“the body count”: Ibid., p. 190.
“Genuine compassion and empathy”: Ibid., p. 239
“war of perceptions”: Ibid., pp. 163–165.
“Sixty percent of this thing is information”: Gareth Porter, “Petraeus Rising: Managing the ‘War of Perceptions’ in Iraq,” part 3 of a 4-part series, Truthout.org, December 14, 2012, http://truth-out.org/news/item/13310-petraeus-rising-managing-the-war-of-perceptions-in-iraq; Thomas E. Ricks, The Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq (New York: Penguin, 2010).
Sunni Awakening: Gareth Porter, “Petraeus Rising,” Ibid.
only 24 percent of Americans: Cited in Dominic Tierney, How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War (New York: Little, Brown, 2010), p. 236.
departed a catastrophe: One of the best sources of information for the costs and consequences of our recent wars is http://costsofwar.org; see also “U.S. Withdrawal Led to Al Qaida’s ‘Remarkable Resurgence’ in Iraq,” WorldTribune.com, August 7, 2013, http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/08/07/report-u-s-withdrawal-led-to-al-qaidas-remarkable-resurgence-in-iraq/.
“Obama’s Vietnam”: John Barry, “Could Afghanistan Be Obama’s Vietnam?” Newsweek, January 30, 2009.
Obama surge in Afghanistan: Gareth Porter, “True Believer: Petraeus and the Mythology of Afghanistan,” Truthout.org, December 20, 2012, part 4 of a 4-part series, http://truth-out.org/news/item/13442-believing-his-own-myth-petraeus-in-afghanistan.
“persistent, targeted efforts”: http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/05/global-war-terror-any-other-name-just-endless/65550/; Nick Turse, “Drone Disasters,” TomDispatch.com, January 15, 2012, http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175489/nick_turse_drone_disasters.
struck a funeral procession: Johnson, Dismantling the Empire, p. 189; see also Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt, Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001–2050 (CreateSpace, 2012).
400–1,000 Pakistani civilians: Estimates provided by Global Research and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. See http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/.
more than three thousand government and private organizations: Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, “Top Secret America,” Washington Post, July 19, July 20, July 21, December 20, 2010.
According to a report: David B. Muhlhausen and Jena Baker McNeill, “Terror Trends: 40 Years’ Data on International and Domestic Terrorism,” Heritage Foundation, May 20, 2011, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/05/terror-trends-40-years-data-on-international-and-domestic-terrorism.
More than 30,000 Americans are killed: Engelhardt, The American Way of War, pp. 128–29.
“If you want to know who we are”: Statement by the president, April 16, 2013, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/16/statement-president.
“greatest country in the world”: Jeffrey M. Jones, “Americans See U.S. as Exceptional; 37% Doubt Obama Does,” December 22, 2010, Gallup Politics, Gallup.com, http://www.gallup.com/poll/145358/americans-exceptional-doubt-obama.aspx.
specific questions about the state of the nation: See, for example, “NBC News Poll: Pessimism Defines the State of the Union,” January 27, 2014, http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/27/22471530-nbc-news-poll-pessimism-defines-the-state-of-the-union?lite. On education, for example: http://www.gallup.com/poll/1612/education.aspx; on infrastructure: http://cdmsmith.com/en-US/Insights/Funding-Future-Mobility/Exit-4-Changing-Lanes.aspx.
INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.
Abrams, Creighton, 43, 178–80
Abu Ghraib, 308–11, 330
Acheson, Dean, 83
Adams, Sam, 174–75
Adid, Mohamed Farrah, 302
adoption of Asians, 31–32
advertising, 262–63
Advertising Age, 260
affirmative action, 199–201
Afghanistan, 110, 305–7, 311, 312, 314, 317, 318, 320–22, 330
AFL-CIO, 197
African Americans:
civil rights for, 17, 19, 56, 60, 133, 139, 184, 201, 202
in military, 133, 137–42, 202
Moynihan and, 133
students, killing of, 201–4
workers, 199–201
aggression, 35–37, 45, 57, 63, 71, 310
Communist, 40–41, 46, 57, 63, 153
masculinity and, 78
Agnew, Spiro, 187, 196, 207
AIDS, 283
Albright, Madeleine, 301, 304
Ali, Muhammad, 138, 141
Al Jazeera, 320
Allen, George, 154
Allen, John, 307
All in the Family, 195–96
al-Qaeda, 157, 305, 309, 310, 329–30
America Held Hostage, 233
American exceptionalism, xiv–xv, xvii, xviii, 6–8, 31, 63, 185, 191, 192, 216, 228, 230–31, 258, 260, 265, 273, 285, 304, 309, 319, 322, 333–35
American flag, 265
American Friends of Vietnam, 13–14, 20–22, 39
American imperialism, 319–22
American Legion, 12, 37, 192
American national identity, 7, 12–13, 31, 334
American victimhood, 227–28, 283
Iran hostage crisis and, 233–34
POWs and, 242–50
Vietnam veterans and, 241
America’s Stake in Vietnam, 92–93
Angola, 285
antiwar activism, 19, 87–88, 111–14, 140–42, 157, 183–217, 263–66, 275, 283, 285, 322
Fonda and, 263–64
at Jackson State, 202–4
at Kent State, 183, 186–93, 197, 198, 201, 308
Latinos killed at, 204–6
Nixon and, 186–89, 191, 196–99, 206
self-immolation, 23, 267, 269, 277, 278, 308
by soldiers and veterans, 62–63, 140–42, 190, 215–16, 266
and spitting on veterans, 237
Arbenz, Jacobo, 39–40
Armed Forces Journal, 214
Arnett, Peter, 30
Arredondo, Alexander, 313–14
Arredondo, Brian, 313, 314
Arredondo, Carlos, 313–15, 333
Arrogance of Power, The (Fulbright), 53
Asian Americans, 261–62
A-Team, The, 272, 273
Atlantic, 102
Atwater, Lee, 293
B-52s, 151–58, 179
Bacevich, Andrew, 321, 322
Baer, Russell, 312
Baker, James, III, 295–97, 300
Baker, Norman, 27
Baldwin, Hanson, 49
Balfour, Bernice, 149
Balkans, 300
Ball, George, 47, 65–66, 81, 141
“Ballad of the Green Berets, The,” 123–26
Bank of America, 112–14
Barker, Frank, Jr., 145
“Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley, The,” 148
Beatles, 122–24, 209
Bedell, Berkley, 276
Beirut, 287–90
Berlin, 77, 96, 293
Berrigan, Daniel and Philip, 30
Bible, 11
Bigart, Homer, 193–94
bin Laden, Osama, 305–6, 318, 322
Bird, Kai, 81
Bissell, Richard, 75
Bloody Friday, 193–95
Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire (Johnson), 321
body counts, 169–71, 173, 179–81, 270, 323, 324
bombing, 56, 64, 73, 101, 104–7, 151–69, 177
/>
B-52s and, 151–58, 179
of Cambodia, 87, 89, 113, 154, 178, 227
of civilians and civilian property, 162, 164, 167–69, 170, 277
cluster, 153–54
napalm, 43, 49, 53–59, 153, 267, 269, 278, 308
in North vs. South Vietnam, 158, 164, 165
nuclear, see nuclear weapons
pauses in, 158, 163–64
rules of engagement and, 167–69
sustained reprisal and, 71–73
targets of, 160–63
Viet Cong and, 167–69, 171
see also warfare
books, Vietnam War, 268–69
Boot, Max, 320
“Born in the U.S.A.,” 252–55, 259
Born on the Fourth of July (film), 191, 266
Born on the Fourth of July (Kovic), 144, 191
Bosch, Juan, 50
Bosnia, 300–302
Boston Marathon bombings, 314, 333
Bradley, Ed, 229
Brennan, Peter J., 200
Britain, 94, 320
Brokaw, Tom, 299
brothels, 109
Brown, Glide, 138
Brown, Herman and George, 110
Brown & Root, 110–11
Browne, Malcolm, 23, 268–69
Buchanan, Patrick, 196
Buck, Pearl, 17
Buckley, Kevin, 180
Buddhism, 23, 27
Buddhist monks, self-immolation of, 23, 267, 269, 278, 308
Bunche, Ralph, 17
Bundy, McGeorge, 64–68, 70–74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 86, 141, 162, 239, 266
Bundy, William, 80–81
Burke, Arleigh, 27–28
Burrows, Larry, 43
Bush, George H. W., 264, 265, 292–99, 301
Bush, George W., xviii–xix, 228, 242, 305, 306, 309, 310, 323
Iraq and, 311, 312, 314–17, 324
Business Executives for Vietnam Peace, 112
Business Week, 114, 284–85
Buttinger, Joseph, 21
Calley, William, 146–50
Cambodia, 87–90, 113, 128, 154, 178, 186, 187, 190, 197, 198, 200, 226, 227, 261
Cambodian Communists, 225–27
Camp Holloway, Pleiku, 64–67, 70–71
Camp Pendleton, 140–41
Canfora, Alan, 187–88
Canterbury, Robert, 189, 192
capitalism, 94–96, 100
Carmichael, Stokely, 138
Caro, Robert, 110
Carter, Jimmy, 147, 229–32, 285, 322
hostage crisis and, 234–35
Castillo Armas, Carlos, 40
Castro, Fidel, 50, 74–77
Catholicism, 11–12, 30
in Vietnam, 3, 5, 12–14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26–27, 225
Cedar Falls, 29
Central America, 276, 278–80, 282–83, 291, 294
Chamberlain, Neville, 36, 83, 199
Cheech and Chong, 260
Cheney, Dick, 294, 296, 309, 316, 323
Cherne, Leo, 20, 21, 92–93
Chiang Kai-shek, 69
Chicago Democratic Convention, 185
Chin, Vincent, 261–62
China, 4, 9, 14, 38, 44, 53, 65, 81, 163, 169
lost to Communism, 69–70, 74, 83, 94
Chomsky, Noam, 312
Chrysler, 256–60
Churchill, Winston, 35–37
CIA, 8, 26, 47–48, 50, 73, 154, 174, 190, 206, 279, 280, 288, 300, 309, 321, 331
Cuba and, 74–76
Dooley and, 27, 28
Guatemala and, 39, 40
Mossadegh and, 233
Nicaragua and, 280
9/11 and, 321–22
Noriega and, 294
Phoenix Program of, 178–79
Thieu and, 224–25
civil rights, 17, 19, 56, 60, 133, 139, 184, 201, 202
Civil War, xii, 7, 183, 243, 258
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 145, 197
Clinton, Bill, 300, 301–4
Clinton, Hillary, 306–7
Clodfelter, Mark, 164
Clubb, O. Edmund, 69–70
Cold War, xiii, xv, xvi, 4, 6, 9, 13–16, 35, 40–41, 48, 51–52, 62, 70, 74, 77, 310, 320, 321, 332
economic goals and, 94, 96
masculinity and, 78
see also Communism, Communists
Collier’s, 34
Colson, Chuck, 200–201
Coming Home, 266
Commager, Henry Steele, 216–17
Commentary, 232
Commercial Import Program (CIP), 96–97
Committee to Help Unsell the War, 262–63
Communism, Communists, xv, 4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 18, 35, 37, 40–41, 50, 53, 68–70, 74
aggression by, 40–41, 46, 57, 63, 153
Cambodian, 225–27
capitalism and, 94–96, 100
domino theory and, 42, 81, 94, 173
Korean War and, 38
loss of China to, 69–70, 74, 83, 94
religion and, 4, 11–13
Vietnamese, see Vietnamese Communists
see also Cold War
Concord Naval Weapons Station, 275, 281–82
Con Son Island, 111
contractors, private, 110
Contras, 275–78, 280, 292–93
corruption, 97–99
counterinsurgency (COIN), 324–28, 330
Crichton, Michael, 262
Cronkite, Walter, 176
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, 190
Cuba, 50, 51, 74–78
Bay of Pigs, 48, 74–76
Missile Crisis, 74, 76, 77, 152
Daley, Richard, 185
Dallek, Robert, 82
Daniels, George, 141–42
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), 13, 215
Davies, John Paton, 69
Dean, Robert, 82
Deer Hunter, The, 267
“Defeat of America, The” (Commager), 217
Deliver Us From Evil (Dooley), 3–6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 26–28
DeLuca, Ron, 257
DeMille, Cecil B., 11
DePuy, William, 169
Detroit, Mich., 140
Díaz, Angel, 205
dictatorships, 96, 229
Diem, Ngo Dinh, 13–14, 20–27, 39, 41, 44, 60, 65, 267
Dinh Tuong, 158
disabled rights, 283
Dog Soldiers (Stone), xi, xv
Donlon, Roger, 129–30
Donovan, William, 21
Dooley, Thomas A., 3–6, 8–15, 18–20, 25–28, 30, 31, 39, 46, 121, 225
Doolittle, James, 310
Dominican Republic, 50–51, 86
Douglas, William O., 21
drone attacks, 306, 331–32
Dr. Strangelove, 152
drugs, 213–14, 239
Duffy, Dave, 303
Dukakis, Kitty, 265
Dukakis, Michael, 264–65, 293
Duke, Angier Biddle, 21
Dulles, Allen, 75
Dulles, John Foster, 21, 40
Duncan, Donald, 142–43
Duvalier family, 96
Ebens, Ronald, 261
Ebony, 138, 139
Eccles, Marriner, 112
economy, U.S., 230, 231, 285
2008 crisis in, 317
Vietnam and, 91–115, 285
Ed Sullivan Show, The, 122, 123, 125, 209
Ehrhart, W. D., 190
Eisenhower, Dwight D., xv, 5, 10–12, 20–22, 36, 37, 39–41, 91–93, 95, 233, 310
Ellsberg, Daniel, 26, 63
El Salvador, 40
, 279, 287, 294
Engelhardt, Tom, 63
England, Lynndie, 309
Evans, George, xi–xii
Ewell, Julian J., 179–80
F-105 Thunderchief, 160
Faas, Horst, 269
Fail-Safe, 152
Fall, Bernard, 164–66
Fascism, xvii, 35, 36
FBI, 50, 190, 205, 206, 282
Ferguson, Niall, 320
Fields of Fire (Webb), 171
Fishel, Wesley, 21, 23
Fog of War, The, 56
Fonda, Henry, 263
Fonda, Jane, 263–64
Ford, Gerald, 223–24, 226
Foreign Affairs, 104, 162
Forrest Gump, 266
Fortune, 114
Foster, Samuel, 145
France, 4, 14, 20–21, 24, 25, 36–37, 39, 41, 74, 92, 93, 169
Frank, Thomas, 262
Franks, Tommy, 323, 324
Franklin, Bruce, 267
Free Speech Movement, 136–37
FTA, 264
Fulbright, William, 47, 49–53, 69, 112
Galloway, Joseph L., 273–74
gay rights, 283
Gellhorn, Martha, 33–35, 54–56, 58
Geneva Accords, 14, 20, 37, 42–43, 224
Giap, Vo Nguyen, 92
Gibbs, Phillip, 203
Glaspie, April, 296
Goldwater, Barry, 48–49, 69, 83
Good Earth, The (Buck), 17
Goodwin, Doris Kearns, 82–84
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 293
Graham, Billy, 206–7
Grant, Zalin, 159
Grassley, Charles, 245
Great Society, 49, 68, 133–34, 261, 317
Green, James, 203–4
Green Berets, 120–30, 142–44, 272, 280
Green Berets, The (film), 143–44
Green Berets, The (Moore), 126–29, 142
Gregory, Dick, 60
Grenada, 290–91, 293
Gruening, Ernest, 48
Guadalcanal Diary (Tregaskis), 107
Guam, 153, 155
Guatemala, 39–40, 74, 75, 279, 287
Guevara, Che, 75, 120
Gulf of Tonkin, 46–47, 49–50, 288
Gulf War, 242, 287, 295–300, 308
Hackworth, David, 179
Haeberle, Ronald, 145
Haggard, Merle, 125
Haiphong, 161, 163
Halberstam, David, 25, 74
Haldeman, Bob, 87, 199
Halliburton, 110
Hammond, Ken, 188
Hanoi, 161–63, 263, 264
hard hat demonstrations, 193–95, 198–201
Harkins, Paul, 43
Harvard Crimson, 73–74
American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity Page 49
