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Planning to Fail - The US Wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,426
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Planning to Fail - The US Wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan (Hardcover)
Series: Bridging the Gap
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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The United States national-security establishment is vast, yet the
United States has failed to meet its initial objectives in almost
every one of its major, post-World War II conflicts. Of these
troubled efforts, the US wars in Vietnam (1965-73), Iraq (2003-11),
and Afghanistan (2001-present) stand out for their endurance,
resource investment, human cost, and miscalculated decisions.
Because overarching policy goals are distant and open to
interpretation, policymakers ground their decisions in the
immediate world of short-term objectives, salient tasks, policy
constraints, and fixed time schedules. As a consequence, they
exaggerate the benefits of their preferred policies, ignore the
accompanying costs and requirements, and underappreciate the
benefits of alternatives. In Planning to Fail, James H. Lebovic
argues that a profound myopia helps explain US decision-making
failures. In each of the wars explored in this book, he identifies
four stages of intervention. First and foremost, policymakers chose
unwisely to go to war. After the fighting began, they inadvisably
sought to extend or expand the mission. Next, they pursued the
mission, in abbreviated form, to suboptimal effect. Finally, they
adapted the mission to exit from the conflict. Lebovic argues that
US leaders were effectively planning to fail whatever their hopes
and thoughts were at the time the intervention began.
Decision-makers struggled less than they should have, even when
conditions allowed for good choices. Then, when conditions on the
ground left them with only bad choices, they struggled furiously
and more than could ever matter. Policymakers allowed these wars to
sap available capabilities, push US forces to the breaking point,
and exhaust public support. They finally settled for terms of
departure that they (or their predecessors) would have rejected at
the start of these conflicts. Offering a far-ranging and detailed
analysis, this book identifies an unmistakable pattern of failure
and highlights lessons we can learn from it.
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