Bureaucracy At War U.S. Performance In The Vietnam Conflict is an encyclopaedic analysis of many issues raised in the course of the Vietnam War. Komer questions the presence of the U.S in South-east Asia as well as tackling technical, strategic, tactical, military and non-military issues.

Robert W. Komer's distinguished career in foreign policy and national security included the post of Deputy to the Commander, U.S. Military Forces, Vietnam. As chief pacification advisor, he was responsible for civil operations

1 Vietnam Was Different, and We Knew It 2 Why Did We Do So Poorly? 3 The Flawed Nature of Our Chosen Instrument 4 Institutional Constraints on U.S. Performance 5 Institutional Obstacles to the Learning Process. 6 Lack of Unified Management 7 Attempts at Adaptive Response 8 Was There a Viable Alternative Strategy? 9 What Lessons Can Be Learned?.