Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 130

researched and highly detailed history of these influential spies who ignited the covert action industry
of the late twentieth century, led as they were by the

progenitor spy—Wild Bill Donovan. Perhaps future
directors can draw some lessons from the examples of
these early pioneers.

Biography
John G. Breen, PhD, is the Commandant’s Distinguished Chair for National Intelligence Studies at the U.S. Army
Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Notes
1. Douglas Waller, “How the OSS Shaped the CIA and
American Special Ops,” War on the Rocks website, 30 September
2015, accessed 8 March 2016, http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/
how-the-oss-shaped-the-cia-and-american-special-ops.
2. Central Intelligence Agency, “The CIA and Congress:
Creation of the SSCI,” CIA website, 30 April 2013, accessed

8 March 2016, https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2011-featured-story-archive/the-cia-andcongress-creation-of-the-ssci.html; Douglas Waller, Disciples:
The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for
Wild Bill Donovan (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 442-43.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Correction to essay

M

y essay "Remembering Vietnam" (Military
Review, September–October 2013) incorrectly
indicated that Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster's book
Dereliction of Duty criticized the members of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff in 1964–65 for not resigning or protesting against
policy decisions made by the Johnson administration as it
approached intervening in the Vietnam War. That criticism
was made by many commentators who cited McMaster's
research, but his book did not express that view, and I was
wrong to write that it did. I regret the error and apologize to
Lt. Gen. McMaster and MR's readers for the misstatement.
Arnold R. Isaacs

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May-June 2016  MILITARY REVIEW