Tag: cia

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Education Reading Vietnam War Watergate

The Man Nobody Knew

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby is a 2011 documentary by his son Carl exploring his life and career at the CIA.

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby is a 2011 American documentary film exploring the life and career of former CIA director William Egan Colby

What is rather revealing are not insights from his wife Barbara. Rather, interviews with America’s most powerful voices from that era is a “Who’s Who” of America’s entire war in Southeast Asia is key.

Willam left law school to fight in World War II and joined the OSS (CIA) taking a leading role in Norway receiving a Silver Star. William first moved his family to Rome in order to thwart the rise of Italian communism. The CIA’s early role in Vietnam led by William is presented front and center, revealing a deeper understanding of America’s early entry into the French war.

William’s move to Vietnam in 1959 occurred less than five years after Dien Bien Phu. He brought his family to Saigon from Rome. In fact, the Colby children attended a special school for American families in Vietnam with their oldest daughter attending with the niece of Ngo Dinh Diem. Very interesting backstory to Barbara’s life in Italy. Yet, after settling into Saigon, she noted “It’s strange to think the threat from North Vietnam wasn’t easily seen.”

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Education Reading Vietnam War

Latest read: The Irony of Vietnam

The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked by Leslie Gelb is a review that American bureaucratic institutions prevailed across the Vietnam War.

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara appointed Leslie Gelb, following the death of John McNaughton to discover the history of American involvement in Vietnam. This top secret project Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force began in 1967 and became known as The Pentagon Papers after Dan Ellsberg leaked the study to the New York Times. 

The Irony of Vietnam: The System WorkedUnderstanding Gelb’s views and insights of the war you must acknowledge Gelb worked on CINCPAC OPLAN 37-64 known as Operation Rolling Thunder.

Readers should be well versed in the pre-World War II history of Indochina including American efforts via financially support in the French desire post-1946 to re-enslave the peoples of Indochina.

Gelb’s efforts well document the lost years of the American war 1966 to 1968. Interesting how Gelb viewed LBJ not finding consensus among his advisors on how to proceed …. victory was clearly understood as not achievable by 1965. Yet General Westmoreland could not convince LBJ that 480,000 more men would swing the tide of the war.

Gelb’s opinion of Operation Marigold brought refreshed insights that I did not easily recall from the Papers. The backdrop of a secret tunnel to establish peace via the Polish embassy detailed how intense the effort was in the White House set against the Air Force commitment to Gelb’s own Operation Rolling Thunder clipped any real chance at peace by December 1966. The war would continue for almost ten more years.

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Education Reading Vietnam War Watergate

Latest read: The Vietnam War: An Intimate History

The Vietnam War: An Intimate History by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns have authored one of the finest efforts to address the war from multiple perspectives and is perfect for Gen X and Millennials. This compliments Burns’ highly acclaimed 2017 PBS series.
The Vietnam War: An Intimate HistoryMany already recognize that Ken Burns is a gifted storyteller mixing media together to produce: The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011), and The Roosevelts (2014).

Prior to the PBS 10-part series, I knew Burns would deliver another great experience. For the book release, Ward and Burns do not disappoint. Their detailed stories and personal testimonials from soldiers and their families are deeply moving. Many young and old will more accurately understand a very tumultuous period in our nation’s history.

Burns’ access to newly released interviews and declassified materials from both sides show greater insights that inject confusion to long-held beliefs. This will lead many to question truths on all sides, from past government leaders to military generals.

Burns and Ward offer a number of key revelations:

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Education Reading Technology Vietnam War

Latest read: Who the Hell Are We Fighting?

Who the Hell Are We Fighting?: The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars is the story Sam’s incomplete memoir War of Numbers could not deliver. Sam Adams died suddenly in 1988 at the age of 54. Sam was a gifted analyst at the CIA. Author C. Michael Hiam delivers a well written narrative of Sam’s life.
Who the Hell Are We Fighting?: The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence WarsSam displayed the uncommon trait of speaking truth to power. As history often suggests Sam was in the right place at the right time.

His truth revealed outcomes that pitted him against the White House, MACV and even senior leadership within the CIA.

What also made Sam unique was his inability to backdown to the highest offices in the government. Sam created a point of great turmoil by discovering and confronting repeated MACV intelligence failures. His analysis was not supported by CIA Director Richard Helms. Nobody wants to make their boss look bad.

Haim traces Sam’s life from Harvard to a rising star within the CIA to a disillusioned analyst. War of Numbers did not shed light on Sam’s death. Realizing Haim was going to discuss his passing at the close of the book I dreaded the last chapter to the life of Sam Adams.

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Education Reading Vietnam War

Latest read – War of Numbers

War of Numbers: An Intelligence Memoir was published after the death of Sam Adams. He spent his career working in CIA intelligence during the Vietnam War. He leaves behind a memory of dedication to country and an unbending legacy speaking truth to power.
War of NumbersSam graduated from Harvard and began a CIA intelligence career in the Congo. Adams won high praise for accurately predicting changes to the Congolese government in 1966.

His initial Vietnam war research focused on the moral of Viet Cong troops in 1967. He wrote a larger Viet Cong order of battle. This began a long clash with CIA, MACV, the Joint Chiefs and the White House over the size of VC forces before the Tet Offensive.

His initial reports never made it out of the CIA. His experiences in chapter 4 “Bulletin 689” changed everything. Adams was able to discover errors in the MACV order of battle. Insights from CIA interrogations allowed Sam to separate deserters vs. defectors regarding guerrilla troops at the hamlet, village and district levels. His order of battle data revealed MACV underestimating VC guerrillas by 120,000 by 1967.

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