I reviewed Michael Burleigh’s Small Wars, Faraway Places for The New York Times. Here is an excerpt:

The final chapters of “Small Wars, Faraway Places” inevitably focus on the increasing American involvement in Vietnam under Presidents Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. In light of contemporary debates about Washington’s “credibility” in the Middle East, it is worth remembering that American officials issued the same warnings about Southeast Asia, insisting that a failure to act in Vietnam would undermine American credibility in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Burleigh wholly rejects this argument. It “was a lie. Britain and France opposed escalating the war, and de Gaulle was a firm advocate of Vietnam’s neutralization.” Appealing to credibility is often the last refuge of a policy maker who knows his argument lacks merit.