Phoenix and the Birds of Prey

Mark Moyar is an associate professor at the U.S. Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, and the author of Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965. Harry G. Summers Jr. (1932–99) served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War and was an instructor and distinguished fellow at the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College.

"A groundbreaking piece of revisionist history on the war."—Senator James Webb, Wall Street Journal "Phoenix and the Birds of Prey is the definitive work on the Phoenix program to date, and will remain so for a long time."—Periscope "There are as yet only a few nonfiction works dealing with the Vietnam War that are worth the reader's time. . . . We can happily add Mark Moyar's Phoenix and the Birds of Prey to this short list of 'required reading.'"— John D. Waghelstein, Journal of Political and Military Sociology "[Moyar] succeeds admirably. His work could be a textbook for the do's and don'ts of counterinsurgency warfare."—William Nester, Asian Thought and Society "At last! An intellectually and academically honest overview of the Phoenix Program. Moyar has balanced both the military and social historical perspectives and dealt fairly with all factions—American and Vietnamese, non-Communist and Communist, northern and southern—to give the reader the first full and sensible accounting of the Phoenix."—John M. Del Vecchio, author of The 13th Valley "A fascinating, readable, long overdue exposition of the war in the shadows behind the big unit war in Vietnam."—Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, author of We Were Soldiers Once..and Young "Mark Moyar's well-researched book will likely become a frequently cited reference. He addresses one of the least understood and least documented aspects of the Vietnam conflict with clarity and objectivity. Unlike the plethora of 'I was there' narratives and the histories that end with Tet of 1968, Moyar's book follows the conflict from beginning to end pointing out how changes in strategy, operations, and tactics impacted upon the campaign against the Viet Cong infrastructure."—Lt. Gen. James Terry Scott, Director, National Security Program "Phoenix and the Birds of Prey elevates Mark Moyar to the ranks of the rare scholars who truly understand the Vietnam War and its warriors."—Lt. Col. Michael Lee Lanning, author of Inside the LRRPs "Moyar's examination and assessments of the struggle against the Communist shadow government in South Vietnam are fresh and, in my view, right on the mark. His book warrants serious consideration by all scholars of the Vietnam War, as well as those who would apply the 'lessons' of that war to future American involvements."—Prof. James R. Reckner, Director Study of Vietnam Conference, Texas Tech University

• Preface to the Bison Books EditionForeword, by Col. Harry G. Summers, Jr., USA (Ret.)PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPART ONE ORIGINS1 Vietnam at War: Before Phoenix2 The Shadow Government and the Viet Cong3 The Shadow Government and the People4 The War against the Shadow Government: Before Phoenix5 The New Attack on the Shadow GovernmentPART TWO INTELLIGENCE6 Targets7 Informants and Agents8 Prisoners: Interrogation, Torture, and Execution9 Ralliers, Documents, and Photographs10 MisinformationPART THREE COORDINATION11 The Challenge: Phoenix Centers12 Attempts to Make Phoenix and Phung Hoang Work13 Other Intelligence and Operations CoordinationPART FOUR OPERATIONS14 The Nature of Operations15 The Birds of Prey16 The South Vietnamese17 The Americans18 Neutralization of Non-Communist Civilians19 AssassinationsPART FIVE DAMAGE INFLICTED ON THE SHADOW GOVERNMENT20 Neutralization Statistics21 Actual Viet Cong Cadre Losses22 Additional Setbacks for the Shadow Government23 The Shadow Government in DeclinePART SIX VILLAGER ATTITUDES24 Abuse of the Population25 Changing Attitudes26 The Impact of the New AttitudesPART SEVEN POSTLUDE27 Theories of Revolutionary Warfare28 Reflections29 Lessons LearnedGlossaryNotes Selected BibliographyIndex