A Study of Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam, Vol. III: US Foreign Policy 1945-1975

COLD OPEN: This is a declassified document, released through The Black Vault, a collection of US government records. The document is titled "A Study of Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam, Vol. III: US Foreign Policy 1945-1975". It's a 340-page study, part of an eight-volume series, compiled by the BDM Corporation under contract to the US Army. The study was declassified in 1981 and is now available online at war.gov and theblackvault.com. PROVENANCE: The document was declassified by the Defense Technical Information Center in 1981, with a revised copy submitted to the US Army War College. The study was initially classified but was revised to delete all classified information. The document is now approved for public release. THE DOCUMENT: The study, "US Foreign Policy and Vietnam, 1945-1975," is the third volume of the eight-part series. It assesses the US involvement in Vietnam by examining the global context and the major historical precedents influencing US involvement. The study is divided into four chapters, with each chapter providing background information for the next, culminating in the final chapter, "US Foreign Policy and Vietnam, 1945-1975: Lessons to Be Learned." The authors note that the study is analytical, not historical in nature, and its focus is primarily military in orientation. The purpose of the study is to draw lessons and insights of value to present and future US policy makers, both civilian and military. The study methodology involves examining the US national-level policy process, which shaped US involvement in Vietnam. The authors also consider the global context in which US involvement occurred and the major historical precedents influencing US policy. Chapter 1, "US Global Policy and Its Relationship to US Policy for Southeast Asia, 1945-1975," illustrates US global policy during the 1945-1975 period and relates this policy to US policies for Southeast Asia in general, and for Vietnam specifically. Chapter 2 discusses historical precedents and perceptions expressed as catchwords, such as the "loss of China" or "appeasement at Munich," which served to justify or constrain US policy making for Vietnam. Chapter 3 assesses the US Vietnam policy-making process, providing an overview of the six post-WWII administrations, their respective policy-making styles, and the relative level of influence enjoyed by the major US policy-making bodies in the Vietnam policy-making process. Chapter 4, "US Foreign Policy and Vietnam, 1945-1975: Lessons to Be Learned," integrates the information from the previous chapters and provides a brief concluding chapter devoted to lessons. CONTEXT: The study was part of a comprehensive research effort aimed at identifying lessons that US military leaders and US civilian policy makers should have learned or should now be learning from the US experience in Vietnam. OUTRO: This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. The BDM Corporation's study on US foreign policy and Vietnam, 1945-1975, is now available online at storyflo.com and theblackvault.com.