ABSTRACT
The intellectual and moral failures common to America's general officer corps in Vietnam and Iraq constitute a crisis in American generalship. America's generals not only failed to develop a strategy for victory in Vietnam, but also remained largely silent while the strategy developed by civilian politicians led to defeat. President Harold K. Johnson made a concerted effort to conceal the costs and consequences of Vietnam from the public, but such duplicity required the passive consent of America's generals. The most fundamental military miscalculation in Iraq has been the failure to commit sufficient forces to provide security to Iraq's population. After failing to visualize the conditions of combat in Iraq, America's generals failed to adapt to the demands of counterinsurgency. Counterinsurgency theory prescribes providing continuous security to the population. The intellectual and moral failures common to America's general officer corps in Vietnam and Iraq constitute a crisis in American generalship.
