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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose theories had been used as the basis for expanded militarization in the late 1940s?

2. What made McGeorge Bundy an effective administrator?

3. On which issue does Halberstam say the military lost its battle with the White House?

4. What events does Halberstam say affected American perceptions of its global priorities?

5. What did the fact-finding mission discover at about the time of the problem with the Buddhist monks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the Kennedy administration's stance with regard to Russia?

2. Why does Halberstam say Chester Bowles' popularity faded?

3. What did Lovett and Kennedy discuss during their meeting?

4. Who was McGeorge Bundy, and what was his role in the Kennedy administration?

5. Who was Frederick Nolting, and what was his role in Vietnam?

6. What were Americans beginning to say with regard to Diem after the Buddhist monk problems began?

7. What three plans does Halberstam say the U.S. was considering in Vietnam in 1961?

8. How did the fall of China and the Cold War affect the Kennedy administration?

9. Who was Dean Rusk, and what was his role and place in the Kennedy administration?

10. How did the situation in Vietnam unfold?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the conditions that led to the coup against Diem and the credibility gap in America. Was the U.S. ripe for a coup the same way that the Diem regime was considered ripe for a coup? What forces were arguing for regime change in America? Why were they ultimately unsuccessful? (Was regime change ultimately what protesters in the U.S. wanted?)

Essay Topic 2

What kind of administrative or bureaucratic changes could have helped the war effort in Vietnam? Specifically, how could U.S. commanders have ensured that accurate information flowed unimpeded from troops and analysts in Vietnam to military planners in the U.S.? What factors in the military or political establishment created this problem?

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical review of "The Best and the Brightest": what does Halberstam do well, and what parts of the book are not well-executed? Considering recent revelations regarding the war, how prescient was Halberstam in his history?

(see the answer keys)

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