Skip to main content

News

Image
By
Noted history publisher Casemate has just released:

There Was a Time by George H. Wittman 

This novel provides new insight into the little-known story of the alliance between the OSS and Viet Minh at the end of World War II. It is based on the actual events and exploits of various OSS officers and enlisted men. 

It is the summer of 1945, the last and very dangerous days of World War II. The Office of Strategic Services is in close, cooperative contact with Ho Chi Minh and the fighting cadre of the Viet Minh, working against the Japanese. In the closing months of the war, the OSS parachute a team of special operations soldiers into Tonkin, northern Viet Nam. Led by Major John Guthrie and his second-in-command, Captain Edouard Parnell, both experienced officers from their earlier assignments in occupied France and Belgium, the team is tasked with working with Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese in the midst of various groups vying for control of Indochina. Guthrie and his team have to adapt to the entirely different context of Vietnamese politics in order to encourage communist operations against the Japanese. Guthrie in particular, struggles with both his personal and professional conflicts. The relationship that Guthrie and the rest of the OSS team develops with the Viet Minh leadership is of distinct annoyance to French ambitions to regain control of their colony, Indochina. Based on the little-known true story of American and Viet Minh collaboration in 1945, this novel challenges the later-accepted dogma of both those supporting and those opposing the American role in the Viet Nam conflict. This novel notes how what is seen at a later time is often inadequate to understand what actually went on. Its contemporary relevance is simply a mirror of what is always the case in international affairs: today’s enemies can and may be tomorrow’s friends – and most importantly, the reverse is true also.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's Next With Iran

By
In the middle of this October Iran will regain the legal right to rebuild their conventional weapon capability under terms of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) first agreed upon by the Obama Administration and subsequently rescinded by the Trump Administration. Nonetheless, the other members of the agreement still recognize the original terms. This means that the Tehran government will be enabled to use a broad array of non-nuclear weapons to coerce, control or even invade neighboring countries. The term “conventional” can be interpreted to include ordnance and support elements of considerable capability, just so that it is not nuclear related. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo stated on Fox News recently that the United States could “handle” this new situation. Unfortunately, he didn't expand on that statement. Effectively, the entire issue is operationally tied to Iran's ability to make deals – usually financial. Iran never has had a problem with arranging
Post a Comment
Read more

Congo Op - A True Story

By
The request (order?) to travel back to the Congo (renamed Zaire) came from an unexpectedly high echelon in Washington. It was set forth in simple terms but there was no doubt as to its political importance. The son of the chairman of the South African Stock Exchange had left his post as an officer in the elite British cavalry regiment, The Blues, to join the mercenaries battling against the Soviet-backed African rebels in the eastern Congo. Technically, Gary Wilton had not resigned his commission in one of the two regiments that comprise the Queen's Household Calvary, but nonetheless had taken an “extended leave” without authorization. To make this long story shorter let's just say this action had created possible international implications as well as considerable family distress. Enter an experienced American government professional who had “worked” Africa quietly for some years and was thought to be able to handle this diplomatically embarrassing affair. At the very least h
Post a Comment
Read more

Vlad Staying On

By
The West reacted predictably when Vladimir Putin announced he would stay in office after his current term was over. Of course, this was greeted with claims of “dictatorship” outside of Russia. These claims may be justified on the face but are not very insightful. To begin with, it is important to recognize that Putin's background, parentage and upbringing have been carefully confused in official rewriting. There are few facts that seem consistent. It seems fairly sure that his father was a mechanic, but he was raised by his grandparents in most reports. Who his mother was is disputed in several accounts, though there now seems to be agreement on Maria Ivanova Putin (family name: Shelonova). None of this seem to matter very much except that he came from a 'working class” family. What is important is the general agreement that Putka, as he was called in his early years, seemed to be fascinated by the organization of the secret police, the NKVD, as it was then called. It has
Post a Comment
Read more