A Monument To Deceit: Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars

by C. Michael Hiam, Thomas Powers (Contributor)

It was an enigma of the Vietnam American troops kept killing the Viet Cong―and being killed in the process―and yet their ranks continued to grow. When CIA analyst Sam Adams uncovered documents suggesting a Viet Cong army more than twice as large as previously reckoned, another war erupted, this time within the ranks of America’s intelligence community. Although originally clandestine, this conflict involving the highest levels of the U.S. government burst into public view during the acrimonious lawsuit Westmoreland v. CBS. The central issue in the suit, as in the war itself, was the calamitous failure of U.S. intelligence agencies to ascertain the strength of the Viet Cong and get that information to troops in a timely fashion. The legacy of this failure―whether caused by institutional inertia, misguided politics, or individual hubris―haunts our nation. In the era of Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden, Sam Adams’ tireless crusade for “honest intelligence” resonates strongly today.

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2006

Reviews

[CASPER HILEMAN]

Mr. Hiam explains the pyric victory of Sam Adams and his fight for accurate intelligence in the Vietnam War. While collecting intelligence is difficult and even more difficult to use it is essential to victory in war. Fake intelligence is the worst possible thing for any reason, it not only provides a false sense of strength but also provides succor to the enemy. Shame on those that put self promotion before the needs of the warfighter.