David Fitzgerald is a Lecturer in the School of History, University College Cork, Ireland. His books include Learning to Forget: US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine from Vietnam to Iraq (Stanford, 2013) and Obama, US Foreign Policy and the Dilemmas of Intervention (with David Ryan, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

“[This is] an important study to begin to think about the strategic failures of the United States and a gateway for authors to make recommendations. There is no easy fix, and perhaps there is no answer... Instead of ending conflicts, the United States transitions into another phase or pretends otherwise.” • Journal of Military History“We have endless books on the origins of America’s wars, but far fewer that examine the crucial question of how the conflicts are terminated. Not Even Past is therefore hugely welcome. Featuring lucid and penetrating essays by a stellar roster of scholars, the volume provides deep insights into one of the grand puzzles of the age: why the U.S. has so often failed to exit wars on its terms.” • Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University“The accessible essays in this volume comprise a timely contribution to the current scholarship. The continued presence of the United States in Afghanistan makes it all the more salient.” • Sarah Kreps, Cornell University“Not Even Past is that rare edited collection where each successive essay holds to the standard of the rest, bringing with it insights and delights in every chapter. This book provides a very important and historically informed perspective.” • Jeffrey A. Engel, Southern Methodist University

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionDavid Ryan and David FitzgeraldPart I: VietnamChapter 1. The Importance of Being Popular: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Domestic Support for the Vietnam WarSarah ThelenChapter 2. The Things They Carry: Vietnam and the Legacies of the American WarEdwin A. MartiniChapter 3. “His Epitaph Is Also Ours”: Robert McNamara, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and the Vietnam War’s Contested Usable PastDavid KieranChapter 4. After the Fall of Saigon: Strategic Implications of America’s Involvement in VietnamRobert K. BrighamPart II: Iraq and AfghanistanChapter 5. The Ironies of Overwhelming “Victory”: Exits and the Dislocation of the Gulf WarDavid RyanChapter 6. Failing to End: Obama and IraqDavid Fitzgerald and David RyanChapter 7. A “Responsible End” to the Afghan War: The Politics and Pitfalls of Crafting “Success” NarrativesJeffrey H. MichaelsChapter 8. Flawed Afghanization: Underestimating and Misunderstanding the TalibanAntonio GiustozziPart III: The Cultural and Strategic Costs of War in the Early Twenty-First CenturyChapter 9. Changing the Subject: How the United States Responds to Strategic FailureAndrew J. BacevichChapter 10. How Wars Do Not End: The Challenges for Twenty-First Century US Foreign Policy and InterventionScott LucasChapter 11. Coming Home: Soldier Homecomings and the All-Volunteer Force in American Society and CultureDavid FitzgeraldChapter 12. How the United States Ends WarsMarilyn B. YoungIndex

David Fitzgerald is a Lecturer in the School of History, University College Cork, Ireland. His books include Learning to Forget: US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine from Vietnam to Iraq (Stanford, 2013) and Obama, US Foreign Policy and the Dilemmas of Intervention (with David Ryan, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

“[This is] an important study to begin to think about the strategic failures of the United States and a gateway for authors to make recommendations. There is no easy fix, and perhaps there is no answer... Instead of ending conflicts, the United States transitions into another phase or pretends otherwise.” • Journal of Military History“We have endless books on the origins of America’s wars, but far fewer that examine the crucial question of how the conflicts are terminated. Not Even Past is therefore hugely welcome. Featuring lucid and penetrating essays by a stellar roster of scholars, the volume provides deep insights into one of the grand puzzles of the age: why the U.S. has so often failed to exit wars on its terms.” • Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University“The accessible essays in this volume comprise a timely contribution to the current scholarship. The continued presence of the United States in Afghanistan makes it all the more salient.” • Sarah Kreps, Cornell University“Not Even Past is that rare edited collection where each successive essay holds to the standard of the rest, bringing with it insights and delights in every chapter. This book provides a very important and historically informed perspective.” • Jeffrey A. Engel, Southern Methodist University

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionDavid Ryan and David FitzgeraldPart I: VietnamChapter 1. The Importance of Being Popular: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Domestic Support for the Vietnam WarSarah ThelenChapter 2. The Things They Carry: Vietnam and the Legacies of the American WarEdwin A. MartiniChapter 3. “His Epitaph Is Also Ours”: Robert McNamara, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and the Vietnam War’s Contested Usable PastDavid KieranChapter 4. After the Fall of Saigon: Strategic Implications of America’s Involvement in VietnamRobert K. BrighamPart II: Iraq and AfghanistanChapter 5. The Ironies of Overwhelming “Victory”: Exits and the Dislocation of the Gulf WarDavid RyanChapter 6. Failing to End: Obama and IraqDavid Fitzgerald and David RyanChapter 7. A “Responsible End” to the Afghan War: The Politics and Pitfalls of Crafting “Success” NarrativesJeffrey H. MichaelsChapter 8. Flawed Afghanization: Underestimating and Misunderstanding the TalibanAntonio GiustozziPart III: The Cultural and Strategic Costs of War in the Early Twenty-First CenturyChapter 9. Changing the Subject: How the United States Responds to Strategic FailureAndrew J. BacevichChapter 10. How Wars Do Not End: The Challenges for Twenty-First Century US Foreign Policy and InterventionScott LucasChapter 11. Coming Home: Soldier Homecomings and the All-Volunteer Force in American Society and CultureDavid FitzgeraldChapter 12. How the United States Ends WarsMarilyn B. YoungIndex