The Vietnam Syndrome Impact on US Foreign Policy [Hardcover]

This book focuses on the 'Vietnam Syndrome' - the effects for the United States of the American defeat in the Vietnam War. It argues that a full understanding of the Syndrome requires a proper appreciation of key shaping elements in Vietnamese and American history. Attention is given to the racial genocide that attended the birth of the United States, to US imperialism and capitalism, and to the Cold War framework. The nature of America as a plutocracy is emphasised, followed by profiles of policy options and three specific issues: post-war Vietnam, El Salvador and Iraq.List of Tables - List of Figures - Acknowledgements - Introduction - PART 1: THE TRAUMA OF DEFEAT - The Shaping of a Syndrome - PART 2: THE HISTORY - Vietnam: The Turbulent Past - The United States: The Route to Hegemony - PART 3: THE VIETNAM WAR - Vietnam: A War at Home - United States: a War Abroad - PART 4: IMPACT ON US FOREIGN POLICY - Options and Issues - Appendices - Notes - Bibliography - Index

'This is a terrifying book that should be required reading for every student of twentieth-century history. It is written by an author burning with anger at what was done in Vietnam, but the evidence is so clear and the documentation so meticulously marshalled that it cannot be brushed aside as just another example of anti-American paranoia.' - Tony Benn, MP

GEOFF SIMONS