To Oppose Any Foe

To Oppose Any Foe is a compilation of essays on the historical, legal, and contemporary legacy of the Vietnam War that challenges much of the conventional wisdom surrounding that watershed conflict. The book addresses the aftershocks and consequences of America's ill-fated intervention in Vietnam, from the Cambodian killing fields to nation-building in Somalia to evolving legal thinking on war crimes. The last U.S. helicopter left Saigon over three decades ago, but the Vietnam War still haunts the American memory. It lingers as one of America's most stinging foreign policy failures, prompting numerous attempts to draw lessons from the experience. These essays demonstrate that the idealism underlying the Vietnam War, which was trumpeted by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural pledge to "oppose any foe" of liberty, resonates to this day as America engages in another "long, twilight struggle" against global terrorism in the post-September 11 world.

"A remarkable work…that will contribute to a more mature and balanced perspective on the tragedy of Vietnam." — Professor James MacGregor Burns, Williams College (emeritus), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award

"A serious and refreshing relook at America's engagement in Vietnam and its longer term consequences." — The Honorable James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and Director of Central Intelligence during the Vietnam War

"[It] has something for everyone, from the historian and historically-minded layman to the military strategist and legal scholar." — Illya Shapiro, The Washington Times

"[T]he individual essays are uniformly excellent and present an informative interdisciplinary discussion of the Vietnam War's aftermath." — Stuart S. Malawer, The Virginia Lawyer