A Study of Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam, Vol. IV: US Domestic Factors

A Study of Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam, Vol. IV: US Domestic Factors, released through The Black Vault, documents2.theblackvault.com, and available at war.gov. This document, a study by the BDM Corporation, was submitted to the Army War College Security Office for review in December 1980. The study was initially classified, but after revision, a revised copy was released for public consumption. The study, Volume IV of the Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam series, examines the impact of US domestic factors on the policy-making process during the Vietnam War era. The authors aim to analyze the impact of domestic factors to establish a base for developing lessons that might be learned from the Vietnam War experience. FOREWORD: This study is a final draft submitted to DA-SSP for review in accordance with the provisions of Contract No. DAAG 39-78-C-0120. This task is to identify and analyze lessons that should be learned from two decades of direct US involvement in the affairs of South Vietnam. PREFACE: A. FOREIGN POLICY MAKING AND DOMESTIC FACTORS: In democratic states, public approval of foreign policy initiatives is an essential component in the long-term success of the policies. Without public support, governmental leaders will eventually be faced with the necessity of changing their policies or stepping down. The force of public opinion on a government is determined by a number of things, including the nature of the reaction to specific policies, the constitution of the state, the evolution of the state's governmental traditions, etc. This volume explores the impact of domestic factors on the US policy-making during the Vietnam War era and upon the conduct of the war. Its purpose is to analyze the impact of domestic factors in order to establish a base for developing lessons that might be learned from the Vietnam War experience. B. CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEM: Two key issues lie behind this study. Their scope and importance are such that this exploration of the impact of domestic forces on the Vietnam War policy-making process can serve as a base for defining the issues, but not for developing definitive analysis of them. The two issues are: (1) The general importance of public sentiment to the foreign policy-making process. (2) The related question of the importance of public support for war efforts. These two questions are both linked closely to the nature of the American democratic system. In both, the fundamental concern is what the relationship of policies should be to the public's will. The experience of the Vietnam War indicates clearly that the subgroups in American society have varying degrees of impact on the policy-making process depending on the political balance within the government and the personalities of the decision makers themselves. This volume examines the relative importance of these subgroups in affecting the policy-making process. The study's authors note that the challenge in analyzing individual domestic factors lies in assessing their separate impacts while remembering the mutual interactions. Examination of the relationship of important and widely based societal problems that became involved in the Vietnam war debate requires careful definition. The study aims to develop lessons that will be useful to the government and the US Army, focusing on the nature of the government's reaction to various segments of the public and the impact the Vietnam war era had on the constitutional process of the United States. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. The full document is available at documents2.theblackvault.com.