Covert Ops: The CIA's Secret War In Laos by James E. Parker  (7)
$7.99
|
The Secret War Against Hanoi: The Untold Story of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors in North Vietnam by Richard H. Shultz Jr. (13)
$11.25
|
The Dirty War: Covert Strategies and Tactics Used in Political Conflicts by Martin Dillon  (8)
$43.95
|
SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam by John Plaster  (104)
$7.99
|
Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services by Ian Black (9)
$12.24
|
This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.
|
|||||||||
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Conboy and Andrad? relate how, from 1964 to 1972, the Defense Department oversaw one of the longest-running covert paramilitary operations in U.S. history: the army's Studies and Observation Group (SOG) in Vietnam. The American-trained SOG units conducted cross-border missions to disrupt enemy activities, rescue downed U.S. pilots, train agents and conduct psychological operations designed to undermine morale in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. According to the authors, nearly all of the SOG missions were unsuccessful; virtually all the Vietnamese commandos sent into North Vietnam, for example, were killed or captured. Drawing upon extensive research and interviews, Conboy (Shadow War) and Andrad? (Ashes to Ashes; Trial by Fire)--an analyst of South Asia and a U.S. Army military historian, respectively--have constructed a readable, almost mission-by-mission account of the SOG operations, from the policy decisions of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to the experiences of the agents themselves. The authors also offer a reasoned analysis of why the program was, as they say, "doomed from the start." The main factors were "political constraints," "a lack of understanding of the enemy" and the fact that "blind missions into closed communist societies did not work." The book's most riveting sections are the many suspenseful accounts of cross-border missions--complete with names, dates, places, acronyms, code names and a detailed cataloguing of weapons and espionage equipment used by the spies and commandos. Photos, maps not seen by PW. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Out of the troubled history of the Vietnam War comes this well-researched and detailed study of the doomed, covert U.S. war against North Vietnam. Sponsored by the CIA and the Pentagon from 1960 to 1973, the enthusiastic American program of clandestine commando operations inside North Vietnam was a dismal failure with no appreciable impact on the war--except that it cost hundreds of lives and millions of dollars. Plagued by ignorance, poor training, worse planning, treachery, and bad luck, the U.S. effort to introduce agents behind enemy lines (to foment resistance, spread propaganda, and conduct sabotage, raids, assassinations, and intelligence collection) was a Three Stooges exercise of laughable and tragic proportion. Conboy and Andrad?, both credible historians of the war in Southeast Asia, have produced a dry but compelling story of good intentions defeated by na?vet? and a vigilant enemy. Sadly, all the spies and commandos they track were either killed or captured. Most revealing is the involvement of the Taiwanese in this secret program. Recommended for all public libraries.
-Col. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Harpswell, ME
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Conboy and Andrad? relate how, from 1964 to 1972, the Defense Department oversaw one of the longest-running covert paramilitary operations in U.S. history: the army's Studies and Observation Group (SOG) in Vietnam. The American-trained SOG units conducted cross-border missions to disrupt enemy activities, rescue downed U.S. pilots, train agents and conduct psychological operations designed to undermine morale in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. According to the authors, nearly all of the SOG missions were unsuccessful; virtually all the Vietnamese commandos sent into North Vietnam, for example, were killed or captured. Drawing upon extensive research and interviews, Conboy (Shadow War) and Andrad? (Ashes to Ashes; Trial by Fire)--an analyst of South Asia and a U.S. Army military historian, respectively--have constructed a readable, almost mission-by-mission account of the SOG operations, from the policy decisions of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to the experiences of the agents themselves. The authors also offer a reasoned analysis of why the program was, as they say, "doomed from the start." The main factors were "political constraints," "a lack of understanding of the enemy" and the fact that "blind missions into closed communist societies did not work." The book's most riveting sections are the many suspenseful accounts of cross-border missions--complete with names, dates, places, acronyms, code names and a detailed cataloguing of weapons and espionage equipment used by the spies and commandos. Photos, maps not seen by PW. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Out of the troubled history of the Vietnam War comes this well-researched and detailed study of the doomed, covert U.S. war against North Vietnam. Sponsored by the CIA and the Pentagon from 1960 to 1973, the enthusiastic American program of clandestine commando operations inside North Vietnam was a dismal failure with no appreciable impact on the war--except that it cost hundreds of lives and millions of dollars. Plagued by ignorance, poor training, worse planning, treachery, and bad luck, the U.S. effort to introduce agents behind enemy lines (to foment resistance, spread propaganda, and conduct sabotage, raids, assassinations, and intelligence collection) was a Three Stooges exercise of laughable and tragic proportion. Conboy and Andrad?, both credible historians of the war in Southeast Asia, have produced a dry but compelling story of good intentions defeated by na?vet? and a vigilant enemy. Sadly, all the spies and commandos they track were either killed or captured. Most revealing is the involvement of the Taiwanese in this secret program. Recommended for all public libraries.
-Col. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Harpswell, ME
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
