I read this book as part of my ongoing research into the assassination of President Kennedy. In my opinion the conflict in Vietnam is one of the keys to unraveling this greatest of mysteries if it can even still be called a mystery today.
The conspiracy theory is President Kennedy was going to end America's involvement in Vietnam once he was re-elected in 1964. And that was something the Military Industrial Complex was never going to allow to happen.
The great Fletcher Prouty worked with Allen Dulles at the CIA up until the time JFK got killed. Fletcher felt there never was any real military objective in Vietnam. The goal was to create a bottomless money pit of military spending. So the CIA was doing things in Vietnam to prolong the conflict for as long as possible even if this meant getting American military personnel killed.
Author and historian John M. Newman has shown how the CIA and American military intelligence were telling President Kennedy and Secretary Of Defense Robert McNamara all lies about the true state of affairs in Vietnam. But they were telling then Vice President Lyndon Johnson the truth about what a quagmire Vietnam had become and would most likely always be. So Johnson knew what was going to happen in Vietnam even before he became president.
Fletcher Prouty and also James W. Douglass in his book JFK And The Unspeakable tell how the CIA had infiltrated every aspect of the power structures in Washington, DC. The CIA had their spies collecting information from all the government agencies and telling lies to everyone in the government also.
I don't really see a lot in this massive book about the Pentagon Papers to make me doubt those conspiracy theories.
The book says JFK continued America's involvement in Vietnam. But the fact remains that when JFK was alive and in office the number of American military personnel in Vietnam was around 16,000. And according to an official government document called NSAM 263 JFK had ordered that all American personnel should leave Vietnam in the near future.
Then within a few days after JFK got killed Lyndon Johnson issued NSAM 273 which seems to be a vaguely worded document about the future policy and plans for Vietnam which could be interpreted in many different ways. It's creepy because people say Lyndon started working on the draft for NSAM 273 when President Kennedy was still alive.
This book also confirms that there didn't seem to be any real military objectives in Vietnam. The stated objective was to just keep escalating the destruction against the enemy until they got discouraged.
But as I said if the conspiracy theories are true the CIA knew all along that this would never happen.
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The Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War Mass Market Paperback – July 1, 1971
by
Neil Sheehan
(Author),
Herick Smith
(Author),
E.W. Kenworthy
(Author),
Fox Butterfield
(Author),
Daniel Ellsberg
(Author)
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Neil Sheehan
(Author)
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Print length678 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherBantam Books
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Publication dateJuly 1, 1971
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ISBN-100553072552
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ISBN-13978-0553072556
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Product details
- Publisher : Bantam Books; 1st edition (July 1, 1971)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 678 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0553072552
- ISBN-13 : 978-0553072556
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
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Best Sellers Rank:
#1,064,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,102 in Vietnam War History (Books)
- #11,935 in Asian History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
299 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2018
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36 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2018
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This is one of the very best books I've read on the politics surrounding the reasoning behind the decisions made about the start of the Vietnam war. There is no doubt in my mind if JFK had lived, this war would never have taken place. JFK's second thoughts about the direction the war was taking, was one of the reasons Lyndon Johnson and certain organizations within and outside of our Gov't had him assassinated. This opinion coming from a Vietnam combat vet myself and a Vietnam war "hawk"at the time. We were all used by the "military industrial complex"-----just like Eisenhower warned the nation about just before he left office.
22 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars
I now understand why our country wastes lives and trillions of dollars on foolish wars
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2019Verified Purchase
I wondered why we lost so many lives and wasted so much money on the war in Vietnam. After reading this book, I now understand why our country wastes thousands of lives and wastes trillions of tax payer dollars on foolish non-strategic wars overseas. Obviously the military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned of in one of his books and his farewell speech is alive and well and profitable. I read where one third of our US military budget now goes to military subcontractors making some of them billionaires. We tax payers should put a stop to the foolish wars and the waste of our tax dollars like we did the Vietnam war.
19 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2018
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Amazing to read this today, and to still see so many parallels to Iraq and Afghanistan...and possibly North Korea. So much learned, but some much that still remains hidden from the public about the behind the scenes about Vietnam.
25 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2019
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This is the text of the confidential report that Robert McNamara commissioned as an archival file to explain how the US got embroiled in Vietnam and then couldn't get out. Major chronological periods are prefaced with a summary by one of the NY Times reporters that gives you a synopsis of that section. It's a case study of how otherwise bright people can make stupid decisions. For a more narrative form I'd recommend David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest. But here you can read the original arguments from the chief players that trapped us there.
13 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2021
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I will not add to the plethora of positive reviews here at Amazon. Yes, the book is thick (Over 700 pages), and it certainly does not make casual or "light" reading. However, the "Pentagon Papers" are, without doubt, one of the greatest journalistic triumphs of the 20th century. The reader is given a detailed, incredibly intimate summary of how policy makers in Washington decided to get the US involved in Vietnam, tracing the story from the mid-1950s through the Tet Offensive of 1968. In short, the US found itself involved in Vietnam for the following combination of reasons: A severe case of post-WWII "We-are-the-Victors" hubris, a terminal view of the world in "Either-Or / Us-versus-Them" terms, a firm belief in placing military solutions above diplomatic & economic alternatives, a blind faith in "experts" (In this case, Ivy League academics and Generals in the Pentagon), and last (But certainly not least), the mere fact that we, the USA, had the wealth, material means, and financial wherewithal to do so..................
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Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2018
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Perfect book for the questions I have had about the Vietnam war, I ask many questions but they have gone unanswered and I have discovered many answers so far and I an only a few chapters in!!
Highly recommend this book for anyone who has questions on this war they deems just a "conflict" I cannot wait to get to the end, as is, I am exploding with information and loving it!
Highly recommend this book for anyone who has questions on this war they deems just a "conflict" I cannot wait to get to the end, as is, I am exploding with information and loving it!
15 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019
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The Pentagon Papers is a must read for any professional or amateur historian of the Vietnam. No collection or documents capture the history of US involvement in Vietnam better than the Pentagon Papers.
It details the reasons for US intervention and the truth (and lies) that were used to sell it to the American public. This kindle version is nicely done.
It details the reasons for US intervention and the truth (and lies) that were used to sell it to the American public. This kindle version is nicely done.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
bob
5.0 out of 5 stars
A chronology of successive US govt decisions & documentsts of US involvment in Vietnam
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2020Verified Purchase
We all know the existence of the "Pentagon Papers" but I suspect not many of us have had a look through them.
It generally shows that successive administrations from the end of WW2 through much of the Pres. Johnson years felt compelled to do something about indo china becoming communist. They all had grave doubts on how to go about it. It seems that US Policy was built more on hope and the need to do something, than on a realistic outcome?
This material is often dry to read through (as the original documents are presented) but should be required reading for anyone who wants to get a better understanding of those years. Also required reading for any aspiring national politician of any country.
It generally shows that successive administrations from the end of WW2 through much of the Pres. Johnson years felt compelled to do something about indo china becoming communist. They all had grave doubts on how to go about it. It seems that US Policy was built more on hope and the need to do something, than on a realistic outcome?
This material is often dry to read through (as the original documents are presented) but should be required reading for anyone who wants to get a better understanding of those years. Also required reading for any aspiring national politician of any country.
2 people found this helpful
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Davie Millar
3.0 out of 5 stars
An exhaustive study
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2019Verified Purchase
A bit of heavy reading, this book with loads of notes which you need to keep on top of.
One person found this helpful
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Professor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant for A level coursework
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2018Verified Purchase
Brilliant for A level coursework but make sure you allocate enlightened to read it
2 people found this helpful
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ik
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2018Verified Purchase
Good
Dirt Maggurt
2.0 out of 5 stars
was not readable due to extremely bad quality of book
Reviewed in Canada on July 26, 2018Verified Purchase
ordered due to cheap price as it was used. was not readable due to extremely bad quality of book. would have requested refund but due to cheap price payed it was not worth time or effort.
one positive was quick shipping....
one positive was quick shipping....
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