The American Culture of War: The History of U.S. Military Force from World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom

585 Pages·2018·50.43 MB·English

by  Adrian R. Lewis

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The American Culture of War
Now in its third edition, The American Culture of War presents a sweeping critical examination of
every major American war since 1941: World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the First and Second Persian
Gulf Wars, US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the war against ISIS. As he carefully consid-
ers the cultural forces that surrounded each military engagement, Adrian Lewis offers an original
and provocative look at the motives, people and governments used to wage war, the discord among
military personnel, the flawed political policies that guided military strategy, and the civilian per-
ceptions that characterized each conflict. This third edition features:
• A new structure focused more exclusively on the character and conduct of the wars
themselves
• Updates to account for the latest, evolving scholarship on these conflicts
• An updated account of American military involvement in the Middle East, including the
abrupt rise of ISIS
The new edition of The American Culture of War remains a comprehensive and essential resource
for any student of American wartime conduct.
Adrian R. Lewis is Professor of History at the University of Kansas. He has taught at the Naval
War College and at West Point, and is a retired United States Army Major. He is the author of
Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory.
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The American Culture of War

The History of US Military Force from
World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom

Third Edition
Adrian R. Lewis
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Third edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Adrian R. Lewis
The right of Adrian R. Lewis to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2007
Second edition published by Routledge 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1 -1 38-6 8425- 6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1 -1 38-6 8426- 3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1 -3 15-5 4402- 1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Out of House Publishing
Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/ textbooks/ 9781138684263
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To Family

my daughters
Alexandria Adrienne
Allison Michele
Aubrey Danielle
Anastasia Kathryn
Angelica Noelle
my first granddaughter
Sawyer Victoria
my sisters
Allison and Charisse
my father and brother
John and John Jr.
Life is a wonderful thing
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Contents

Preface to the Third Edition xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Military Map Symbols xiv
List of Illustrations xv
List of Abbreviations xviii
Introduction 1
PART I
Tradition and an Envisioned Future Collide 9
1 War and Culture: An Analytical Approach 11
War and Humanity 12
Culture: An Approach 13
Axioms of Cultural Theory 19
2 The American Practice of War: Cultural Tenets 25
Traditional Practices No Longer Worked 25
Equality of Opportunity and Sacrifice 28
Inequality of Outcome 33
Wealth and Consumption 35
Racism 37
Exclusion of Women 44
Science and Technology 47
Militarism 50
American Cultural Tenets 51
3 The Legacy of World War II: Man versus Machine 54
Air War Doctrine versus Ground War Doctrine 55
The Army’s Practice of War 56
Airpower: A New Practice of War 59
The Navy and Marine Corps 69
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4 Truman, the Cold War, and the National Military
Establishment, 1945– 1950 73
Truman, the Policy of Containment, and National Strategy 74
Strategic Airpower and National Military Strategy 84
From the National Military Establishment to the Department of Defense 94
5 The Korean War: The Opening Phases, 1950– 1951 107
The Korean War 108
The Opening Phase: The Korean People’s Army versus the Republic of Korea Army 112
Walker’s Battle for Pusan 116
The Inchon Landing 122
Crossing the 38th Parallel 127
The Chinese Decision to Intervene and Offensive Operations 131
The Ground War: Ridgway Takes Command 139
6 The Korean War: The Final Phases, 1951– 1953 145
The Air War 147
Censorship, the Media, and Public Opinion 154
The Relief of General Douglas MacArthur 158
New Personnel Policies: The Results of Transformation 162
The Final Phase: Negotiating While Fighting, Defensive War of Attrition 172
PART II
The Efforts to Adapt to a Nuclear World 179
7 Eisenhower, the Cold War, and Massive Retaliation, 1953– 1960 181
Eisenhower’s Vision: The “New Look” 181
Army Chiefs, Ridgway, Taylor, and Lemnitzer, Fight Against the “New Look” 187
The Iron Triangle: The Growth of American Militarism 195
8 Kennedy, McNamara, and Artificial Limited War, 1961– 1963 201
Artificial Limited War Theory 203
Kennedy’s New Strategic Doctrines: Flexible Response 210
McNamara’s Reorganization of the Army 214
Communist Revolutionary War Doctrine and Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine 216
9 The Vietnam War: The Opening Phases, 1955– 1967 226
Geography, Terrain, and Strategy 227
The Vietnam War: Explaining American Involvement 229
The Advisory Phase 233
Johnson and the Americanization Phase 238
The Air War: Graduated Response 242
The Ground War: The Marine Corps versus the Army 250
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Contents ix
10 The Vietnam War: The Final Phases, 1967– 1975 266
Censorship, the Media, and Public Opinion 267
New Personnel Policies: The Result of Transformation 270
McNamara Changes Course 279
The Tet Offensive 282
Nixon and the Vietnamization Phase 287
PART III
The New American Practice of War: War Without the People 299
11 The Recovery and Reorganization of the Armed Forces of the
United States, 1975– 1990 301
The “Revolution” in Strategic Bombing Doctrine 303
To Rebuild an Army: Back to the Future 307
The Weinberger Strategic Doctrine and the Goldwater– Nichols Act 310
12 The Persian Gulf War: Operation Desert Shield, 1990– 1991 316
Saddam Hussein’s Decision to Invade Kuwait 318
The Iraqi Army: Too Much Respect and Awe 320
Bush’s War or America’s War? 325
Operation Desert Shield/ Storm: Theater Strategy 328
13 The Persian Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm, 1991 338
The Air War 339
The Ground War 346
Military Victory and Political Failure 366
The Media and Public Opinion 370
The Verdict 373
The Revolution in Military Affairs: Network- Centric Warfare 375
14 Bush’s Global War on Terrorism and Operation Enduring
Freedom, 2001– 2011 378
Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Defining the Problem 379
Al- Qaeda versus the Bush Administration 383
Bush’s Global War on Terrorism Strategy and Preemptive War Doctrine 387
The War in Afghanistan: Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001– 2008 395
Obama’s War in Afghanistan: Operation Enduring Freedom, 2008– 2016 404
15 The Second Persian Gulf War: Operation Iraqi Freedom I, the
Conventional War, 2003 413
Summary of Events: Operation Iraqi Freedom 414
The Arguments and Decision for War 417
Operational Doctrine: “Shock and Awe” 429
Theater Strategy: Franks versus Rumsfeld 432
Opposing Forces: It Looked Easy 436
The Air War 439
The Ground War 441