Caldwell John D. Anatomy of Victory: Why the United States Won World War II, Fought to a Stalemate in Korea, Lost in Vietnam, and Failed in Iraq

Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2018. — 568 p.This book considers how and why the United States won World War II as part of a global coalition, fought to a stalemate in Korea, lost in Vietnam, and failed in Iraq. The author uses the World War II victory as the historical benchmark against which to evaluate conflicts after 1945. The Korean, Vietnam, and Iraqi wars were limited, but they required enormous national commitments. Caldwell argues that strategic architectures in the four major conflicts of the last century are more likely to succeed when policy, strategy, and operations are in alignment. Alignment is the rigorous integration of policy, strategy, and operations; it is the thread that runs through the elements of an effective strategic architecture. The Iraqi chapters show that the American strategic architecture in Mesopotamia has been a failure that either the Trump or a future administration will have to address.