Invisible Enemies or Energy Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere

Invisible Enemies: The American War on Vietnam, 1975-2000

Author: Edwin A Martini

Beginning where most histories of the Vietnam War end, Invisible Enemies examines the relationship between the United States and Vietnam following the American pullout in 1975. Drawing on a broad range of sources, from White House documents and congressional hearings to comic books and feature films, Edwin Martini shows how the United States continued to wage war on Vietnam "by other means" for another twenty-five years. In addition to imposing an extensive program of economic sanctions, the United States opposed Vietnam's membership in the United Nations, supported the Cambodians, including the Khmer Rouge, in their decade-long war with the Vietnamese, and insisted that Vietnam provide a "full accounting" of American MIAs before diplomatic relations could be established. According to Martini, such policies not only worked against some of the stated goals of U.S. foreign policy, they were also in opposition to the corporate economic interests that ultimately played a key role in normalizing relations between the two nations in the late 1990s.

Martini reinforces his assessment of American diplomacy with an analysis of the "cultural front"-the movies, myths, memorials, and other phenomena that supported continuing hostility toward Vietnam while silencing opposing views of the war and its legacies. He thus demonstrates that the "American War on Vietnam" was as much a battle for the cultural memory of the war within the United States as it was a lengthy economic, political, and diplomatic campaign to punish a former adversary.

About the Author:
Edwin A. Martini is assistant professor of history at Western Michigan University

Chronicle of Higher Education

Examines American postwar hostility to Vietnam as reflected in economic sanctions, foreign policy, popular culture, and other realms.

What People Are Saying

James McAllister
"Invisible Enemies" is an original and welcome addition to the existing literature on the Vietnam War. In addition to providing a critique of American policy toward Vietnam after 1975, a period generally ignored by students of the war, Martini effectively combines the fields of diplomatic history and cultural studies. . . . ["Invisible Enemies"] is a work of scholarship that truly does transcend narrow disciplinary boundaries."--(James McAllister, Williams College)

Robert K. Brigham
"Martini should be commended for adding significantly to our understanding of the war after the war. . . . This is a first-rate book and a must reading for anyone interested in recent U.S. foreign policy."--(Robert K. Brigham, Vassar College)

Matthew Masur
"Teachers of courses on the Vietnam War will find "Invisible Enemies" a useful source for bringing their class to the end of the twentieth century. Scholars of American foreign relations will appreciate a fresh and engaging approach to a topic that is sorely in need of historical study."--(Matthew Masur, St. Anselm College)

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments     xi
Abbreviations     xiii
Introduction     1
A Continuation of War by Other Means: The Origins of the American War on Vietnam, 1975-1977     12
Constructing Mutual Destruction: The Cultural Logic of Normalization, 1977-1979     40
Bleeding Vietnam: The United States and the Third Indochina War     78
"I Am Reality": Redrawing the Terms of Battle, 1985-1989     116
Peace Is at Hand: Roadmaps, Roadblocks, and One-Way Streets, 1990-1995     162
Invisible Enemies: Searching for Vietnam at the Wall(s)     205
Epilogue: The Uneasy Peace and the Flags That Still Fly     235
Notes     243
Index     274

Look this: Voltaire in Exile or Though the Heavens May Fall

Energy Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Benefits and Impediments

Author: Sidney Weintraub

Energy Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere examines the state of energy cooperation among 11 Western Hemisphere oil and natural gas producers and the opportunities for greater cooperation. The result of more than two years of extensive in-country research and interviews with key stakeholders including governments and major oil and gas interests, the study is distinguished by its comprehensive approach and detailed country-by-country analysis of current conditions and future projects. Sidney Weintraub and his coauthors examine the critical historical factors, technical challenges, dangerous conditions, and political tensions, divisions, and disagreements that have hampered hemispheric cooperation.

What People Are Saying

Guy Caruso
Energy Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere ...captures the essence of these energy issues and succinctly discusses the opportunities and challenges ahead for the political leadership in the countries involved. (Guy Caruso, Administrator, Energy Information Administration)

Thomas F. McLarty III
Richly detailed and persuasively argued...A must read for policymakers, business executives, and students of the hemisphere. (Thomas F. (Mack) McLarty III, President, Kissinger McLarty Associates)