Kennedy's Wars

Berlin, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam
Erscheinungsjahr 2002
ISBN: 978-0-19-515243-2
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 560 Seiten, Format (B × H): 127 mm x 203 mm, Gewicht: 670 g

John Fitzgerald Kennedy's thousand days as President of the United States was filled with crisis and incident. The Cold War was at its height, and Kennedy faced challenges over the future of West Berlin, Cuba and Vietnam. Deeply fearful of a third world war, yet conscious that he must not be seen to be losing ground to Communism, Kennedy picked his way through these crises, trying to maintain American interests while reducing the risk of nuclear confrontation. At the time of his assassination, relations with the Soviet Union had improved significantly with the easing of tensions over Berlin and the signing of the test ban treaty, but he had yet to find a definitive solution to the Cuba problem and the situation in Vietnam was deteriorating.

While recent biographies of Kennedy have addressed flaws in his character and private life, Freedman focuses on how he handled these big issues of war and peace. Drawing on a wealth of material, including newly released documents, and the best of Cold War scholarship, Freedman provides a compelling portrait of Kennedy. Particular attention is given to his views about international affairs and his conviction that the Third World was becoming the most important arena for Cold War competition. The book is full of drama as we watch Kennedy wrestling with a succession of major crises - taking advice, assessing situations, and forming judgements, coping with truculent allies as well as determined opponents.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Freedman, Lawrence

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltpolitik, Umweltprotokoll
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface - Kennedy's Wars

- Dramatis Personae

- Introduction

- Section 1: The Cold War and How to Fight It

- 1: Liberal Anti Communism

- 2: Beyond Massive Retaliation

- 3: The Third World Alternative

- 4: Policies and People

- Section 2: Berlin and Nuclear Statagy

- 5: The New Stratagy

- 6: To Vienna and Back

- 7: The Berlin Anomaly

- 8: A Contest of Resolve

- 9: The Wall

- 10: Tests and Tension

- 11: Flexible Response

- 12: Berlin to Cuba

- Section 3: Cuba

- 13: Removing Castro

- 14: A Deniable Plan

- 15: A Undeniable Fiasco

- 16: Still Castro

- 17: Mongoose

- 18: Searching for Missiles

- 19: The Options Debated

- 20: Blockade

- 21: Military Steps

- 22: Political Steps

- 23: The Denoument

- 24: A Crisis Managed

- 25: Aftermath

- 26: Back to Square One

- Section 4: Alliances and Detente

- 27: The Sino-Soviet Split

- 28: Towards a Test Ban

- 29: The Test Ban Treaty

- 30: Measured Response

- Section 5: Vietnam

- 31: Counter-Insurgency

- 32: Laos

- 33: Commitment Without Combat

- 34: Deciding Not To Decide

- 35: The Taylor Report

- 36: Decisions

- 37: The Influence Of Laos

- 38: In the Dark

- 39: Coercion and Clients

- 40: Diem's Assassination

- 41: Kennedy to Johnson

- Conclusion

- Notes

- Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Lawrence Freedman has been Professor of War Studies at King's College, London since 1982. He has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the Cold War, as well as commentating regularly on contemporary security issues. Elected a fellow of the British Academy in 1995, he was appointed by Prime Minister Tony Blair as Official Historian of the Falklands Campaign in 1997.