Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource The myth of the addicted army : Vietnam and the modern war on drugs, Jeremy Kuzmarov

The myth of the addicted army : Vietnam and the modern war on drugs, Jeremy Kuzmarov

Creator
Summary
This work is an analysis of the links between the Vietnam War and the evolution of American drug policy. The image of the drug addicted American soldier, disheveled, glassy eyed, his uniform adorned with slogans of antiwar dissent, has long been associated with the Vietnam War. More specifically, it has persisted as an explanation for the U.S. defeat, the symbol of a demoralized army incapable of carrying out its military mission. Yet as the author documents in this book, popular assumptions about drug use in Vietnam are based more on myth than fact. Not only was alcohol the intoxicant of choice for most GIs, but the prevalence of other drugs varied enormously. Although marijuana use among troops increased over the course of the war, for the most part it remained confined to rear areas, and the use of highly addictive drugs like heroin was never as widespread as many imagined. Like other cultural myths that emerged from the war, the concept of an addicted army was first advanced by war hawks seeking a scapegoat for the failure of U.S. policies in Vietnam, in this case one that could be linked to permissive liberal social policies and the excesses of the counterculture. But conservatives were not alone. Ironically, the author shows, elements of the antiwar movement also promoted the myth, largely because of a presumed alliance between Asian drug traffickers and the Central Intelligence Agency. While this claim was not without foundation, as new archival evidence confirms, the left exaggerated the scope of addiction for its own political purposes. Exploiting bipartisan concern over the perceived drug crisis, the Nixon administration in the early 1970s launched a bold new program of federal antidrug measures, especially in the international realm. Initially, the War on Drugs helped divert attention away from the failed quest for peace with honor in Southeast Asia. But once institutionalized, it continued to influence political discourse as well as U.S. drug policy in the decades that followed
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xii, 303 pages
Contents
  • Introduction : the politics of scapegoating
  • "The press has done a tremendous disservice" : historical perspective
  • Creating the myth of the "Nam junkie" : mass media and the rise of a drug scare
  • Deconstructing the myth : the great national drug debate of the sixties and seventies
  • "A generation of junkies" : the antiwar movement, the Democratic Party, and the myth
  • The brass responds, part I : Nixon's war on drugs
  • The brass responds, part II : from counterinsurgency to narco-insurgency in Southeast Asia
  • "Get up you doped up bastard!" : the myth in Hollywood and popular television
  • The crackdown : the Reagan revolution and the war on drugs
  • The myth endures
Isbn
9781558497054
Instance
Label
The myth of the addicted army : Vietnam and the modern war on drugs
Title
The myth of the addicted army
Title remainder
Vietnam and the modern war on drugs
Statement of responsibility
Jeremy Kuzmarov
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
This work is an analysis of the links between the Vietnam War and the evolution of American drug policy. The image of the drug addicted American soldier, disheveled, glassy eyed, his uniform adorned with slogans of antiwar dissent, has long been associated with the Vietnam War. More specifically, it has persisted as an explanation for the U.S. defeat, the symbol of a demoralized army incapable of carrying out its military mission. Yet as the author documents in this book, popular assumptions about drug use in Vietnam are based more on myth than fact. Not only was alcohol the intoxicant of choice for most GIs, but the prevalence of other drugs varied enormously. Although marijuana use among troops increased over the course of the war, for the most part it remained confined to rear areas, and the use of highly addictive drugs like heroin was never as widespread as many imagined. Like other cultural myths that emerged from the war, the concept of an addicted army was first advanced by war hawks seeking a scapegoat for the failure of U.S. policies in Vietnam, in this case one that could be linked to permissive liberal social policies and the excesses of the counterculture. But conservatives were not alone. Ironically, the author shows, elements of the antiwar movement also promoted the myth, largely because of a presumed alliance between Asian drug traffickers and the Central Intelligence Agency. While this claim was not without foundation, as new archival evidence confirms, the left exaggerated the scope of addiction for its own political purposes. Exploiting bipartisan concern over the perceived drug crisis, the Nixon administration in the early 1970s launched a bold new program of federal antidrug measures, especially in the international realm. Initially, the War on Drugs helped divert attention away from the failed quest for peace with honor in Southeast Asia. But once institutionalized, it continued to influence political discourse as well as U.S. drug policy in the decades that followed
Member of
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1979-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Kuzmarov, Jeremy
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Index
index present
LC call number
HV5825
LC item number
.K89 2009
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
NLM call number
  • 2015 C-247
  • WM 11 AA1
Series statement
Culture, politics, and the cold war.
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Vietnam War
  • Soldiers
  • Soldiers
  • Drug control
  • Drug abuse
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Drug abuse
  • Drug control
  • Social aspects
  • Soldiers
  • Drogenbekämpfung
  • Soldat
  • Drogenkonsum
  • Vietnamkrieg
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Drug and Narcotic Control
  • History, 20th Century
  • Military Personnel
  • Vietnam Conflict
  • United States
  • Vietnam
  • USA
Label
The myth of the addicted army : Vietnam and the modern war on drugs, Jeremy Kuzmarov
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-285) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : the politics of scapegoating -- "The press has done a tremendous disservice" : historical perspective -- Creating the myth of the "Nam junkie" : mass media and the rise of a drug scare -- Deconstructing the myth : the great national drug debate of the sixties and seventies -- "A generation of junkies" : the antiwar movement, the Democratic Party, and the myth -- The brass responds, part I : Nixon's war on drugs -- The brass responds, part II : from counterinsurgency to narco-insurgency in Southeast Asia -- "Get up you doped up bastard!" : the myth in Hollywood and popular television -- The crackdown : the Reagan revolution and the war on drugs -- The myth endures
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xii, 303 pages
Isbn
9781558497054
Isbn Type
(pbk. : alk. paper)
Lccn
2009022363
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • (OCoLC)286422656
  • (OCoLC)ocn286422656
Label
The myth of the addicted army : Vietnam and the modern war on drugs, Jeremy Kuzmarov
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-285) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : the politics of scapegoating -- "The press has done a tremendous disservice" : historical perspective -- Creating the myth of the "Nam junkie" : mass media and the rise of a drug scare -- Deconstructing the myth : the great national drug debate of the sixties and seventies -- "A generation of junkies" : the antiwar movement, the Democratic Party, and the myth -- The brass responds, part I : Nixon's war on drugs -- The brass responds, part II : from counterinsurgency to narco-insurgency in Southeast Asia -- "Get up you doped up bastard!" : the myth in Hollywood and popular television -- The crackdown : the Reagan revolution and the war on drugs -- The myth endures
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xii, 303 pages
Isbn
9781558497054
Isbn Type
(pbk. : alk. paper)
Lccn
2009022363
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • (OCoLC)286422656
  • (OCoLC)ocn286422656

Subject

Genre

Member of

Library Locations

  • African Studies LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Alumni Medical LibraryBorrow it
    72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA, 02118, US
    42.336388 -71.072393
  • Astronomy LibraryBorrow it
    725 Commonwealth Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02445, US
    42.350259 -71.105717
  • Fineman and Pappas Law LibrariesBorrow it
    765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350979 -71.107023
  • Frederick S. Pardee Management LibraryBorrow it
    595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.349626 -71.099547
  • Howard Gotlieb Archival Research CenterBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 5th Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Mugar Memorial LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Music LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Pikering Educational Resources LibraryBorrow it
    2 Silber Way, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.349804 -71.101425
  • School of Theology LibraryBorrow it
    745 Commonwealth Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350494 -71.107235
  • Science & Engineering LibraryBorrow it
    38 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.348472 -71.102257
  • Stone Science LibraryBorrow it
    675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02445, US
    42.350103 -71.103784

Library Links

Zepheira Logo
Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Boston University Libraries. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...