The Secret War Against Hanoi: Kennedy and Johnson's Use of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors in North Vietnam

by Richard H. Shultz Jr.

Book Overview

From 1964 to 1972, the United States executed an extremely secret campaign of covert operations against North Vietnam. Controlled by the Pentagon's Special Operations Group, under the cover name "Studies and Observation Group" (SOG), it was the United States' largest and most complex covert operation since World War II. Because it was so highly classified and politically sensitive, once the war was over the story of SOG was buried deep in the vaults...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060194545
• ISBN13: 9780060194543
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

READERS BEWARE!

This book should be required reading -- from Camp Lejeune to Fort Bragg; from NAB Coronado to Okinawa. But, beware -- its painful... Why? Because if the military is your profession -- SpecWar and Recon-types, in particular -- you may want to consider making plans to move into another field after reading the author's thoroughly documented account of how the US/South Vietnam attempted to conduct secret ops in Southeast Asia during the '60s and early '70s.The author exposes the whole sordid affair from start to finish, and in a way that makes you feel both ashamed and proud -- proud of those in the bush who put their lives on the line and ashamed of those in high places who put them in harms way without a well-defined game plan, without proper support. If you can gut-out finishing the book (I recommend you do; it will make you stronger in the long run), you'll want to take a deep breath of fresh air, pause to reflect on those comrades that never made it home, and then PT for about 12 miles...

Finally the truth about Vietnam!

Having been involved with Vietnam since 1945, I was always amazed by the wrong decisions of my superiors. After citing instances in my own book, The Winking Fox, I now realize that I was under the control of ignorants who unfortunately ran, not only our military, but our country! Thanks a million Richard Shultz.

The War We Never Knew

Had U.S. political and military leaders backed these secret operations with less trepidation, Vietnam might well have been a success story. A revealing look at what unconventional warfare and clandestine operations can really achieve -- IF they are integrated into a cohesive warfighting strategy ...and why they will fail or backfire if prosecuted with only half-hearted support within the highest councils of our government. Richard Shultz unveils a whole new dimension of America's prowess at espionage, sabotage, and special operations in this page-turning history.Benjamin F. Schemmer, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic Review

The War We Never Knew

Had U.S. political and military leaders backed these secret operations with less trepidation, Vietnam might well have been a success story. A revealing look at what unconventional warfare and clandestine operations can really achieve -- IF they are integrated into a cohesive warfighting strategy ...and why they will fail or backfire if prosecuted with only half-hearted support within the highest councils of our government. Richard Shultz unveils a whole new dimension of America's prowess at espionage, sabotage, and special operations in this page-turning history.Benjamin F. Schemmer Editor-in-Chief Strategic Review

Fascinating insights of operations in Laos & N. Vietnam.

Richard Shultz has uncovered many new facts about how the CIA and the military carried out secret operations during the Vietnam War. His careful research and brutal honesty tells the story--warts and all. He gives both a strategic and a tactical perspective. You will get to know well some extraordinary characters who fought political, diplomatic and bureaucratic barriers to try to undermine the regime in Hanoi. Many lessons here for future conflicts.