0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
B. PURPOSE OF VOLUME V, "PLANNING THE WAR."
The purpose of this volume is to provide the reader with separate analyses
of important lessons learned in Vietnam related to planning the war.
As outlined in the US Army's Request for Proposals (RFP) for this study,
Volume V is a coliectio' of eight separate analytical taskings, the details
of which are given below:
0 Objectives and Strategies - a compariscn shal !)e made of US and
allied objectives and strateges and those of North Vietnam and
its two principal supporters, the USSR and the PRC.
* US Foreign Policy - an examination of the effectiveness of US
a
foreign policy in providing support for US objectives in Vietnam
will be performed.
Contingency Planning - a description small be provided giving the
scope and general content of US contingency planning for Southeast
Asia in the period preceding large-scale US involvement and
a description of the ways the actual commitment differed from the
copditions assumed or prcjected in the contingency plans.
* Mooilization - a determination will be made as to the extent to
which mobilization of National Guard and Reserve Fcrces was ccnsidered.,
The decision not to mobilize until the Pueblo crisis
will be assessed as well as its subsequent impact on the war,
US Armed Forces and US society.
0 Pacification and Vietnamization - a description and analysis of
the evolution of the Pacification and Vietnamization p'ograms,
their impact on the war effort and degree of success will be provided.
* US Withdrawal - The primary influences that led tn the US withdrawal
will be identified and described; also a description of
the consequences of that withdrawal on thp war, on US international
relations and on Asian puwer relationships will be
provided.
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