Spies and Commandos: How America Lost the Secret War in North Vietnam (Modern War Studies) (Hardcover)

by Kenneth J. Conboy (Author), Dale Andrade (Author) "The war was not going well for France..." (more)
Key Phrases: notional teams, airborne teams, motorized junk, North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, Long Thanh (more...)

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 347 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kansas (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700610022
• ISBN-13: 978-0700610020
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #638,963 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant piece of work, July 14, 2000

By	Larry R Baldwin JR (Severna Park, MD United States) - See all my reviews

Spies and Commandos is a great book for anyone interested in SOG's exploits in SEA. This book is well researched and goes into great detail about the missions executed throughout N.Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Conboy is a great author and any of his works are well recommended for those who seek an unbiased account of covert operations in SEA. A book of simular content was written by Dr. Schutlz but simply does not compare to this. My personal favorite subject discussed in this book is the developemnt, exploitation, and operations of the "EARTH ANGEL" teams(1969-1971) which were turncoat NVA soldiers who were advised/trained by experienced CIA and US Special Forces personel to gather intell in Cambodia. Truly an educational and exciting piece of work. Another interesting subject is how the ARVN Special Operations units fought in the 1972 and final 1975 NVA offensives. BUY IT. You will not be dissapointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dark chapter in the history of U.S. Spec Ops, October 9, 2004

By	M. Conrad Hunter (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This book tells the story of one of the darker chapters in the history of U.S. special operations intelligence during the Vietnam War. Dark, because the `The Vietnam War...only a brushfire at the time...grew into a conflagration that did not burn out for more than a decade...[became] the orphan of defeat...waiting in the ashes.' {p. 276}

However, this book needed to be written. This is also a book that should be read by all strategic intelligence students as well as anyone who wants to understand the relationship and possible benefits between special covert and military operations including, but not limited to, peacekeeping, low intensity conflict, and war.

Spies & Commandos portrays in detail that the administration by our `Best and Brightest' showed `little appreciation for the lessons learned...[and] pinprick attacks had virtually no effect on the North Vietnamese economy or, more important, Hanoi's desire to pursue its war effort in South Vietnam.' {p. 246} How we treated the brave men and women who executed our missions is another dark story in itself.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bunglers and Bozos, July 30, 2007

By	Patrick Nava "PatLab" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spies and Commandos: How America Lost the Secret War in North Vietnam (Modern War Studies) (Paperback)

Most of the stories of the activity into North Vietnam reads like a Keystone Cops comic book. For the most part, a depressing account of the "recruits" the CIA had to work with. Lost patrols, predictable ambushes, North Vietnamese deception techniques, among political foul-ups leads you to wonder why they ever attempted that Secret War.

If you want to know why the U.S. failed in this Secret War; you came to the right place. This book will have your head shaking in disbelief through most of your reading. Good Luck.