in South Vietnam plummeted with the American withdrawal, and each congressional denial of appropriations for help was another blow. The MIA investigation, built on a quid-pro-quo arrangement, was a runaround. Negotiations revolved around set propaganda speeches by the Communists, but produced no information and no bodies.
Danang fell. The attempts to evacuate the South Vietnamese who had been loyal to their government was a disaster. Herrington hoped that when the onslaught hit Saigon, better plans would be implemented.
They almost were – but communications with Washington, D.C., were faulty, and the last group, waiting patiently, had to be left behind as the last helicopter was ordered to leave the Embassy rooftop.
The last chapter reviews the questions on the war and the demise of South Vietnam: would a Saigon victory have been possible in any case? How far can insurgencies be defeated by modern techniques and tactics? Did we throw away a possible victory at the Paris table? Can military victory be lost by politicians?
A moving, provocative and important book.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
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