History has not been kind to Robert Komer, a casualty of bad
historical analysis and inaccurate information. A Cold War national
security policy and strategy adviser to three presidents, Komer was
one of the most influential national security professionals of the
era. The book begins with a review of his early life that helped shape
his worldview. It then examines Komer’s influence as a National
Security Council staff member during the Kennedy administration, where
he helped set its activist course regarding the Third World. Upon
Kennedy’s death, Lyndon Johnson named Komer his “point man” for
Vietnam pacification policy, and later General Westmoreland’s
operational deputy in Vietnam.
The author highlights Komer’s activities during the three years he
strove to fulfill the president’s vision that Communism could be
repelled from Southeast Asia by economic and social development along
with military force. Known as “Blowtorch” for his abrasive
personality and disdain for bureaucratic foot dragging, Komer came to
be seen as the right person for managing that effort, and in 1968 was
rewarded with an ambassadorship to Turkey. The book analyzes Komer’s
work during the Carter administration as special adviser to Secretary
of Defense Harold Brown and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and
credits him for reenergizing the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization’s conventional capability and forging the military
instrument that implemented the Carter Doctrine in the Persian
Gulf—the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force. It also explores his
final role as a defense intellectual and critic of the Reagan
administration’s defense policies. The book concludes with a useful
summary of Komer’s impact on American policy and strategy and his
contributions to counterinsurgency practices, a legacy now recognized
for its importance in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Robert Komer, Vietnam, and American Cold War Strategy
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781612512297
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Naval Institute Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter