War without fronts
Subtitle: the USA in Vietnam
By: Bernd Greiner ; translated from the German by Anne Wyburd, with Victoria Fern
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New Haven [Conn.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 518
ISBN-13: 9780300154511
Subjects: Sources; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Atrocities; History
Other titles: USA in Vietnam
Work titles: Krieg ohne Fronten
Description: "To this day, the My Lai massacre has remained the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War. Yet it is now becoming clear that this infamous incident was not an exception or aberration. Based on extensive research and unprecedented access to U.S. Army archives, War Without Fronts reveals the true extent of war crimes committed by American troops in Vietnam. In a series of case studies, Greiner looks at the killing work of U.S. Army death squads from 1967 to 1971." "Rather than pointing the finger at the "grunts" fighting a dirty war on the ground, Greiner argues that the responsibility for these atrocities extends all the way up to the White House and the Pentagon. The escalation of violence on the ground can be attributed to several factors: a U.S. political leadership afraid for the United States to lose its credibility and unable, against better advice, to stop the war; a military that devised a strategy of attrition based on "body counts" as the only way to defeat an enemy skilled in unconventional warfare; officers who were badly trained, lacking in motivation, and interested only in furthering their careers; soldiers who realized they were utterly disposable and so sought to empower themselves through random killing. The result was the torture, rape, maiming, and murder of countless Vietnamese civilians."--Jacket.
Notes: First published in Germany in 2007 as Krieg ohne Fronten : die USA in Vietnam, by Hamburger Edition.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Masters of war: The dynamics of asymmetrical warfare ; Political decision-making; title: Generals: Military decision-making ; In the line of fire : civilians in the war of attrition; title: Officers: The 'Vietnam Only Army' ; The rules of engagement ; Onlookers, accomplices and fellow-criminals; title: Warriors: 'Grunts' and Cracks ; Personal testimony ; 'Them and Us' ; Hatred and self-hatred ; Self-empowerment; title: 1967 : death squads in the northern provinces: 'Indian Country' : Task Force Oregon ; Quang Ngai and Quang Tin ; Scalphunters; title: 16 March 1968 : the massacres of My Lai (4) and My Khe (4): Generals ; Officers ; Warriors; title: 1968-71 : war of attrition in the southern provinces: Several 'My Lais'? ; Operation Speedy Express ; Covering up the tracks; title: Judges: The laws of warfare and culture of military law ; Investigations ; Trials.