DOES NATION-BUILDING WORK?

Strategy wins wars; while failing to be driven by military strategy imperils the goals of engagement. With war in Afghanistan and Iraq at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy, the Vassar Classroom examines U.S. goals and offers a perspective on surge strategies.

Have we learned from the successes and failures of past military conflicts? While human nature dictates that the answer to that question will always be "not as well as we should," the opportunity remains to bring our actions more in line with what is most likely to accomplish our goals.

At the outset, this is a learning opportunity that will illuminate the difference between strategy and tactics in a military conflict, and how each are effectively used. Paired with historic illustrations, this will give us foundation to evaluate current U.S. foreign policy.

The program will be presented by Prof. Brigham, who received wide acclaim for his retrospective analysis of the Viet Nam conflict and Col. Gentile, the Director of the Military History program at West Point.

Robert. K. Brigham, Shirley Ecker Boskey Professor of History and International Relations, has taught at Vassar since 1994. He teaches courses on the history of American foreign relations, modern America, and international history.
Along with several teaching awards, Brigham has also earned fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for Humanities, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, the Cooper Foundation, the Gilman Foundation, and the Social Sciences Committee in Hanoi, Vietnam. In addition, Brigham has been Albert Shaw Endowed Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, Mellon Senior Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University (Clare College), visiting professor of international relations at Brown University, and Mary Ball Washington Professor of American History (Fulbright) at University College Dublin.
Brigham is author of numerous books and essays on American foreign relations and politics. Brigham is currently working on a history of nation building in South Vietnam (Cambridge), a textbook on America's wars in Iraq, and a book about the future of U.S. foreign policy. A regular public lecturer, Brigham has also provided interviews and written some two hundred articles, reviews, and op-ed pieces.

Colonel Gian P. Gentile graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986 and was commissioned through ROTC as second lieutenant of Armor. He has served in command and staff positions in the continental United States, Germany, and Korea, and in Iraq in 2003 and 2006. In 2003 he was a Brigade Combat Team Executive Office in the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit. In 2006 he commanded a Cavalry Squadron in the 4th Infantry Division in west Baghdad. He is a graduate of the Army's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and he holds a doctorate in history from Stanford University.
A Professor of History at the United States Military Academy, West Point, Col. Gentile is an active duty army officer and a Division Operations Planner with the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. He has served in command and staff positions in armored units in Germany, Korea, and the United States.
His book How Effective is Strategic Bombing? Lessons Learned from World War II to Kosovo, was published by New York University Press in 2000. He has had articles published in the Pacific Historical Review, Air Power History, Journal of Military History, Joint Forces Quarterly, and Armed Forces Journal. Currently he directs the Military History Program at West Point.