On Strategy: Gulf War

I lived through the Vietnam era and I did not understand the conflicting and seemingly irrational world around me. This book explains those conflicts and resolves the irrational and contradicting events that left most Americans, including myself, unsettled and unsatisfied with the "popular" or "partisan" explanations of the day. Without understanding the Vietnam era, you will never understand America in the 1990's.

Is probably the best analysis of why we succeeded so completely in the Gulf War. It covers the historical and the strategic ,(socio-political), aspects leading to the Gulf War from the American Military standpoint. It is closer to a collection of interrelated essays on the different aspects that lead to success in war, starting from what in essence led to the defeat of America in Vietnam. This is a must for those interested in more than just tactics or for those interested in being (or understanding) a great leader and the elements that make "great" policy.

This is not a blow-by-blow account of the Gulf War; indeed, the only actual description of the progress of the war itself is the Appendix, a transcript of General Schwarztkopf's 2/27/91 press briefing.The bulk of Summers' book is a critical analysis of the historical factors that in large part determined how the war was prosecuted and that determined its outcome. Much of this is a re-examination of why we failed in Vietnam- a subject covered brilliantly in Summers' earlier "On Strategy:"- and the changes in US Military policy that followed. Particular import is placed on how the support of the American people and world leaders was cultivated to support the Gulf War.For students of history, politics and the military, this is a must read.