Decent and Indecent

Frank Snepp, formerly of CIA, has written a book about the sad, disgraceful ending of the Vietnam War. Douglas S. Blaufarb, also formerly of CIA, has written a better book about the counter-insurgency which began the U.S. role in that war.

The measure of what is wrong with Snepp’s Decent Interval is that its one-note excoriation of nearly everyone involved lent itself so easily to the perverse purposes of that infamous old nemesis of American POWs, Wilfred Burchett, who reviewed the book in the March issue of Harper’s. Burchett seized the chance to hold up Snepp as a flawed mirror reflecting American policy. One hates to be caught agreeing with Burchett, but give credit where it’s due: he sticks his finger into a devastating void in Snepp’s book. “Readers will seek in vain,” he says, “for any analysis of why America was in Vietnam or the real reasons for defeat.”

NH

About the Author

Norman B. Hannah

Frank Snepp, formerly of CIA, has written a book about the sad, disgraceful ending of the Vietnam War. Douglas S. Blaufarb, also formerly of CIA, has written a better book about the counter-insurgency which began the U.S. role in that war.

The measure of what is wrong with Snepp’s Decent Interval is that its one-note excoriation of nearly everyone involved lent itself so easily to the perverse purposes of that infamous old nemesis of American POWs, Wilfred Burchett, who reviewed the book in the March issue of Harper’s. Burchett seized the chance to hold up Snepp as a flawed mirror reflecting American policy. One hates to be caught agreeing with Burchett, but give credit where it’s due: he sticks his finger into a devastating void in Snepp’s book. “Readers will seek in vain,” he says, “for any analysis of why America was in Vietnam or the real reasons for defeat.”